Attention Please!!
Re: CSA Survivors
The history of Family Offenders, Grievous Permanent Injury & Sex Crimes Against Children, Understanding Family & Trauma Dynamics
Public Plea for our Media Journalists & Advocacy Organizations;
You hold the answer to everything!!!
In your journalistic program you share knowledge with the world, not just in our local area. It is your team that puts information out there, and lately we are hearing more about the predators of Crimes Against Children. You inform the neighborhoods of new predators to watch out for, those arrested or help our legal system find the possible victims of these predators. You also keep society on it’s toes about the growing gang violence, street crime, home invasions, drug overdoses, domestic shootings and homicides, as well as details concerning the very alarming rates of Mental Health & Chronic Pain Management on our already broken healthcare system..
Some huge Illinois changes. The Criminal Committee passed, with full support; HB 1127, 1128, 1129 each covering the Statute of Limitations for Sex Crimes Against Children!!! Now I am personally pushing Illinois Legislators & our Nation’s Federal Policy Division to address the problematic system when Child Trafficking is connected to a relative or direct person of care/guardian.
What if I told you that I have absolute proof of how all of these are connected to trauma in our childhood, especially trauma affect related to Child Sexual Abuse/Assault/Trafficking?
Here are a few details which I’ve personally spent five years researching to confirm every detail.
Centers for Disease/Child Maltreatment
Data from the most recent National Survey of Adolescents and other studies indicate that one in four children and adolescents in the United States experiences at least one potentially traumatic event before the age of 16, and more than 13% of 17-year-olds—one in eight—have experienced posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at some point in their lives
National Child Traumatic Stress Network/Traumatic Stress and Substance Abuse
In the National Survey of Adolescents, teens who had experienced physical or sexual abuse/assault were three times more likely to report past or current substance abuse than those without a history of trauma3 n In surveys of adolescents receiving treatment for substance abuse, more than 70% of patients had a history of trauma exposure. This correlation is particularly strong for adolescents with PTSD. Studies indicate that up to 59% of young people with PTSD subsequently develop substance abuse problems.
Several studies have found that substance use developed following trauma exposure (25%–76%) or the onset of PTSD (14%–59%) in a high proportion of teens with substance abuse disorders. Recent research in this area also suggests that traumatic stress or PTSD may make it more difficult for adolescents to stop using, as exposure to reminders of the traumatic event have been shown to increase drug cravings in people with co-occurring trauma and substance abuse.
Child Welfare/Maltreatment and Brain Development
The structural and neurochemical damage caused by maltreatment can create deficits in all areas of executive functioning, even at an early age (Hostinar, Stellern, Schaefer, Carlson, & Gunnar, 2012; National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2011). Executive functioning skills help people achieve academic and career success, bolster social interactions, and assist in everyday activities. The brain alterations caused by a toxic stress response can result in lower academic achievement, intellectual impairment, decreased IQ, and weakened ability to maintain attention (Wilson, 2011).
They may be more drawn to taking risks, and they may have more opportunities to experiment with drugs and crime if they live in environments that put them at increased risk for these behaviors. Maltreatment as a younger child can have longitudinal negative effects on brain development during adolescence. Adolescents with a history of childhood maltreatment can have decreased levels of growth in the hippocampus and amygdala compared to nonmaltreated adolescents (Whittle et al., 2013).
In the FFY 2011, Dept of Health & Human Services/Children’s Bureau; I researched the 237 page report to determine the crucial factors that we needed to know in our statistics concerning the reporting & confirming of child maltreatment in the United States. It took three months of day and night connecting the crucial demographics which directly impacted the lives of our children. I have published this now 5 page specific report along with an Excel Sheet for exact demographics in each state.
https://survivorsjustice.com/child-maltreatment-report-ffy-2011/
FFY 2011, ended in a GRAND TOTAL OF 3,734,012 Child Maltreatment calls to CPS and Alternative Response reporting systems. A total of 2,360,614 were written off as either Unsubstantiated, Closed with no finding, No need for further investigation.
***Total Child Population Reported = 74,830,766
***Total Number of Calls to CPS Services = 3,734,012
- Substantiated = 687,817 = 18.5%
- Unsubstantiated = 2,360,634 = 58.9%
- Boys are 48.6% – Girls are 51.1%
- 1 in every 9.5 girls & 1 in every 8.5 boys are the victim of maltreatment.
- More than 75 percent (78.5%) suffered neglect
- More than 15 percent ( 17.6%) suffered physical abuse
- Less than 10 percent (9.1%) suffered sexual abuse
As of this published report via Children’s Bureau; 1 in every 9 children are the victim of some form of maltreatment. Apply the Congressional Statement of 2012 in addressing Adult Sexual Assault on Campus & Military (adults who had control over reporting);
Congress released; ‘For every ONE report that is made, at least SIX others are not.’
When using the confirmed counts of 1 in 9 children being sexually abused, apply the six reports never made, we can reasonably estimate 1 in 3 children being sexually abused!!
How poverty is connected, although these heinous acts cross all demographics, there are some environments which have a more devastating influence on the lived & learned behavioral patterns of teens and adults.
http://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2015/demo/p60-252.pdf
In 2014, the official poverty rate was 14.8 percent. There were 46.7 million people in poverty. Neither the poverty rate nor the number of people in poverty were statistically different from the 2013 estimates
During the 4-year period from 2009 to 2012, 34.5 percent of the population had at least one spell of poverty lasting 2 or more months. The poverty stressor within the family unit or home, can influence addictive or raging behaviors, it can fuel the fire so to speak for more deviate or grievous actions.
It is a well known fact by many World & National Anti Human Trafficking organizations, the economic & family stressors, an abusive parent or a guardian with pedophile tendencies; these are all factors for children at risk of forced sexual encounters with other persons or adults. At least 1 in 10 children, those who live in these high risk environments, are at a much higher risk of being sold or shared, exploited for money, food, shelter, or simple control of the child.
In closing this hopeful reach for your help to educate our society about these facts, there is one more truth that is crucial to connect – the connection to Prostitution.
The average age a child is trafficked into the commercial sex trade industry is between 11 and 14 years old. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates that one of every seven endangered runaways reported to the Center are likely victims of minor sex trafficking. And, from 2004 through 2008, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces have experienced an increase of more than 900 percent in the number of child victims of prostitution.
The National Human Trafficking Resource Center confirms at least 70% of Adult Prostitutes report Childhood Sexual Abuse. The early influence that it is just our bodies, it is just for sexual pleasure; this takes away from the true inner value of that human being and sets a negative life path that will be continuously challenging, even relating to later life chronic health conditions as a result of high stress environment.
On average our National Funding Provides the following in the lifetime recovery & prevention estimates:
$124 Billion every year in the recovery of child abuse
$ 8.3 Billion every year in the recovery of domestic violence
$ 120 Million every year spent in Anti Trafficking measures
Gross estimate = $ 132,420,000,000.00
Our United States Taxpayers are covering the ongoing cost, and multiple growing deficits in supplying rescue, recovery, life skills, and prevention of our own learned destructive human behaviors. Think of lifelong medical & mental health problems, inability to maintain steady employment, and the cost of providing drugs or alcohol in their addictions, the cost of crime rates and incarceration. It is a never ending dollar amount that only our change in tolerance and teaching appropriate behavior and connections in social settings that will change any of this human destruction.
It is time we get a public interview and constant discussion with our political representatives about just how important this topic is for our Human Recovery as a whole and rebuilding our families in a more supportive and assistive circle between community, schools, healthcare, law enforcement, and our judicial system in Child Protective Services.
Please contact me so that we can discuss any opportunities that your special talents can help us unite across the country and around the world.
Respectfully,
Patricia A McKnight
Email: p.mcknight@charter.net
CSA Survivor Force Regional Spokesperson
Child Abuse & Child Sexual Assault Expert
Cert Human Trafficking 101 Trainer
Cert IL DV & CA Support Advocate
Family Crimes Act – Trecia’s Law
Creator: ‘A View from the Inside – Connecting Family Crimes & Human Trafficking’ 
Facebook.com/triciagirl62
