Sex/uality Artifacts

http://www.d2l.org/site/c.4dICIJOkGcISE/b.6035035/k.8258/Prevent_Child_Sexual_Abuse.htm#.VlPBib-rSf9

Hi class! My name is Hallie Hayden and I chose to highlight a website for my first artifact, dedicated to bring awareness to the frequency of childhood sexual abuse. This is a topic so heinous no one wants to think about the reality of it. The reality being one in ten children will be sexually abused in their lives before they turn 18. Something that the website also brings up is that most childhood sexual abuse is done by somebody close to the child and not strangers. This is something that we have discussed in class and was also mentioned in the articles on this topic. This website provides links to stories from survivors, and these stories highlight the different effects childhood sexual abuse can have on people. Some of the effects that are talk about were also mention in the article about long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse, things like experiencing guilt, shame and taking personal responsibility for the abuse. There were also recovery stories, in which the survivors reclaim a sense of empowerment in their lives and sexuality.

The Darkness to Light website also provides avenues to getting help if you or someone you know is being abused, as well as ways to help recover if it happened in your past. This website offers all kinds of help for survivors, but also provides resources to help prevent the act from ever happening. They run programs in different counties across the nation that inform parents and community members alike in the steps they can take to protect their children. A brief look into their program would be the five steps, which are to; learn the facts, minimize the risk, talk about it, recognize the signs and react responsibly. They go into more depth in the program and on the website. This is a useful website if you are a parent, are in child care, or even if you’d just like to be more informed on the subject.