Opinion:Abuse of children must be stopped

Unofficially, Clarendon and Donley County may have more crosses and proverb signs, per capita, than any other town and county in the land. Who knows, we may have more than anyone in history, excepting the Romans – when they were feeling aggrieved or wanted to remind the locals to follow the straight and narrow of Pax Romania.

Officially, Clarendon and Donley County ranked third in Texas, in the per capita number of child abuse and neglect cases in 2012, an improvement from second place in 2011. Obviously, something is lost in translation. How can we appear to be so righteous in our public displays of religious devotion, yet abuse our children so?

I won’t bore you with too many stats, but last year Clarendon (Donley County) had 21 confirmed cases of child abuse and/or neglect. This is a situation that convicts us all. We all have a stake in protecting the children of our community. It matters not if they are abused by a family member, neighbor, or a complete stranger; children cannot defend themselves from abuse, so they rely on us to do it for them. So far, folks, we aren’t doing too well.

Last Saturday, 203 people walked or ran in the first annual Chance Mark Jones Memorial 5K, and another 25 or so volunteered to help out in its production. It was great to see that so many people care enough about this crucial issue to pay the $20 registration fee, and then took the time to participate in this event. The money, by-the-way, will fund new playground equipment for the kids. Even Mother Nature got involved, by giving us a sunny, cool day with gently caressing breezes.

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. While in Dallas over this past Easter, I saw a grassy field with dozens of beautiful blue and silver pinwheels twirling in the warm Texas sun. I thought they were beautiful, until I was told that each pinwheel represented a child who had been abused. While still lovely to see, watching those pinwheels furiously twirling in the breeze now haunts me. How can we be so vile and evil to our children?

When children are sexually abused, 99 percent of the perpetrators are actually known by the children: 9 percent by their fathers, 11 percent by their mothers’ paramours or step fathers, 17 percent by their relatives, and 8 percent by their step parents. Imagine that, almost of them are abused by friends or family, even 5 percent their mothers!

When our children are abused, 50 percent are ages 6-12, 30 percent are ages 0-5, and 20 percent are ages 13-17. White children account for 54 percent of the sexually abused, Hispanic children account for another 13 percent of the victims, and black children make up 6 percent. Of sexually abused children, 66 percent are girls and 34 percent are boys.

Child abuse comes in many forms. For instance, 74 percent of the children are sexually abused, 14 percent are physically abused, 6 percent are victimized by drug users, 4 percent are victims of domestic violence, and 2 percent fall into the category of “other.”

It is imperative that we find better ways to protect our children from predators. One of my favorite heroes, Albert Einstein, once said, “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” Too many of us are remaining silent about things we need to speak up about. We must not do nothing and remain silent about things that matter. There is nothing more precious than our children, and we must become more diligent about noticing child abuse.

In fact, Texas law requires that we report child abuse. Texas Family Code (261.101) states that a person having cause to believe that a child’s physical or mental health or welfare has been, or may be adversely affected by abuse or neglect must report it immediately. Failure to report it is punishable by imprisonment for up to 180 days and/or a fine up to $2,000. Granted, I still do not understand how Chance Jones’ grandmother, Gayle Edes, got off with a mild sentence of just 90 days. Imagine that?

More importantly, we have a moral responsibility to stop the abuse of children whenever we see it, or even suspect it. We have a great sheriff, with excellent deputies, who do a good job of protecting us and keeping us safe. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that if they are made aware of child abuse in any form, they will respond accordingly. However, they need for us to let them know if we even suspect instances of child abuse.

We, as citizens of Donley County, need to stand up against child abuse and neglect. We don’t need to report child abuse just because the law mandates it. We need to report it because we stand up against what is evil, even if that evil is caused by someone we know. Yet, reporting on someone we know takes courage, regardless of the consequences to ourselves.

This includes reporting pregnant teens as victims of child abuse (Texas Family Code Sec.261.001 & 261.101). Even though Texas law mandates that we report pregnant teens, most school personnel refuse to do, or claim that they didn’t know that it is mandated by law. This included medical personnel, including doctors and nurses. Yet, in most instances, people remain quiet about this.

As individuals and as a community, we must do better. The definition of courage is the ability to confront fear, pain, uncertainty, or intimidation. Courage is acting in spite of fear. We must act to protect our children.