by Julie Michael

Created on: February 10, 2009   Last Updated: April 06, 2009

Children are innocent and precious, they're also small and defenseless. Adults have the responsibility to protect them. But what happens when the adults in a child's life don't do their job? If the child is being abused or neglected, the consequences of not speaking up are extremely harmful, sometimes fatal.

The reason adults need to speak up is because children aren't going to do it themselves. Out of fear or misplaced loyalty to their abuser, a child often won't speak up- even when they're going through the most horrible pain imaginable. And, they often don't speak up because they are afraid of losing the love of their abuser or the possibility of bringing more pain onto themselves.

There have been many cases of child abuse or neglect, even instances where children have died- in which *someone* knew what was happening. In most of these cases, you'll hear adults say "I didn't realize how bad it was" or even, "I didn't want to get involved." With every nightly news report telling of another child raped, killed or seriously injured by a person that was supposed to be responsible for them- how can anyone stay silent if they expect a child is being abused?

An abused child is damaged for life, abuse causes scars that will never go away. There are also many cases where an abused child turns into an abuser themselves once they become adults- which only serves to repeat the cycle- thus causing another generation of broken hearts and scarred minds.

It is inexcusable to allow it to continue if an adult knows of any abuse or neglect. A child may never be able to get over the fact that he or she was abused, they may carry the scars through a lifetime- but they will remember that someone cared enough to speak up and try to protect them. And, if you know of abuse and don't speak up- the possible fatal consequences to that child may be more than a conscience can handle.

While the saying "It takes a village to raise a child" isn't necessarily accurate, it *does* take a village to protect a child sometimes. If you notice a friend or family member is under a lot of stress or making bad choices and they're increasingly short-tempered with their child or not being as attentive to their child's needs as they should, say something.

If you know for a fact that someone you know is abusing their child, speak up- call the proper authorities. When it comes to a child's safety and well-being, even their life- don't be afraid to speak up or afraid to "get involved."

Sometimes a child is saved from further abuse or neglect because someone chose to get involved, and they manage to go on and live normal, happy lives. And then there are the children who have died needlessly, simply because someone was too afraid to get involved.

Even if you happen to witness abuse while out running errands and it's a child you don't know- call the police, get a tag number and physical description of an adult- call Child Protective Services in your city. It's important that society no longer tolerates or turns a blind eye to abuse- if we don't protect the children, who will?

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