Pinwheels for Prevention: MUW brings awareness to child abuse
MISSISSIPPI UNIVERSITY FOR WOMEN (WCBI) – Child abuse happens in every community, and often, it’s not visible until it’s too late.
Just this week in Lee County, a man was charged with Capital Murder in the death of an infant.
Medical professionals said the death was due to abusive head trauma.
April is National Child Abuse Prevention month, and students at Mississippi University for Women are spreading awareness around campus.
A pinwheel is a symbol of a safe and happy childhood. Students and faculty of Mississippi University for Women went around campus placing pinwheels for prevention, a movement to bring awareness to child abuse.
“Children often don’t come forward,” said Dorothy Berglund, Professor of Family Science and Chair of Psychology and Family Science at MUW.
Dorothy Berglund got involved with the Child Advocacy Studies Program, or CAST, after working with adults with a focus on domestic violence.
“But I realized after taking training on CAST, if you can prevent one child, or stop one child from being maltreated, you can also prevent adult victimization,” said Berglund.
Mississippi has the highest adoption of CAST in the country. The purpose is to keep people informed about child abuse and teach them to recognize the signs.
Berglund said child abuse is not always physical. It can be emotional or sexual, which is a challenging topic for anyone to discuss.
“It’s hard to say because it is hidden and because in some types of abuse it’s only the victim and the perpetrator that are the witnesses. So, nobody really knows. And sometimes children don’t come forward right away,” said Berglund.
“It’s not always physical abuse, so there’s not always bruises or anything like that, but there’s mental abuse and neglect that go on as well that are harder to detect and harder to see in children, especially if they don’t have a trusted adult that they can go to and tell, or if they’re scared that it’s going to make the situation worse if they do tell,” said Blakleigh Pearson, a Family Science student at MUW.
Blakleigh Pearson hopes that by placing these pinwheels around campus, they can bring awareness to more people and be one step closer to preventing more abuse.
“I think it’s very important to advocate for these children, especially if they don’t have anyone else to advocate for them,” Pearson said. “I hope that they see the pinwheels and they know that every child does deserve a happy and healthy life and that they, if possible, can be an advocate for any child that needs advocating against child abuse.”
Sally Kate Winters provided Pinwheels for the event.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Child Advocacy Studies Program, you can visit muw.edu.
