We usually only talk about child sexual abuse in whispers after harm has already occurred. But when stories about powerful men and secret lists dominate headlines, child sexual abuse suddenly becomes a public conversation.
As renewed attention around Jeffrey Epstein circulates online, it is easy to focus on who is or is not implicated. The more urgent question is how we prevent abuse in the first place. If we truly want to protect children, we cannot wait for the next headline. We must be asking is how we strengthen the systems, safeguards, and shared responsibility that prevent child sexual abuse in the first place.
An estimated 1 in 10 children will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday, and most children who are harmed are abused by someone they know and trust. Most survivors of sex trafficking are also survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
These are not “other people’s children.” They are our neighbors’ children, our classmates, our teammates, our congregants. They could be any of our children.
Child sexual abuse is pervasive, but it is also preventable. And it exists within a broader landscape of child maltreatment. According to the CDC, at least 1 in 7 children in the United States experienced abuse or neglect in the last year.
These numbers show that failure to protect children is not a rare tragedy. It is a widespread public health issue that requires coordinated, community-wide action.
To put these numbers in perspective, the percentage of children who experience abuse is comparable to the number of children who have asthma. Yet we do not treat asthma as a family problem, a secret, or a source of shame. We create care plans at school. We educate parents and caregivers. We equip doctors and professionals to respond. Child safety deserves that same level of visibility, planning, and coordinated action. Keeping children safe is not a private family matter. It is a shared community responsibility.
Years of research show that certain conditions increase children’s risk of harm, including social isolation, family poverty, untreated mental health or substance use challenges, high levels of parental stress, and unstable housing. The inverse is also true. When families have strong community connections, access to stable employment and childcare, safe housing, mental health support, and the ability to meet basic needs, children are safer.
Protecting children is not simply about “better parenting.” It is about creating the conditions that allow families to thrive. And when our childcare centers, schools, houses of faith, sports teams, and youth-serving organizations have clear, well-enforced safeguarding policies in place, they are not only responding to risk, they are actively building a culture of safety where children can grow up supported and free from abuse.
Together, we can support all North Carolina children and families. Here are simple things you can do right now:
- Educate yourself and other adults in your community about child sexual abuse, including how to prevent, recognize, and respond to suspicions or disclosures.
- Ensure the places and people we trust with children are safe. Ask about and support transparent, well-promoted safeguarding policies in sports teams, youth groups, scouting programs, schools, houses of faith, and community centers. Tools like Positive Childhood Alliance North Carolina’s Child Safeguarding Policy toolkit can help organizations strengthen their practices.
- Join collective prevention efforts. Get involved with Prevent First NC — A Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse — to support education, advocacy, and policy change that protects children statewide.
- Teach your children about body safety and consent. Begin age-appropriate conversations about body autonomy early and often. Use anatomically correct names for body parts, reinforce that children are the boss of their own bodies, and help them understand the difference between surprises and secrets. Make sure they know they should always tell a trusted adult if something makes them feel uncomfortable.
Holding abusers accountable and bringing justice to victims is essential. But preventing harm requires more than reacting to headlines. It requires building a culture where child safety is treated with the same seriousness, visibility, and coordination as any other public health issue.
This moment is not about one individual. It is about recognizing the responsibility and stake we all have in strengthening the conditions that keep children safe. It is about creating communities where families are supported early, where seeking help is normalized, and where every child grows up safe, supported, and free from abuse.
In that work, we all have a role to play.