Community groups come together to prevent child sex abuse

Posted at: 10/26/2012 11:58 AM | Updated at: 10/26/2012 1:22 PM

Community groups are coming together to work toward preventing child sex abuse. On Friday, the Bivona Child Advocacy Center and YMCA of Greater Rochester announced a collaboration with other nonprofit and government organizations.

The "Darkness to Light" collaborative aims to teach adults to recognize the signs of abuse and take steps to protect children. Mary Whittier from Bivona says many people don't think sexual abuse can happen to them or to someone they know.

Mary Whittier, Bivona Child Advocacy Center, said, “If you think one in four girls and one in six boys by the time they turn 18, if you're a female, you're twice as likely to be sexually abused as you are to have breast cancer. So we really want the masses, the community to get this.”

Bivona and the Y will train adults to become "stewards of children". Other organizations in the collaborative also agreed to train their staff.

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