No more

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Making Our Community Safe for Our Children

 

We’re not keeping quiet anymore.

 

“Don’t tell anyone.”

“This is our special secret.”

“If you tell, you’ll get punished.”

 

Sexual abuse thrives on secrecy; a predator’s power comes from his confidence that children won’t talk and that adults won’t listen. 

A child who’s being sexually abused is frightened, confused and ashamed.  He or she may not know how to put into words what’s happening. Even if they do, they’re terrified to reveal the secret.  What if my parent or teacher doesn’t believe me?  Worse, what if they tell me it’s my fault?

All too often, their fear is proven true.

Sexual abuse is not a new problem in our community. But it’s a problem that, for far too long, has been ignored and belittled. 

We don’t want to believe such things can happen in our community.  But unfortunately, they do.

The recent high-profile case brought into the open what those of us in the field have known for years. In our city alone, we at Maaneh have treated hundreds of cases where the child cried out for help, but the responsible adults in his environment didn’t believe him, because they didn’t have the tools to understand.

And so the child was forced to continue suffering, day after day, year after year. Alone.

 

But now, the tide is changing.  As more cases become publicized, parents are becoming more aware of the problem, and more determined to do something to stop it. We as a community are ready to stand up and say, “We won’t tolerate abuse any longer! We want to protect our children!”

Now it’s time to learn how.

 

 

 

The Solution

 

Over the past three years, Maaneh staff has developed a comprehensive program to make Beit Shemesh a safe city for children by drastically reducing the risk of sexual abuse.

The 4-part program, which incorporates the latest research and professional knowledge as well as years of clinical experience, has already proven successful in small group trials.

Endorsed by rabbanim and heads of educational institutes from across the spectrum, the program is culturally appropriate for all of the different communities in our city. 

 

1. Educational Events for Parents

- Events to be run in every community

- Parents will receive tools to identify, respond to and prevent abuse

- By raising awareness, we remove the cloak of secrecy that breeds abuse

 

 

2. Teacher Training

- 2-part in-school workshop for cheder rebbes

- Train them how to identify and respond to incidents of sexual abuse

 

3. Awareness Program for Preschoolers

- Special puppet-based program

- Age-appropriate awareness training

- Developed and tested over three years

- Endorsed by a special committee of preschool educational supervisors and rabbinically approved

 

4. Maaneh Hotline

- 24-hour first-response hotline for any question or concern

- Staffed by trained volunteers

- Under supervision of Misrad HaRevacha

- Hebrew and English

 

Click here to donate to launch these programs

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With many thanks for your consideration



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