New Public Awareness Campaign Calls on Everyone to “Pledge To Prevent” Child Sexual Abuse

Outdoor Billboards Feature across Greater Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and in New York City’s Times Square.

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES, April 1, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — MassKids and END1IN4, Inc., launched a new Pledge to Prevent^® outdoor public awareness campaign on billboards across Greater Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and in New York City’s Times Square. The campaign launched today and runs throughout April during National Child Abuse Prevention Month. The Pledge to Prevent^® campaign website provides a unique online opportunity for hundreds of thousands of individuals across the country to get educated about child sexual abuse and take concrete, practical actions to prevent it in their homes and communities. The campaign will also feature extensively on social media.

According to Jetta Bernier, director of MassKids and its Enough Abuse campaign, “While there is universal support to end child sexual abuse, individuals often ask – `What can I really do to make a difference?’ The best way is for adults and communities to take prime responsibility for preventing sexual abuse. That means learning about it, talking about it and taking specific actions to stop it from ever happening.”

“Pledge to Prevent^® is a simple and powerful way for everyone to act to end child sexual abuse and its devastating impact on children, families and communities,” said Kathy Andersen, Founder of END1IN4. “Organizations and individuals can choose one of over 25 pledges as either a Learner to get the basic facts, a Prevention Influencer to educate others, a Safe Community Promoter to strengthen policies in schools and youth organizations, or a Movement Builder to promote prevention legislation with elected officials. Pledgers are sent vetted resources so they can build their knowledge and skills to carry out their chosen pledges confidently.”

Pledge to Prevent^® was started by MassKids, the oldest state-based child advocacy organization in the country. Now, in partnership with END1IN4, the two organizations are on a mission to expand Pledge to Prevent^® globally. Currently, individuals who have taken the Pledge to Prevent^® come from nearly every U.S. state and also from several countries, including Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Zambia, Liberia, and India.

The National Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation, a coalition of leading U.S. organizations and experts in the prevention field, is promoting the Pledge to Prevent^® campaign with its members and networks. According to Susan Kennedy, President of the coalition, “ To combat the serious and ever-growing threat to children of in-person and online sexual abuse and exploitation, we must actively engage citizens everywhere in the fight for our children’s safety and security. Pledge to Prevent^® is an important tool in the arsenal of resources we must deploy in that fight.”

The campaign in Greater Boston is partially supported by the Cummings Foundation, founded by Joyce and Bill Cummings in 1986, who for over a decade have provided generous support to over a thousand charities in Suffolk, Middlesex and Essex Counties.

ABOUT MASSKIDS

MassKids is a private, statewide citizen-based child advocacy organization with a 65-year history of effective advocacy on behalf of Massachusetts’ most vulnerable children. It leads Enough Abuse, a community mobilization and citizen education initiative established in 2002 under a 5-year grant from the U.S. Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC). It provides training to communities, schools and youth-serving organizations, and technical assistance to help them strengthen policies to prevent child sexual abuse. Its comprehensive programs and resources have been adopted in several states and countries. For more information, visit: www.enoughabuse.org.

ABOUT END1IN4, Inc.

END1IN4, Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization founded in 2022 with a mission to end the impact and magnitude of child sexual abuse through breakthrough public awareness and engagement campaigns, education, and advocacy. Founder & CEO, Kathy Andersen, experienced sexual abuse by her adoptive father throughout her childhood, and for over 20 years has led organizations and initiatives to create positive change. Over the past year, the END1IN4 campaign has engaged celebrity survivor-advocates including Ashley Judd, Anthony Edwards and Diana Nyad, who have each recorded video messages of encouragement for victims and survivors of abuse, which can be viewed on the END1IN4 web site. In September 2023, Judd and Edwards appeared in END1IN4’s billboard campaign with the message “Act To End It.” For more information visit www.END1IN4.org or contact Kathy Andersen at [email protected].

JETTA BERNIER
MassKids
+1 617-827-5218
[email protected]
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Pledge to Prevent video billboards lights up Times Square.