April was first observed as Child Abuse Prevention Month in 1983 after a proclamation by then president Ronald Regan. The road to that point, however, was long. While the topic of child abuse had been discussed by the medical field as early as 1850, it wasn’t until 1962 that how child abuse was addressed finally started to change.
It was an article written by Henry Kempe, published in the Journal of American Medical Association, that got the attention of the medical community and lawmakers. This publication became a turning point for battered children. When presenting his article to the medical community, Kempe recommended that medical doctors be required to report signs of abuse to the authorities. By 1963, within one year of that recommendation, four states passed such laws and by 1967 all states required mandatory reporting in medical field. Since then, mandatory reporters have come to include:
- doctors
- nurses
- clergy
- teachers/school personnel
- child care workers
- peace officers
- mental health therapists
- foster parents
- etc.
The types of abuse most commonly seen by these reporters are neglect, the presence of dangerous substances in a child’s environment, presence of illegal drugs in a child’s body, physical abuse and sexual abuse.
Make no mistake, it’s not just the groups of people bound by the law that are capable and have the duty to report. Any person who witnesses the abuse of a child has a moral obligation to be a voice for that child. The idea that ‘we can’t get involved’ or ‘it’s none of our business’ keeps defenseless children in harm’s way and is an injustice for a community’s most precious resource – its future.
If you witness the abuse of a child, please do not hesitate to call the Fort Dodge Police Department at 515-573-2323 or the Iowa Child Abuse Hot Line at 1-800-362-2178.
