Who can question the concept of a children’s advocacy center? And on first blush that was exactly my response. But the promise of a center to provide comprehensive medical, counseling, investigative and advocacy services to abused children quickly turned into apprehension and concern for me as I heard more about how it would be organized. In a nut shell this is perhaps the best example of the need we have for a balanced approach.

Children are abused in several ways. They may be sexually abused by a family member or friend. They may be sexually abused by a care taker outside the home or an unknown predator. They may have experienced violence because there is domestic violence in their family. They may have experienced violence randomly outside their home. Any of these experiences would be traumatic. Each require some level of counseling and support for the child and often the child’s family members. The most common phenomena, especially when there has been sexual abuse, is denial. If the child is from a family with resources, with or without the denial, some kind of help will be found. If the child is from a family with few resources this is much more difficult and unlikely. If the only avenues that we provide is an avenue that immediately assumes prosecution we are missing the boat. And in this instance the stakes are very high. We have the responsibility to find balance. We can’t assume blame. We can’t assume that the appropriate response is always to bring someone into a relationship with DCFS or the State’s Attorney. Sometimes it is. But not always. If we do not also create safe, counseling regardless of ability to pay, in a non-threatening environment, we will serve a few very well while driving the many farther away and in doing so perpetuate the victimization.