and in some parishes, for everyone who works or volunteers in any capacity - from the organist to the gardener.
Mr. Curley has some pretty telling comments about "Protecting God's Children"????
I had to sit through this program last year. This, despite the fact that as a health care provider I have had to attend regular workshops on both preventing and detecting abuse (and not just child sexual abuse, for that matter). My dear husband almost had to use duct tape on my mouth during the PGC session. I was offended and aghast.
New Hampshire is one of the few states where everyone, not just professionals of various sorts, is a mandated reporter of suspected abuse. The health center where I work (unlike many PP clinics who have been sampled in 'sting' operations) duly reports suspected statutory rape, as well as other forms of child abuse, elder abuse, spousal abuse, etc. My cynical side wants to shout "Not that much is usually done with the information we report" - which I know is not true. But there are budget limitations and NH is a pretty libertarian state. You can see it on the license plate motto - "Live free or die".
My opinion is that a pregnant 14 year old is ipso facto some one who has been sexually abused - no matter if the perp is her 15 y'o boyfriend.
Anyhow, classes like PGC aren't really the answer to the problem. We need a moral revolution to counter the sexual revolution. We need for all of us who have survived to be silent no more.
Not quite duct tape. I remember that she was upsetting the nun presenting the program. Too many questions, too many observations. The video includes words and phrases that are specific to the "abuse field" without any explanation. "Grooming" comes to mind although a definition could be pulled from context.
I received a more detailed instruction as a non-teaching employee at a California Community College nearly 20 years ago. A mandated class. But it, at least, made no effort to show me how to do it!
And that is my biggest objection to the PGC class.
I'm all for a moral revolution, it needs to start in our homes. Parental education to run parallel with childhood education!
God Bless.
We need for all of us who have survived to be silent no more.
Isn't that the truth! What a revolution that would be! It's actually something I've been thinking about too...