Child Advocacy Center Trying To Teach Kids Protection

Local school systems implementing a curriculum from the Upper Cumberland Child Advocacy Center to help protect kids against child sexual abuse.

Center Executive Director Tracy Bucholz said they teach short lessons on body safety to kids in Kindergarten through fourth grade. Bucholz said an example of the curriculum is discussing without being explicit about what areas of the body need to be covered when wearing a swimsuit.

“There’s a consensus that it is important for children to know that there are parts to their body that are private and those parts that other people aren’t to see and touch,” Bucholz said. “So we are just hoping that the increased education allows children the space to talk if those types of things are happening to them or to someone they know.”

Bucholz said statistically only 30 percent of children ever disclose over their lifetime about being sexually abused as a child. Bucholz said the goal is to educate kids and remove some of the shame and the stigma around admitting to being sexually abused.

“You might also be planting seeds and just letting a child know that there are people out there who care,” Bucholz said. “That there is a way to disclose and it may be years before that child actually does disclose and that’s a whole other conversation about why children don’t.”

Bucholz said body safety can be a tough subject to discuss for some families and the parents have the option for their kid to not participate at school. Bucholz said parents should have a conversation with their children if they are not comfortable with the advocacy center speaking to their children.

“This can start when children are young,” Bucholz said. “It doesn’t have to be really huge and daunting and scary, you can just teach your children as they grow up whatever that age-appropriate language that you choose to use in your home about their bodies.”

Bucholz said parents having open dialogue with their children is very beneficial. Bucholz said the parent or guardian tends to be the most important person that drives whether or not a child feels comfortable talking about abuse.

Bucholz said the advocacy center first started the curriculum with Putnam County Schools last year. White County will implement the plan this year. Bucholz said the state of Tennessee has a law called Erin’s Law that is aimed to teach students how to see early signs and report sexual abuse.