Beyond Penn State: Does Our Culture Ignore Child Abuse?

Writing for Ebony, David J. Leonard says that those involved in covering up the Sandusky scandal aren't the only ones to be held accountable.

For the first time in 18 years, the budgetary support for the Victims of Child Abuse Act was cut to ZERO for the 2013 budget.  Monies that supported the victims of child abuse, that served almost 300,000 abused children in 2011, are gone, unless Congress restores them. According to the National Children’s Alliance, the cutting of funding for the Victims of Child Abuse Act will result in among other things:

Fewer abused children will receive services in every jurisdiction;

CACs will not receive the technical assistance and training they need to do their work effectively;

Prosecutors would not receive the training and technical assistance they need to get successful prosecutions, hold offenders accountable, and keep our communities safer;

If we as a society are truly concerned about child abuse, lets put our money where our mouth is.  Instead of purchasing tickets for one game, instead of donating to our favorite athletic program, instead of donating to politicians who vote against the interest of children, instead of forking over $$ for the latest game gear, lets make our priorities clear with some investment in those actually promoting justice.

Read David J. Leonard's entire piece at Ebony.com.

The Root aims to foster and advance conversations about issues relevant to the black Diaspora by presenting a variety of opinions from all perspectives, whether or not those opinions are shared by our editorial staff.

David J. Leonard is an associate professor in the department of critical culture, gender and race studies at Washington State University, Pullman.