Nella Vita di One Small Step

This week’s small step for positive change is to educate yourself about sexual abuse.

Experts estimate that one in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before their 18th birthday with the median age or reported abuse being 9. This is just. so. appalling. I know more than six boys and definitely know more than four girls and the thought that something like this could happen to them makes my skin crawl.

Even if you don’t have young children in your family, it is still so important to educate yourself about identifying and preventing sexual abuse in your community. Sexually abused children are more likely to have drug and alcohol problems or eating disorders as adults. They are more likely to engage in prostitution or become sexual offenders themselves. More than 60% of teen first pregnancies are preceded by experiences of molestation, rape or attempted rape. These are issues whose consequences can affect us all.

So how does one become educated? In Charlottesville, I just heard about a group called Foothills Child Advocacy Center who will be sponsoring a training of Darkness to Light’s ‘Stewards of Children’ program on July 22. I will be attending and encourage anyone in the Charlottesville area to attend too. It is one of those trainings I hope I will never have to use, but will be very thankful to have had if I ever do need it. If you don’t live in the Charlottesville area, Darkness to Light’s trainings are available across the country and you can contact them to find out where one near you may be happening. Both Foothills and Darkness have lots of useful education and resources available online.

I think every adult should be required to take this training, because no child should ever have to go through the horrors of sexual abuse that is unimaginable to most of us. It is our responsibility to protect not just our own children but all children. Every adult should know the signs to look for and know how to report and stop sexual abuse in their community. It is time to take one small step forward and let it be known that this is something that will not be tolerated!

Nella Vita di Small Steps for the Greater Good

Sometimes I wonder about humanity. Why is it that we are the way we are? I truly believe to my core that there is (or at least was at some point) good in everyone and that we each have a personal responsibility to not only be the best person we can be, but to do our part to ensure that the larger groups (family, community, world, ecosystem, universe, etc) to which we belong are the best they can be. I think that overall, we have become too selfish and self absorbed. “I’m too busy to help” or “there are other people who can do this.” At what point did we go from being a group of beings with an intense social structure to one that can’t be bothered? Was there a point in our evolutionary history where one of our ancestors decided to horde the banana it found instead of sharing? That a mother only fed her children while the young of another went without?

I think it was a series of small steps and changes that took us from being “for the good of all” to “for the good of me…and maybe for the good of all if I can squeeze it in.” But I think that deep down inside each of us it is an innate desire and need to not just belong to groups, but better them. It may be stronger in some than others, but it is all there. I think that each of us should strive to begin to take small steps toward building healthier and more prosperous communities and groups that benefit and protect all of its members. I’m going to try and bring some ideas of things you can do to affect positive change in your communities on a weekly basis as part of an on-going “Small Steps” series.