Opinion | How schools should work to prevent sexual abuse

There is an unnecessary pattern that keeps playing out in school districts across the state.

I got to experience it — again — recently after a substitute teacher in Oakland County was accused of sexual misconduct. It could have happened anywhere, because sexual abuse happens quite literally everywhere. One in 10 children will experience sexual abuse before the age of 18, according to the national nonprofit organization Darkness To Light.

In this case, I educated families in the community on the basics because they did not know what is supposed to happen under the law. There is a process for sexual abuse investigations and ways to mitigate its effects, especially prevention training.

Survivors of child abuse are not mere statistics — they are our students, our neighbors and our children’s friends. The trauma they endure affects their physical health, emotional well-being, and academic performance. Without intervention, these effects can persist into adulthood, leading to mental health issues, chronic illnesses, and troubled relationships.

Across the state, nonprofit, independent child advocacy centers (CACs) work with law enforcement and Child Protective Services to address allegations of child sexual abuse, severe physical abuse, and neglect. 

Our services are highly specialized. Abused and neglected children are interviewed by child forensic interviewers, who are experts in the field and who conduct the interviews to aid law enforcement and prosecutors in their investigation. The setting is child-friendly and centered around providing a safe space for them. Additionally, we provide therapy for the children and their family members, at no cost to them.

But much of the work we do is reactive, which is why it is past time for more school districts to partner with their local CAC on prevention services, to reduce the number of children who are abused, and to teach them how to speak up when approached by perpetrators. It is essential to understand that abusers do not just prey on children — they manipulate adults and the institutions they lead to gain access to children. School personnel are mandated reporters. That means, by law, they must report any suspected signs of child abuse. But how? To whom? Too many school employees do not know the answers to those questions, even though they could have access to experts in their local CACs to assist them.

This is why mandated reporter training for school district staff is critical. Teachers, administrators, and support staff are often the first line of defense. They observe behavioral changes, notice unexplained injuries, and hear the subtle cries for help that children may not verbalize. However, without proper training, even the most observant and caring staff might miss these vital signs or feel uncertain about how to respond.

If background checks and intuition were enough to protect children from abuse, I would not have been in that recent meeting and so many others like it.

Unfortunately, too many districts are using books like 2011’s “Good Touch Bad Touch” instead of expending relatively small resources on training. Books like that are outdated and not recommended, similar to the concept of “stranger danger.” Ninety percent of children are abused by someone they know and trust, not by strangers.

The more up-to-date resources available at local CACs do not contain the shaming language used in the more than decade-old books some schools use. No abused child should be made to feel shame. For example, a hug can be a good touch or a bad touch — everyone does not have the right to hug or pat you.

In every Michigan community, there are experts in responding to families experiencing trauma, treating children who have been abused, and helping schools implement child safety practices. They work for your local CAC, the people to call when children in your school are abused and exploited by a beloved staff member. It is time to understand, we have the specialized knowledge and resources to help you mitigate the fallout and also prepare for the future to help ensure such incidents will not happen.

When a community sees that schools are training staff, educating children, and engaging in prevention practices, it sends a clear message to potential abusers: This is not a community where abuse will thrive.