Show Some Heart This Valentine’s Day (February 14). Help children who have experienced the opposite of love: child abuse.

The Abused Child Trust is an independent charitable organisation that helps families keep children safe through therapy, education, research and advocacy.

Tatts and Tiaras Day is the Abused Child Trust’s biggest annual campaign – raising vital funds to help abused and neglected children in your community. You can help by registering as a supporter to help sell their special merchandise in your workplace, school or retail outlet. It’s easy and it’s fun!

The Tatts and Tiaras merchandise kit includes specially-designed tattoos, tiaras, pens, pins and bracelets – they’ll send you a kit when you register. And, you don’t have to wait til Valentine’s Day - you can start selling your merchandise as soon as it’s received.

Tatts and Tiaras Day is a day to celebrate. Celebrate your appreciation of keeping kids safe by planning a special event at work, school or with friends. Have a tough love day and proudly wear your tatts to show how tough you are about ending child abuse. Encourage everyone to dress up in their best frocks, tiaras, suits and tattoos – and charge them a nominal fee to attend. The fund raising all goes back to the Abused Child Trust to help families and children in your local area. What a great way to help 2007 children in 2007.

For more information and to get involved visit the site of Tatts and Tiaras.

Child Sexual Assault must cease. It is a shame to our modern, evolved world that some people use sex as a weapon of power against our children. It is a greater shame that many of us do not know what or when we can do something helpful to fight against the social curse of child sexual abuse.

During 2007, I urge you to assist at least 2007 people affected by child abuse. With prevalence figures like one in three, it is not difficult to help 2007 people in 2007. You do not need to know these people and you will get no return other than knowing that you have helped to improve the life of people affected by a hideous crime. This is a fantastic return, far greater than real estate or stock exchange can ever produce.

Don’t wait until a person tells you they are a survivor of child sexual abuse. The majority of people never tell their secret. When to support ending Child Sexual Abuse is now: today, before you even know anybody affected. The more we support the cause and the more we talk about it, the easier it will be for men, women and children to disclose. Disclosure leads to sexual predators thinking twice about abusing our kids.

Every month this year, undertake to do a simple action that will have multiple impact on ending Child Sexual Abuse. Here are 12 ideas to get you started.

1. Donate used clothing, toys, books, trinkets, or household items to charities that assist families made homeless through sexual assault or family violence.

2. Save your small coins in a single container and donate to a child-focused charity at the end of 2007. On January 1, we began putting all of our five cent coins in a vase and will donate to the Abused Child Trust. The vase sits near our front door and I’ll be encouraging visitors to also make a small coin donation.

3. Teach your children Protective Behaviours and have open conversations in your home about the importance of telling someone if anyone touches or scares your child.

4. Set up a small monthly donation to a child-focused charity. Five dollars per month may not be missed from your budget but $5.00 x 12 = $60.00.

5. Support a business that supports Child Sexual Abuse.

6. Save Motel soaps and shampoos and donate to a rape crisis centre.

7. Contact a Rape Crisis Centre and ask what they need for people who have just been raped. Following the medical examination, many people who have been raped lose their clothing to evidence. Underwear, shirts and shoes take a large chunk of a helping service’s budget.

8. Buy and read a book (fiction or non-fiction) about child sexual abuse. Stepping into a survivors shoes helps to firm your commitment to ending sexual abuse.

9. Talk with a person who has been sexually abused. Find out about their life. Ask what you could do to improve their situation. Find a way to help them.

10. Ask clubs you are involved in to hold a fund raiser for the prevention of child sexual abuse.

11. Link to sites or blogs about child sexual abuse. The more people who publicly say they support ending child sexual abuse, the faster the sexual predators will get the message that their behaviour is wrong.

12. Leave 12 comments on blogs about sexual abuse. When survivors see no comments, they wrongly think that nobody cares about sexual abuse. Show survivors that you do care and that you are willing to help them have a voice. Start here. Leave a comment. Many of my survivor clients read this blog.

When to Support Ending Child Sexual Assault? Start today.

Other Topical Whensday articles:

Topical Whensday: When Will YOU Tee On to Cause an Effect?

Topical Whensday: When will YOU wear a Colored Tee to Recognize Violence Against Women and Children.

Topical Whensday: When will children be visible?

Topical Whensday: When will you help a child with HIV/AIDS?

Topical Whensday: When Will Your Yes Mean Yes and Your No Mean No.

Imaginif…you knew what to do if your child disclosed sexual abuse.

Child sexual assault is against the law. Don’t keep it to yourself. First, believe your child and then TELL someone in a position to help you. Telling about child sexual abuse helps to end the prevalence figure of one in three. Child sexual abuse WILL CONTINUE if we don’t all take responsibility and tell someone when it has occurred. Tell the school principal, your local doctor, the police, a friend, the local Welfare agency. TELL SOMEONE who will help you.

It is not your responsibility to investigate and prove any disclosures of sexual abuse. Leave this to the Police or to the welfare agency in your state tasked with the responsibility of investigation. It is your responsibility to protect, believe and support your child.

Never approach the alleged perpetrator of the child sexual abuse. Focus on your child. Protect them. Minimize contact between them and the alleged abuser.

Talk, talk, talk to your child. Bust the secret right open. Apologise to your child for not having known that it happened and regain your child’s trust and confidence. Reassure your child that you will do something to stop it from ever happening again.

Allow your child to sleep in your bedroom if they feel scared or insecure. Your child needs to know that you are indeed a safe person and that you can, and will protect them.

After the police or the local welfare agency has interviewed your child, take your child to a child sexual abuse therapist. Talking about the sexual abuse helps to clear the child’s mind and allows them another avenue of being heard and believed.

Surround your family with supportive people. People who doubt or blame you are not helpful to your child’s recovery. This is a great time to increase your family’s support network and to train all of your children in protective behaviours.

Imaginif…we wiped out sexual abuse by telling someone when it happens. Sexual predators demand secrecy. Take away the secrecy and we make the predators think twice about sexually abusing another child.

Recommended subscription to a FREE newsletter on child safety: Kidproof.

Related blog from families.com: The Grooming Process of a Child Sexual Predator.

STOP Child Abuse by doing just one small thing to improve the life of 2007 children. Yes, 2007 children are waiting for YOU to create them a Happy New Year.

Last year I supported NAPCAN by ensuring that I consistently linked to them, advertised for them and shared their resources.

This year I choose to support the Abused Child Trust. By picking a single non-profit organization that tirelessly works to support children I am doing one little additional thing to improve the life of maximum numbers of children.

We all lead busy lives and forget that others have lives less fortunate than ours. By supporting a charity against child sexual abuse, I spend little time to achieve maximum support. I often don’t have sufficient funds to donate but I do have commitment, passion and drive to ensure that the plight of children at risk remains high on the public agenda.



I ask you to join me in 2007 to ensure that your help protects at least 2007 children.

Begin your new year by:

Subscribing to the daily email reminder of the Child Health Site. By simply clicking on their link daily, the partners donate 100% of collected revenue to pay for the vital health services of children in developing countries. Let’s help them reach 2007 children per day.

Buy clothes or household goods from the Child Health Site store.

Donating $20.07 to a child focused charity of your choice. My commitment is the Abused Child Trust.

Creating a voice that says that you, or your business, will not tolerate Child Abuse. Leaving comments on blogs is a simple and FREE way to achieve this. Comments provide comfort to survivors who measure the infiltration of child abuse discourse by reading who and why people are talking about it. I aim to leave 2007 supportive comments on other child abuse focused blogs.

Adopt an at risk family who has a child born in 2007. Donations of used clothing, little presents like packets of pencils for school, a cake, a smile, a card can make the difference between children growing up thinking that nobody cares about them.

Help 2007 young families: allow them to go ahead of you at the cashier, offer to reach something that a parent holding a baby can’t reach, or even smile supportively. This is FREE and takes no time at all.

Happy New Year. Let’s make sure it stays that way for the children of the world.

We’re heading to Townsville to stay with friends for a few days. We won’t be back until New Years Eve.

Please, stay safe, be sensible and I’ll see you all when we get back.

Related article about our recent trip to Townsville: