Ben Singson: Fluttering pinwheels to call attention to child abuse prevention

Apr. 12—Advocates for victims of child abuse are hoping to draw attention to the issue of child abuse within Morgan County.

Advocacy Network for Children held an awareness ceremony for child abuse Thursday at the Municipal Building. The ceremony was attended by members of city and county administration, as well as Jacksonville and South Jacksonville law enforcement.

Jacksonville Mayor Andy Ezard delivered a proclamation during the ceremony, marking April as Child Abuse Prevention Month in the city and asked community members to do their part to help recognize and curb abuse. The network provided pinwheels, which represent child abuse prevention, and signs for people to take and display outdoors.

Child Abuse Prevention Month has been recognized nationwide every April since 1983. It recognizes victims of child abuse and continues to raise awareness of the issue across the country.

In Illinois, nearly 36,000 children were victims of mistreatment during 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Morgan County Assistant State's Attorney Chad Turner shared some insight into his office's handling of abuse and neglect cases, of which there is "no shortage of," he said. Child abuse doesn't always take the "traditional" form of people harming their own children these days, he said. Instead, it tends to look like mental illness or substance abuse. Treating those conditions might help curb the tide of abuse against children, he said.

"If we got rid of, or if we treated effectively, mental illness and substance abuse," Turner said, "we would deal with 75% of our abuse and neglect cases."

Both Jamie Peek, Children's Advocacy Center coordinator for the network, and Amber Range, Court Appointed Special Advocate coordinator, agreed that their case numbers have been particularly busy. They noted that children tend to be abused by people they know personally, such as parents or siblings, rather than strangers.

"I think most of the time, people think it's some person walking down the street, and that's just not the case," Peek said.

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