Darkness to Light announces more than 1.6 million adults trained to prevent child sexual abuse.
Darkness to Light has announced that the organization has trained more than 1.6 million adults in partnership with thousands of volunteers worldwide. The trainings used to reach this milestone consist of their evidence-informed training Stewards of Children®, along with five additional trainings, all designed to teach adults to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse.
One in 10 children will be sexually abused by their 18th birthday, making child sexual abuse possibly one of the worst public health issues facing children today.
“This is a huge milestone and was no easy task,” said Darkness to Light’s President & CEO Katelyn N. Brewer. “It is only through the tireless work of our partners and the continued support of our donors that we’ve been able to reach over 1.6 million adults. That’s 1.6 million people in communities all over the globe who know what to look for and how to intervene if a child is being groomed or abused.”
Stewards of Children® is delivered in-person and online in all 50 states and 17 international locations. The training walks the participant through 5 Steps to Protecting Children™, offering practical actions any individual can take to prevent abuse. The five additional trainings cover specific topics, such as talking with children about sexual abuse, healthy touch for children and youth, child sex trafficking, bystander intervention, other forms of abuse, and mandated reporting.
“Child sexual abuse is happening in communities all over the world. As a society we need to get past the stigma and realize our obligation is to protect children,” says Brewer. “With education, adults can prevent abuse.”
Darkness to Light is approaching their 20th anniversary and are poised to reach millions more with the knowledge required to stand against child sexual abuse. Their goal is to train four million adults by the year 2020.
If you would like to bring training to your organization or community, visit www.D2L.org.
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About Darkness to Light
Darkness to Light is a nonprofit organization with the mission to empower adults to prevent child sexual abuse. Through education and awareness, the organization seeks to create a safer world for children to grow and thrive. Darkness to Light’s flagship program, Stewards of Children®, is an award-winning training that teaches adults to prevent, recognize and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. More than 1.6 million adults including educators, youth serving professionals, organization volunteers, and community members have been certified in the program. Stewards of Children® is the only evidence-informed training of its kind, with the largest network of child protection advocates in the world as facilitators. For more information, visit www.D2L.org.
