Wed 31 Mar 2010
Assist Children to Prevent Abuse
Posted by Joel under Uncategorized
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Survival skill training can be one way to help your child avoid becoming a victim. The ability to find food and shelter until rescued will shield a child from many dangers. More importantly, providing children with a secure family unit where they are loved and cared for certainly increases their chances of avoiding society's predators.
Criminals know that runaways are easy prey; that's why they target them. The Vision is a book written by Debi Pearl that touches on the reality of the victimization of runaways in this country.
Even conservative homes are experiencing the disintegration of the family unit. The result is an increasing number of child and teen runaways. Statistics from the US Department of Justice show that more than 2.5 million children leave home annually. A large number of runaways are lured into illegal solicitation. A majority of these children are indentured into service by abusers. Many of these go unnoticed because their disappearance is never reported to authorities by their malfunctioning family.
In October of 2008, more than a dozen child prostitution rings were stopped by federal agents. Children involved ranged in age from thirteen to seventeen. Metropolitan areas were not the only places these businesses thrived. Several of these rings were located in rural and suburban neighborhoods.
Predators understand their victims. They know that these children seek safety and security. They lure their victims with promises of all that was missing at home: money to survive, caretaking, a loving environment, food, shelter, clothing. Force and the threat of more violence will be used by a predator to assure the children are controlled.
The response of local law enforcement is often to give a criminal record to these children. While the age of consent in many states is 17, there is no limit to the age at which a child can be charged with the crime of prostitution. While the law states that an underage child cannot consentually agree to intercourse, those same laws can be used to level criminal charges against a child engaged in that activity.
These children often have no one that is willing to take them in, or no family to whom they are willing to return. Safe houses that provide crisis intervention, counseling, and medical care are rare. Although released from jail or juvenile services, these children often have no other option but to return to the same bondage they escaped.
The story of a young runaway that seems to have gone beyond all hope and help is told in The Vision. Read about several individuals and what happens when they encounter her. While an angry, suspicious soul stands at the crossroads, faith, longsuffering and patience are all tried. It is just one element of The Vision which weaves current events throughout a page turning tale.
For more helpful tips like this, visit No Greater Joy – a ministry dedicated to sharing the principles of wholesome child training and joyful family relationships.
