Crimes against children are particularly depressing when heard about. I think everyone was shocked the day of the Connecticut elementary school shooting not so long ago.
Imagine the following:
A news anchor shows a face on your television screen; it is the face of a thirty-something man, smiling, a candid shot where a friend's face and body were cropped or blurred out to protect either identity or a lawsuit if permission wasn't granted by the friend. "This man," the anchor reports, "was murdered by a gun shot wound to the head. A family member of the deceased allegedly opened fire on the victim earlier this afternoon."
Switch. The face isn't that of a thirty-something male; now it's a ten year old boy.
When the victim of a murder or any other type of crime is not associated with us personally, we tend to blow it off. Too bad, so sad. I feel sorry for the family. That sort of thing; but then we move on. Some even look at reports of crimes, especially violent ones, as entertaining. But when it's a child as a victim everyone is up in arms. How could someone do something like this? If the offender is an adult, it's worse. Society calls for crucifixion. If the offender is another child, its deeply sad, and again, adults are blamed.
Children are symbolic of innocence. Pure. Whole. White as snow. They have no real means to protect themselves against victimization so it is up to the older members of society to keep the children safe. When the trust that is innately given to adults by children is violated, other, more responsible or stable adults see it as an abomination.
All the racial differences, cultural separations, religious beliefs...all are unified when a child is victimized. Universally, it is an act which is wrong.
But then, there are those who victimize. There are those who victimize as a profession. Human trafficking is still very much a problem around the world and children are often targeted. Documentaries such as Anonymously Yours looks at young female children who were sold into sex work by their parents or friends.
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Let's bring it closer to home, though.
As Victimsofcrime.org will tell you, crimes against children include abuse, abandonment, and abduction. These categories are not limited, however; Abuse includes physical, sexual, and psychological; Abandonment includes neglect; And abduction includes being taken by strangers or relatives.
Maine, who has taken a strong stance against child victimization has set laws in place to protect the young and up-in-coming generation. Certain adults (typically those who deal with children regularly like teachers, school administration, or day care specialists) are required to report even reasonable suspicions of abuse, neglect, or child death immediately by telephone. After the Penn State scandal involving the exploitation of children, many states adopted a law like this if it wasn't already in place. Here is a link to more information on the mandatory reporting laws. On child pornography, Maine enacted the cyber-crime based Project Safe Childhood in 2006. In 2011, PSC was expanded to include child prostitution and human trafficking. The goals of PSC include harsher punishments for the offenders of these crimes and increased efforts to assist the victims, increased ability in law enforcement to investigate through training, and continuing education of the public, particularly children, on how to navigate the internet safely.
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So what do we do? How do we fix this problem? How do we make this world just a little bit better by protecting those who can't protect themselves?
Well, the simple answer is we report. Report, report, report. And educated. EDUCATE! Education seems to fix everything, doesn't it? Let's educate the kids on safety measures; we don't want to scare them, just make sure they're smart and know not to get in a car with a stranger offering candy - that sort of thing. And let's make sure we report the adults who target the innocent. Report even if it's not kids being victimized. If we all do our part, and make sure we're not purposefully turning a blind eye to bad things, we stand a chance of a least protecting those around us.
