Keep Kids Safe Urges President Biden to Include Children in U.S National Action Plan

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- As the White House Gender Policy Council drafts the U.S. National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence, the Keep Kids Safe movement has urged the Biden administration to address prevention, healing, and justice for sexual violence against children and adolescents.

In a letter addressed to President Biden on Monday, February 28th Keep Kids Safe deemed sexual violence against children and adolescence a top public health emergency. According to the movement, 1 in 10 children in the United States will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday. The increasing rate of incidents of sexual violence against children creates long-lasting physical and psychological trauma for survivors, that also translates into tremendous economic costs for society.

The movement points to research showing that the trauma of child sexual abuse survivors, negatively impacts adulthood. Survivors of sexual abuse as children or adolescents are more likely to become adult victims of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, and may even become abusers themselves. These studies show why the White House needs to include the entire lifespan, including violence against children and adolescents, when addressing gender-based violence.
Keep Kids Safe called for the administration to engage the following, within its draft of the U.S. National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence:

(1) apply a life-course approach, recognize that abuse in childhood and adolescence is, unfortunately, far too often a fundamental element in the life cycle of violence and; (2) include prevention, healing and justice measures in the whole-of-government action plan.

In its letter, the movement presented the "U.S. National Blueprint to End Sexual Violence Against Children and Adolescents"— a roadmap ideated by survivors and allies across the country of recommendations for policies and strategic funding investments that address prevention, healing, and justice. If implemented, these recommendations can be greatly effective in safeguarding children from sexual abuse—an adverse childhood experience that can have detrimental effects in a survivor's adulthood.

Keep Kids Safe Chair and President & CEO of Darkness to Light—a leader in child sexual abuse prevention, Katelyn N. Brewer said, "Ending gender-based violence cannot be achieved without the consideration of child sexual abuse. We urge President Biden and his administration to take action on the recommendations of the U.S. National Blueprint to End Sexual Violence Against Children and Adolescents, within the framework of the U.S. National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence."

During his State of the Union address to the nation, President Biden called upon Congress to better address child safety. The Keep Kids Safe movement supports this statement and intends to tirelessly advocate for congressional action on items in its Blueprint, that will advance the cause of child safety and protect children from the threat of sexual violence.

Read the movement's full letter to President Biden attached.

The Keep Kids Safe Movement is a powerful partnership between organizations, survivors, and allies focused on ending sexual violence against children and adolescents in all its forms. The movement is focused on inclusive, comprehensive, bold, and transformative action from national leaders including prevention to protect this and every generation to come, healing for victims, survivors, and their families, and justice for victims and survivors and accountability for perpetrators and institutions who covered up the abuse. Founding partners include The Army of Survivors, Darkness to Light, The Monique Burr Foundation for Children, the National Children's Alliance, Prevent Child Abuse America, RAINN, SNAP, and Together for Girls and stands in solidarity with survivors and allies around the world. Working together, and with bold action from the federal government, Keep Kids Safe believes we can end sexual violence against children now and for generations to come. For more information, visit http://www.keep-kids-safe.org.  

###

Media Contact

Tanyelle Gill, Darkness to Light, +1 917-622-3226, [email protected]

Twitter, Facebook

SOURCE Keep Kids Safe