Baker YMCA’s “Five Days of Action” program aims to bring awareness on child sexual abuse
By Joe Hathaway on Friday, April 19th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
BAKER CITY — As across America and in Baker County are participating in the Five Days of Action campaign.
Five Days of Action is a week-long campaign to educate adults on how to protect their children from sexual abuse.
According to the YMCA, one in twenty boys in the U.S. experience child sexual abuse, one in four girls in the U.S. experience child sexual abuse and 80% of child sexual abuse cases go unreported.
YMCA instructors believe adults knowing the facts of child sexual abuse can help them understand what to look for.
“The important thing is having that conversation with your child starting at a young age through teens knowing what to look for and any of the signs. Keeping those lines of communication open between a parent and a child,” said Madison Hatfield, spokesperson for the Baker County YMCA.
Hatfield says one of the main aspects of the program is to help parents with is to look for red flags and protect their children.
“There are three aspects to it: knowing, seeing, and responding. Knowing the facts, seeing what to look for, and responding to that by giving the tools on our website and social media to be able to engage and let parents know what they can do,” said Hatfield.
She says the Baker community and YMCA members have been supportive and responsive to the campaign, even signing pledge cards this week that they will take action to protect children and say something if they see something if it pertains to child abuse.
“It’s been a great response and it’s been heartening to see so many people sign the pledge,” said Hatfield. “We know our members and our community want to protect our children, that’s why we’re invested in this and take this seriously and we know the people of Baker do as well.”
Find more information on the YMCA’s Five Days of Action here.
