Knowledge Is Power: Learn About Child Abuse So You Can Help Stop It!

Many of you know how passionate I am about helping children who have been abused or otherwise victimized. Children are easy targets for abuse because they are naive, innocent and vulnerable. We need to do everything we can not only to help children who are currently being abused but also learn what we can do to help stop it from happening in the first place. And we do that, as with anything, by arming ourselves with knowledge.

I work closely with a local charity called, Zebra Child Protection Centre. A huge part of what they do is educating the public on child abuse and child protection. They have many wonderful resource on their site, including an entire page discussing different forms of child abuse, signs that it's happening and suggestions on what you can do if you suspect a child is being abused.

The most important thing to remember is that abuse isn't always visible. A person doesn't have to physically hitting a child for him to be suffering. He could be enduring abuse in the form of verbal, emotional, sexual, or mental or even be neglected. It's important not only to understand each of these areas in general but also how each affects the child specifically so that you have the tools to help him or her.

I'll be blogging more about this issue over the next month or so, along with our regular posts, as we really need to be doing more as a community to help these kids. Help me help these kids define a new path in their lives and be everything they were meant to be.