I once overheard my 6-year-old son proudly trying to explain his family situation to a friend. “I’ve got three sisters here in Utah, and I have a baby brother in Hawaii.” With a raised brow and a confused look on his face, his friend replied, “But how come your brother doesn’t live with you?” This […]
Learn More
Child sexual abuse, historically, has been a taboo topic that people were reluctant to talk about out in the open. We’re happy to say that things are shifting. People are becoming more aware of sexual abuse, and parents do amazing things every day to keep their kids safe. But there are still facets of abuse […]
Learn More
It’s 3:30 in the afternoon, and my children are on their way home from school. To return home safely, they’ll have to walk from their school to the city bus stop. They will struggle to find a seat and will most likely stand on a cramped bus for most of the ride. After two different […]
Learn More
Wearing a T-shirt or tank top may seem like a strange way to spread knowledge, but when you wear a shirt from Defend Innocence, you can do just that. We hear stories all the time of someone wearing one of our tees being stopped and asked about their shirt. It’s an easy way to start […]
Learn More
Many people are focusing a lot of attention on the role of masculinity in our culture. A buzzword you might be hearing all the time is “toxic masculinity.” But what does this term mean? And can this principle be helpful in the way we talk to and teach our kids? It’s important to understand that […]
Learn More
One way to keep your child safe from sexual abuse is raising them to be confident and independent. That’s easier said than done. You don’t want to smother them, but you also don’t want to leave them alone to tackle everything on their own. So where is that balance? We asked people online and in-person […]
Learn More
Summer is in full swing and you might have a young child who’s eager to go spend time at the neighborhood pool. If you were going to teach your two-year-old how to swim, think of how involved you’d probably be. You’d hold your toddler as you got in the water together and let them get […]
Learn More
Guilt. Not just regular mom guilt but the kind that reaches your core and wraps its fingers around your heart and squeezes until you can’t breathe. That’s how I would describe it. The first punch came in the form of an email with a nondescript title. I receive a lot of emails from my daughter’s […]
Learn More
In the summertime, kids participate in activities where they’ll spend lots of time away from you with other kids and adults. Here are 15 tips to reduce the risk of sexual abuse and help your kids have a safe summer. Family gatherings can strengthen family bonds. Unfortunately, they can also provide opportunities for sexual abuse. […]
Learn More
Summertime, generally speaking, means no school and lots more time at family gatherings: barbecues, reunions, long weekends, etc. One of the hard realities of child sexual abuse is that 30% of sexually abused children are abused by a family member. While family members can be some of your strongest allies in protecting your child, you […]
Learn More