The Lincoln Family Downtown YMCA hosted a “Day of Action” event on Tuesday morning dedicated to preventing and responding to child sexual abuse.
The event educated representatives and leaders from organizations involved with youth on the importance of proper recognition, response and reporting of the warning signs of child sexual abuse.
The event had three categories, including a training of more than 150 professionals on warning signs of child sexual abuse, a community action meeting featuring community leaders and government officials, and a press conference about child sexual abuse and future solutions.
Chief Operating Officer for the YMCA of the USA Paul McEntire said he was part of a similar YMCA event in Houston that rapidly spread awareness throughout the community.
“Most of us have some discomfort in even talking about it, so we need to get people more comfortable in saying this is a real issue, and it’s hurting so many of our children,” McEntire said. “I have two grown daughters now and three grandchildren, so I’m aware on a personal level that every child is at risk and we may not think they are.”
Jackie Gizzi, executive director of leadership development and risk management at the Valley of the Sun YMCA, organized this event to bring awareness to the community.
“We felt having a community forum where we did training for different leaders in the community, as well as putting on a press conference, together would be able to help us spread that awareness,” Gizzi said. “We care about children. We want to make sure they live happy and fulfilled lives. I was inspired because I care about kids.”
She said that she doesn’t believe people are aware of how large of an issue child sexual abuse is.
“A lot of times people are not recognizing red flag behaviors or how to report them, so we are arming them with tools to be able to do that,” Gizzi said.
Valley of the Sun YMCA CEO Bryan Madden shared the organization’s plan for educating an additional 10,000 people in the community on child sexual abuse in addition to the 150 trained at the event.
“If we can train and teach 5 percent of our community how to know, see and respond to these instances, we can move the needle. If 5 percent of our community is willing to stand up and say that they know what to do, know what to look for, see it and know how to report it, then we can make a difference,” Madden said.
He said the topic of child sexual abuse often goes unnoticed or not discussed.
“I don’t really want to talk about it to be honest with you, and that’s just the reality of it, but we did not take on this responsibility to take the easy path,” he said.
The YMCA will begin displaying awareness signs and focusing on the three words “know,” “see” and “respond.”
“Child sexual abuse and how we prevent it, it’s a tough topic. The conversation is a tough conversation,” he said. “We are going to put this front and center. Know, see and respond. It’s a big deal. It’s hard to talk about, but if you put it out there and say this is what we need you to do, people will respond to it and start talking about it.”
Madden said he believes all adults have an obligation to protect children from sexual abuse.
“This is no single person’s fight, this is all of our fight,” he said. “We have to be the adults. It’s our time to step up and protect these children.”
Contact the reporter at krdyer@asu.edu.
