Legislator Drucker, Mid Island Y JCC and The Safe Center LI Present ‘Enough Abuse – Strategies for Your Family and Community to Fight Child Sexual Abuse’ Zoom Workshop
(MINEOLA, N.Y.) – Nassau County Legislator Arnold W. Drucker (D - Plainview), in partnership with the Mid Island Y JCC and The Safe Center LI, presented a special Zoom version of the “Enough Abuse: Strategies for your Family and Community to Fight Child Sexual Abuse” workshop on Thursday, April 30.
This session was hosted in accordance with April’s designation as Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month.
“While physical distancing mandates and stay-at-home orders are essential tools for slowing the spread of COVID-19, they also create conditions abusers can exploit in nefarious ways. That is why we must redouble our efforts to combat child abuse and sexual assault during this pandemic,” Legislator Drucker said. “I am grateful for the partnership of the Mid Island Y JCC in our efforts to amplify the life-saving message of The Safe Center’s ‘Enough Abuse’ campaign.”
The Safe Center’s “Enough Abuse” workshop series is designed to teach participants what they need to know to keep children safe from sexual abuse, including: the scope of child sex abuse in families and communities; impacts of child sexual abuse on survivors and communities; warning signs of child sexual abuse; who sexually abuses children and how to recognize their behaviors and tactics; and strategies to prevent and protect against sexual abuse.
Keith Scott, The Safe Center’s Director of Education, and Diane Harvey, Associate Director of Education, facilitated the workshop. Their presentation included a focus on the unique challenges facing social workers, Child Protective Services (CPS) workers and other mandated child abuse reporters in identifying, reporting and addressing abuse – especially during a period of time in which in-person visitations and encounters with mandated reporters have been disrupted.
“It is important that we remain vigilant about combating abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our children are vulnerable without access to their peers and other trusted adults, and we must be prepared to recognize warning signs of abuse once our communities reopen,” Scott said. “We applaud Legislator Drucker’s tireless efforts in raising awareness about child sexual abuse – a silent epidemic that affects all of our communities.”