Winding up Child Abuse Prevention Month, Sweet Home was the final stop on a child abuse awareness display Saturday.
The life-size silhouettes of 20 real children who, in 1999, had died at the hands of an abuser could be seen surrounding Santiam Drug and among the parking stalls in front of the business.
Each had a small message attached to it:
– “He lived for one day.”
– “He enjoyed chasing his two younger brothers and dreamed of building a submarine when he grew up,” on a 13-year-old.
– “He was just learning to smile at his sister,” on an infant.
– “Daddy’s little red-head sidekick,” on a toddler.
Additional silhouettes displayed statistics about child abuse.
The display, created by Plain Talk of Benton County, traveled throughout the Mid-Valley area throughout April. The display was staffed by local volunteers.
One of three girls and one of four boys will be abused in some way before they turn 18, Marsha Swanson said. She is a volunteer with Plain Talk and Linn County Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse (LCCPCA). “It’s really hidden. Children are powerless.”
Children don’t have politicians looking after their interests, she said.
Plain Talk volunteers visit schools kindergarten through fifth grade as part of an ongoing effort to prevent child abuse, Swanson said. “We teach kids they have the right to be safe, strong and free.”
Plain Talk tells the children what they can do, who they can ask for help, when their rights are taken away.
“Many of them don’t know that they have the right to say no, that they have the right to ask for help,” Swanson said.
Visitors to the display had the opportunity to list their own comments with the display. Among them:
– “It broke my heart.”
– “Very powerful and meaningful. Sad, important.”
– “Powerful, chilling, a lot to contemplate. The display was very disturbing, but child abuse is just that, disturbing.”
In 1999, Linn County had 285 founded cases of abuse. That’s 10.6 per 1,000 children. According to a 1995 Gallup poll, the actual amount of abuse is 10 to 16 times larger, which would mean there were up to 4,560 cases in Linn County.
Around the nation, more than 3 million children are reported abused or neglected each year, and three children die each day as a result of maltreatment, according to LCCPCA.
As individuals, LCCPCA says that persons can:
– Give parents a break, offering to care for children for a little while so the parents can rest.
– Get to know neighbors and become a safe adult for children in a neighborhood.
– On seeing mistreatment in public, start a conversation with the adult to divert the parent’s attention from the child.
– Report suspected abuse or neglect to local reporting agencies.
Sandy Walker, Sweet Home coordinator, helped with the dispaly Saturday. Walker has been involved in the LCCPCA for Prevention of Child Abuse since it started in 1971. Persons interested in volunteering can reach her at 367-3865 for further information.