The post marks Child Safety and Protection Month by emphasizing that teaching children correct anatomical terms is a proven prevention tool against child sexual abuse, reducing shame and helping children disclose abuse accurately. Through insights from Coffee County CAC director Joyce Prusak and survivor-advocate Melanie Sachs, it highlights how education, openness, and early, age-appropriate conversations can empower children and disrupt offender tactics.

A local expert urged that understanding signs and prevention of child abuse is crucial to protecting children, highlighting that awareness and informed community involvement help adults recognize, report, and prevent maltreatment. The piece emphasizes education, training, and shared responsibility in safeguarding children’s well-being.

The number of online child-sexual abuse reports from West Virginia surged during the pandemic — about 1,791 tips were submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 2021, roughly 50% more than in 2019.

A child-welfare expert speaking to WBOY warned that reports of child abuse and exploitation on social media are rising — especially involving online grooming, exploitation and abuse by predators using social-media platforms.

The article is a quarterly legal roundup on Forensic Focus covering key issues in digital evidence and due diligence, including challenges with introducing digital evidence, how to find and qualify digital forensic experts, legal questions around geofence and border searches, encryption debates, and due diligence in civil and criminal contexts.

The op-ed urges sustained attention to children’s needs during crises, arguing that gaps in child care, education, and state responses leave many West Virginia kids vulnerable and that community engagement and vigilance are essential. It highlights systemic challenges in child welfare and calls for informed action to protect well-being.

The article profiles Robert Peters, a Liberty University law alumnus who, inspired by work with a child-abuse response organization, became a prosecutor focused on reducing human trafficking and child abuse and later co-founded the SHIELD Task Force to help end child abuse through training, prevention, and support.

In the National Children’s Alliance 2019 annual report, Melanie is featured as a family advocate who drew on her own experience as a child abuse survivor to help launch and champion the SHINE public awareness campaign, using her story to encourage healing and elevate survivors’ voices while supporting other children and families affected by abuse.

SHIELD hosted a community panel at Fairmont State University bringing together survivors, prosecutors, law enforcement, medical professionals, and advocates to address barriers to reporting child abuse and emphasize proper response. Speakers highlighted alarming local and statewide trends, the link between substance abuse and child maltreatment, the role of mandatory reporters, and the critical importance of believing and protecting children.

The Marion County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and local partners launched efforts to break the silence around child sexual abuse by improving reporting, partnering with schools and community groups, and introducing supportive initiatives like a confidential “Buddy Box” for students to raise concerns. The campaign aims to reduce stigma, boost reporting, and better help victims and offenders alike.