Darkness to Light announces more than 1.8 million adults trained to prevent child sexual abuse.
In February of 2019 we reached an amazing milestone: we trained 1.7 million adults to prevent child sexual abuse! We were thrilled. However, this wasn’t enough for our Authorized Facilitators and Instructors. Through their dedication and partnership, 100,000 more adults were trained over the course of 5 short months. In July 2019, we surpassed 1.8 million trainees.
This is no small undertaking and it would not be possible without thousands of dedicated 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 equip adults to protect children.
90% of children who are victims of sexual abuse are abused by someone they know and trust. By educating adults on what to look for and by taking risks to intervene in behaviors that are dangerous, adults can make courageous decisions to protect children.
“Child sexual abuse prevention efforts have struggled for decades to be seen and have often been deprioritized and underfunded,” said Darkness to Light’s President & CEO Katelyn N. Brewer. “However, with our facilitators courageously leading the way, we are making strides in bringing this topic to the forefront by challenging our institutions and organizations to make prevention a priority and educating more adult than ever.”
Stewards of Children® is delivered in-person and online, taking the participant through the 5 Steps to Protecting Children™ and offering practical actions any individual can take to prevent abuse. Five additional training options 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.
“As we move into our 20th year of Darkness to Light, we are excited to continue the national dialogue around child sexual abuse, further reduce stigma, and educate more adults to protect children,” says Brewer.
If you would like to bring training to your organization or community, visit www.D2L.org.
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