Myth:  If a person is a child abuser, you can tell by that person's looks and behaviors.

• People who abuse children look and act just like everyone else. In fact, they often go out of their way to appear trustworthy to gain access to children.
• Perpetrators gain trust in the child and the child's parents.  This process, called grooming, can sometimes last for years.  Physical contact with the child often begins with "out-in-the-open" touches that appear appropriate and normal--a pat on the shoulder, an occasional hug, a tickle on the back of the neck...  As the child becomes accustomed to these touches, the perpetrator moves towards inappropriate touching.

Facts to consider...

• Statistically, your child will endure sexual abuse for 6 months before making an outcry.
• According to the National Children's Advocacy Center:  84,320 confirmed cases of abuse were reported in the United States in 1997--that's about 231 children a day, 10 children every hour, 1 child every 6 minutes.
• Experts estimate that one in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before their eighteenth birthday.
• 67% of all reported sexual assaults (including assaults on adults) occur to children ages 17 and under.
• The median age for reported sexual abuse is nine years old.
• 22% of the victims of sexual abuse are under eight.
• 50% of all victims of forcible sodomy, sexual assault with an object, and forcible fondling are under twelve.
• Only one in ten child victims reports the abuse.
• Sexually abused children who keep the abuse a secret or who “tell” and are not believed are at far greater risk than the general population for psychological, emotional, social and physical problems often lasting into adulthood.

Perpetrators can be (but are not limited to)...

The National Sexual Violence Databank, according to interviews with 600 child molesters, found that:

• 28.3% of child molesters target a Neighbor's Child... (most likely somebody you know/trust)
• 28.1% target a Step-Child... (somebody you know/trust)
• 22.1% ~ Nieces / Nephews (somebody you know/trust)
• 19.2% ~ Biological Child (somebody you know/trust)
• 12.0% ~ Sibling (somebody you know/trust)
• 8.2% ~ Stranger
• 5.5% ~ Grandchild (somebody you know/trust)

Teaching your kids 'stranger danger' protects them from 8.2% of perpetrators. That leaves your child vulnerable to millions of perpetrators--and YOUR child fits the profile that a perpetrator (somewhere) seeks. Teach your children that NOBODY has a right to touch them inappropriately--even neighbors, step-parents, relatives, or siblings.