Expert outlines how child abuse can be gone in three generations

Expert outlines how child abuse can be gone in three generations
by Josh Weinhold 10.01.2011
ELKHART — Victor Vieth knows the task is daunting. But that doesn’t mean he believes it’s something to shy away from.

Though it will take decades of tremendous effort, the child protection expert believes America can end child abuse in the next three generations.

“History is full of examples of small groups of people that came together to do things that were at least as difficult as ending child abuse,” he said....

He outlined a number of ways to improve the reporting, investigating and follow-up of child abuse cases. The country’s child protection system lacks the proper tools to train people in mandatory reporting professions, he said. More thorough education of individuals in those fields, he said, is key to improving the identification and treatment of victims....

Another major problem, Vieth said, is a lack of awareness in political circles about how rampant child abuse continues to be. He cited a study that found the number of child abuse victims is 10 times higher than the number of people diagnosed with cancer, yet far more federal funding is directed toward fighting that disease.

The more attention that is brought to that fact, he said, the more resources communities will have to combat the child abuse epidemic.

http://etruth.com/article/20111001/NEWS01/710019955