Despite cases decreasing nationally in recent years, reports of child abuse in Dallas County are on the rise.
Officials with Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center read through more than 28,000 reports of child abuse in 2019.
Last year, the agency saw more than 30,000 reports.
The troubling numbers in the county and state are some of the topics of discussion at Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center’s annual Crimes Against Children Conference, which has brought together more than 5,000 people working directly with child abuse victims.
The five-day conference, which began Sunday in Dallas, offers workshops and training to people in government or nonprofit agencies, including law enforcement, child protective services, social work, children’s advocacy, therapy and medicine.
Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center CEO Irish Burch said the conference is primarily focused on investigations of child abuse cases. She said a report of abuse is made every 20 minutes in Dallas County.
“Last year at Dallas Children's Advocacy Center, we had over 13,000 children and caregivers to come through our organization to receive our services,” Burch said. "So, this is not a simple fight.”
Former prosecutor Kevin Mulcahy said he uses his own story as a child sexual abuse survivor at his workshop to help individuals working with abuse victims understand children’s experiences.
“We work in a difficult field,” Mulcahy said. “They don't often get to ask questions of our kiddos how they're feeling or what led them to make a disclosure or not make a disclosure for a while. And so, I give the audience the opportunity to ask me those questions in case I can be helpful.”
Burch said with professionals from more than 20 different countries attending the conference, it's important to make everyone aware of the signs of child abuse.
“One in 10 children will be abused by the time they turn 18,” Burch said. “A lot of times these are people that the children know, and they trust, and they love. And so those are things that the community should be aware of and understand the importance of the role that they play in protecting children.”
Penelope Rivera is KERA’s news intern. Got a tip? Email Penelope at privera@kera.org.
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