The Next Thing Americans Should Spend $66 Million To Change

It's a really big day for a few people who are dear to my heart. They are Erin Runnion and my friend Jen, of The Joyful Child organization, and the some two dozen friends I have who were raped or sexually assaulted by adults as children. It's because today's Oprah Winfrey show is about a technology that can not just fight child pornography but potentially locate and rescue victims. Erin, Jen, myself, and many others have been working to pass a bill (S.1738/S.3297) that will provide the money for authorities to implement and use it. Last year, it passed in the House. Now we need the Senate. Oprah's planning to ask her fans to storm Capital Hill to make it happen.

If you've ever known somebody who was raped by an adult as a child, you would not hesitate to support it.

You may actually know someone who has. 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will cross paths with a pedophile before their 18th birthday. Whether or not he/she lives often depends on whether he/she knows the offender. Just a quick Google News search today returned recent stories in San Jose, Alaska, Arizona, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Chicago and Boston. One adult man had enrolled in several schools as a ten year old boy to assault children. Another videotaped raping his stepdaughter for years, who he impregnated before her mother found out and shot him.

If you don't this could happen to your child, or a child you know, just look at news and statistics. It spans all colors, classes, and backgrounds. No child is safe from it in America.

People don't bounce back after this happens to them. They often grow up to carry very painful, difficult and complex emotional, social and health problems that can take a lifetime to recover. I've seen it first hand. Studies have shown that victims of child sex abuse are twice as likely to attempt suicide, experience difficulty in academic performance, and struggle with substance abuse. 40-50% of victims are likely to report problems in their marriages. It's estimated that the mental health cost per victim for sexual abuse is $5800 per year on our health care system. Many child sex offenders were once victims.

It doesn't take being a victim or a parent for me to understand the dire need to put a stop to the problem.

Americans spent $66 million in August to help someone campaign to be president. There is no reason why our law enforcement should not be able to have the tools to stop one of our country's biggest atrocities: a crime against kids.