Welcome to our blog.
Our blog informs and educates with a mix of news, campaign information, and information on Adverse Childhood Experiences, their impact, their prevention, and how to heal from them. Please help us promote our posts by sharing them. If you’d like to write for the Stop Abuse Campaign, or you’d like to publish to our blog please contact us at [email protected]
Ten facts prove America allows abuse
For those who don’t pay close attention to news about domestic violence and sexual assault it might sound crazy to suggest that America allows abuse; but we have for a long time. The shocking news about three straight years with reduced life expectancy rates places...
Will the #MeToo movement increase America’s life expectancy?
“Americans are dying younger, as drug overdoses and suicide kill an increasing number of people, according to a grim new set of government statistics” The GuardianLife expectancy declined in 2017, falling to 78.6 years, according to the new report from the Centers for...
To the folks who say sending my kids to CPS is child abuse … I have thoughts
Author Heidi Steven Every time I write about Chicago Public Schools, I spend the next few days fielding emails telling me I should move. On Thursday, I wrote a column asking CPS for more transparency about the sexual violence uncovered in a series of stories by my...
How insurance companies can cut costs by stopping domestic violence
Preventing domestic abuse instead of denying patient services will save health insurers hundreds of millions of dollars. Health insurance companies waste hundreds of billions of dollars for care that could easily be avoided. Recently CBS reports health insurers...
Former St. Charles High School teacher sentenced to probation for child porn possession
A former St. Charles High School teacher has been sentenced to 30 months of probation after pleading guilty to a child pornography possession charge, officials said.Gregory Burgener, 65, an Elmhurst resident who taught high school, was sentenced Nov. 16 by DuPage...
Sex offender fired from Hancock observatory after Tribune story sought job at charity for sick children, feds say
Jason Meisner Contact Reporter Chicago Tribune Convicted sex offender Christopher Colon was working as a tour manager at the former John Hancock Center’s observatory four months ago when the Chicago Tribune revealed he was under federal investigation for disturbing...
Redskins Adrian Peterson still uses a belt and switch to punish his son
Author Des Bieler: Chicago Tribune Adrian Peterson said he still occasionally uses a switch, as well as a belt, to discipline his son, in comments published Wednesday by Bleacher Report. The Redskins running back was made inactive for almost the entire 2014 season,...
Man who locked daughter in basement unfit for trial
A suburban Chicago man who, which his wife, is accused of confining their 10-year-old daughter to their basement has been found unfit for trial. Lake County Assistant State's Attorney George Pappas says 48-year-old Randy Swopes will be held in a secure treatment...
In German Catholic Churches, Child Sex Abuse Victims Top 3,600, Study Finds
By Katrin Bennhold and Melissa Eddy BERLIN — More than 3,600 children, most age 13 or younger, were sexually abused by Catholic clergy members over the past seven decades, a wide-ranging report has found. The study, which was commissioned by the Roman Catholic Church...
Suicide after fatal child custody decision
Faith Was Misplaced: Now Faith is Lost Another fatal child custody decision leads to another child suicide. Custody courts are in crisis. Children are paying the price. This child was 13 years old. Her name was Faith. Another child who could have been protected if the...
Waukegan woman accused of confining ‘demon’ daughter to basement seeks visitation of children
Author Jim Newton The mother of a 10-year-old Waukegan girl, who was allegedly confined for months in the basement of her home, is seeking visitation rights with her children while she is out on bond on child endangerment charges. Katherine Swopes, 49, has filed a...
Mom drove with son on car hood over dentist dispute
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press A Pennsylvania mom faces criminal charges for allegedly driving with her son on the hood of her car after the boy refused to go to the dentist. Police in Bethlehem Township say the incident began last Wednesday when the 12-year-old...
Sisters charged with child endangerment after fight
Two sisters have turned themselves in to Aurora police on child endangerment charges after allegedly getting into a physical fight while one of the women was carrying an infant. Rosemary Hill, 33, 400 block of North River Street, Montgomery, and Helen Ramos, 49, 500...
Prosecutor: Plea deal likely in Park City child endangerment case
Author Jim Newton A Park City man charged with endangering the life of a child related to the death of his 11-year-old son may soon have his case resolved through a negotiated plea deal, a prosecutor said Wednesday in Lake County Circuit Court. Assistant State's...
Felony Child Endangerment
Author FreeAdvice staff Felony child endangerment is a child endangerment charge enhanced by aggravating circumstances. Child endangerment occurs when a person engages in conduct that places a child in immininet danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental...
Waukegan father of ‘possessed’ daughter found unfit for child endangerment trial
Author Jim Newton A man charged along with his wife for allegedly confining their 10-year-old daughter to a Waukegan basement because they believed she was demonically possessed has been found unfit for trial. Randy Swopes, 48, will be transferred to a secure...
DCFS steps up monitoring, discharges at psychiatric hospital after ACLU threatens court battle
Author: Christy Gutowsk Facing legal pressure, the state’s beleaguered child welfare agency said Friday that it will station staff around the clock inside an Uptown psychiatric hospital to monitor young patients until they can be safely removed in the wake of rising...
Dixon ice cream vendor is accused of secretly taping Naperville teen for child porn videos
AUTHOR Clifford WardChicago Tribune A Dixon, Ill., man surreptitiously took videos of a Naperville teenage girl he knew and then spliced the images into child pornography videos, DuPage County prosecutors said at a bond hearing Friday. After reviewing some of the...
Ask Lisa Ling to protect children in custody court cases
Ask Lisa Ling to set the record straight. Her dangerous show on Parental Alienation puts children's very health and safety at risk. You can read the email we sent to ask Lisa Ling to look at all the available research from the Department of Justice and the CDC, listen...
Lisa Ling Your one-sided show on child custody put children at risk
Dear Ms. Lisa Ling: Your program on CNN Nov 12, 2018 on Father’s Rights sent shivers down the spines of thousands of good, loving mothers. It was a travesty for mothers who have witnessed devastation, destruction and trauma to their children. This CNN production set...
Northwest Indiana infant died from child abuse: Autopsy
Author: Elyssa Cherney A 2-month-old boy from Northwest Indiana died this weekend from multiple injuries suffered in child abuse, the Cook County medical examiner's office determined Tuesday. The infant, identified as Ayden Zylstra from Wheatfield, Ind., was...
What is child abuse and neglect?
Author Child Welfare Information Gateway. Child abuse is more than bruises and broken bones. While physical abuse might be the most visible, other types of abuse, such as emotional abuse and neglect, also leave deep, lasting scars on kids. The earlier abused children...
Should Childhood Trauma Be Treated As A Public Health Crisis?
Researchers followed a group of kids from childhood into adulthood to track the link between trauma in early life and adult mental health. When public health officials get wind of an outbreak of Hepatitis A or influenza, they spring into action with public awareness...
Alaska Psychologist Sentenced in Child Porn Case
By The Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Federal prosecutors say a 51-year-old Anchorage child psychologist has been sentenced to four years in federal prison in a child pornography case. Prosecutors say Russell Cherry also was sentenced Friday to 15 years of...
Australian Prime Minister to Apologize to Child Sexual Abuse Survivors
By Adam Baidawi MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia’s prime minister said on Wednesday that he will issue a formal apology to thousands of survivors of child sexual abuse that went on for decades at schools, religious organizations and other institutions. The government...
Can people be saved from a terrible childhood experiences?
US researchers have found early intervention can help prevent negative experiences in infancy turning into long-term health risksby Lauren Zanolli in New Orleans. The Guardian. When Sabrina Bugget-Kellum walked into a neighbourhood clinic in New York for a routine...
Pediatricians strengthen stance against spanking kids
(CNN)The American Academy of Pediatrics has hardened its stance against spanking children as a form of parental discipline.In a new policy statement, published in the journal Pediatrics on Monday, the pediatricians' group recommends that adults caring for children use...
Child Abuse and Neglect How to Spot the Signs and Make a Difference
Child abuse is more than bruises and broken bones. While physical abuse might be the most visible, other types of abuse, such as emotional abuse and neglect, also leave deep, lasting scars on kids. The earlier abused children get help, the greater chance they have to...
Metal band Manowar drops guitarist amid child porn charges
Author: Associated Press The lead guitarist for heavy metal band Manowar has been charged with possessing child pornography in North Carolina. According to Mecklenburg County jail records, 53-year-old Karl Logan was arrested Aug. 9 on six counts of third-degree sexual...
New Mexico judge orders 5 adults held without bail on child abuse charges
Authors: Ben Neary and Abigail Hauslohner Washington Post A district judge in New Mexico on Monday ordered two men and three women held without bail pending trial for child abuse charges after sheriff's deputies raided their remote desert compound earlier this month....