When it comes to child sexual abuse and exploitation, a new look at the U.S. shows we’re not doing very well. Economist Impact's Out of the Shadows Index report, supported by World Childhood Foundation USA, sets key indicators for performance on child sexual abuse and exploitation prevention and intervention. And it benchmarks against those indicators in 28 different states—and counting; there will eventually be another report.

Sadly, but perhaps unsurprisingly, all states measured so far have struggled. And if this were a report card, the best performing state would only have a D. What this means for kids is that, as a nation, our safeguarding is wholly inadequate and our response system woefully underfunded.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. We invited Laura Avery and Katherine Stewart, the authors of the report, to talk to us about the report and how by being able to pinpoint weaknesses and challenges, we can develop state-specific roadmaps for improvement in child protection. If you haven’t already read the report, please make sure you do. You can find a link to it in our show notes. And for a compass to better outcomes for kids, please take a listen.

Topics in this episode:

1:31 – Origin story

4:49 – Tighten up the metrics

7:36 – How states fared

9:16 – What the index covers

11:28 – Biggest weaknesses

19:27 – Bright spots

22:03 – State wealth; statutes of limitations

29:32 – Expanding the study

31:54 – Policy maker response

35:00 – Magic wand

42:36 – For more information

Links:

Laura Avery, senior analyst, Policy & Insights, Economist Impact

Katherine Stewart, principal, New Globalisation, and lead, Benchmarking, Policy & Insights, Economist Impact

Full 2024 U.S. report and state reports and the 2022 pilot

Global report (2022)

“America’s Inconsistent Response to Child Sexual Abuse,” with Araceli Irurzun Pérez (Season 4, Episode 20; November 17, 2022)

Childhood USA

1990 Convention on the Rights of the Child

NCMEC

Marci Hamilton, “Radically Vulnerable: Achieving Justice for Survivors” (Season 1, Episode 10; September 30, 2019)

Brave Movement

Previous episodes on prevention

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

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