”Today is the best of San Francisco’s community coming together to end child sexual abuse,” said Katie Albright, Executive Director of the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center. “Our city’s family has joined together to help kids."
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) April 09, 2014
City Leaders Come Together to Say Enough to Child Sexual Abuse.
Partners in Prevention and the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center Launch the Enough Abuse Campaign, a Bay Area Campaign to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse
Partners in Prevention (PIP), an initiative seeking to increase awareness of child abuse and to support prevention efforts, and the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center (the Prevention Center), a non-profit dedicated to preventing child abuse and reducing its impact, announce today the official launch of the Enough Abuse Greater Bay Area Campaign in San Francisco. The kick-off event at the Divisadero Touchless Car Wash will bring together a broad array of community members—including Supervisor London Breed, Police Chief Greg Suhr, and Lou Seal of the Giants—who are joining the Greater Bay Area coalition to say, “Enough!” to child sexual abuse.
Child sexual abuse is widespread; one in four women and one in six men report having experienced child sexual abuse, almost always at the hands of someone known, trusted, or loved. The consequences can be devastating for individuals, families, and communities. Despite these facts, almost 90% of child sexual abuse cases are never reported.
The Enough Abuse Greater Bay Area Campaign seeks to overcome the silence, shame, and denial preventing action to end child sexual abuse by encouraging and empowering professionals working with children, parents, and other community members to prevent and report abuse. Through training, educational materials, and public awareness activities, the Enough Abuse Campaign will build broad-based community awareness and will equip individuals and organizations with the knowledge and skills necessary to keep kids safe from sexual abuse. Over the next few years, the Prevention Center and PIP will educate thousands of San Francisco community members on child sexual abuse and its prevention and will secure support for the Enough Abuse Campaign from a wide cross-section of public, private, and nonprofit organizations. To join the Campaign or find out more information, please go to http://www.bayareapreventchildabuse.org.
Supervisor London Breed stated, “When I learned of the Enough Abuse Greater Bay Area Campaign, I welcomed the opportunity to be a part of it. Child sexual abuse crosses all geographic, socioeconomic, and racial lines, and only by building a groundswell of action community by community will we be able to prevent sexual abuse.”
“The San Francisco Police Department is proud to join forces with Partners in Prevention, the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center, and the Enough Abuse Greater Bay Area Campaign to protect children from sexual abuse,” stated Police Chief Greg Suhr. “Sadly, each day, we witness the horrendous effects of child sexual abuse. By raising awareness of the issue and educating adults on prevention and reporting, San Francisco will be able to keep our kids safe.”
Patty Shimek, founder of Partners in Prevention and co-owner of the Divisadero Touchless Car Wash, stated, "Every child deserves a childhood. PIP has partnered with the Greater Bay Area Coalition of Child Abuse Councils in a call to action: ‘Join the Movement.’ Today, here, we are raising our hands to declare, ‘Enough silence. Enough shame. Enough secrets. Enough child sexual abuse.’”
”Today is the best of San Francisco’s community coming together to end child sexual abuse,” said Katie Albright, Executive Director of the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center. “Our city’s family has joined together to help kids – from our local Supervisor, to our Police Chief, to Rabbi Pam Frydman, to business leaders from the Divisadero Car Wash, and to Lou Seal of the San Francisco Giants. With these partners and our partnerships across the Bay Area, we can end the silent epidemic of sexual abuse.”
About Partners in Prevention
The Partners in Prevention (PIP) initiative was launched in 2010 and received status as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 2013. PIP is a diverse group of individuals—from all walks of life--business, government and civil society—united by a desire to increase awareness of the effects of child abuse and neglect and to promote solutions by supporting prevention services within our communities. PIP believes in protecting childhood for children today so they can fulfill their potential as adults tomorrow. For more information, visit http://www.blueribbonpartners.org.
About the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center
For more than forty years, the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center has served the community’s most vulnerable children and families. The Prevention Center is dedicated to preventing child abuse and reducing its devastating impact. The agency uses a comprehensive, three-pronged approach to end child abuse: 1) providing care directly to children and families in crisis; 2) educating the community—children, caregivers, child-serving professionals, and the public; and 3) coordinating strategic partners who promote citywide systems improvements and enhance our capacity to protect children, including the opening of our new Children’s Advocacy Center. For more information, visit http://www.sfcapc.org.
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Media Contact:
San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center
Jenny Pearlman
jenny.pearlman(at)sfcapc(dot)org
415-806-3018