‘It’s a very real issue’: Flag-raising ceremony marks Child Abuse Prevention Month

GREENFIELD — Over the past two years, the Children’s Advocacy Center of Franklin County and North Quabbin has served about 200 children. But according to Executive Director Carol Conragan, this is believed to represent just 10% of the total number of abused children in the region.

To recognize these children, and every child the center cannot reach, the Children’s Advocacy Center, the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office and the city of Greenfield held a flag-raising ceremony on Friday. April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

“It’s not a fun issue to talk about, but it’s a real issue, and it’s a very real issue in our community,” Conragan said.

According to the National Children’s Alliance, one in four girls and one in 13 boys will be sexually abused as a child. The alliance reported that in 2023, 6,663 children across Massachusetts were served by children’s advocacy centers across the state, and 5,110 of those children reported being sexually abused.

Conragan said the center provides physical and mental health services and referrals, supports forensic interviews, and conducts trainings and preventative outreach.

“It’s only 10% of the population that we believe are abused here in Franklin County and the North Quabbin, but at least those 200 kids who are receiving services have the opportunity to get help,” Conragan said. “We know that therapy early on really helps children avoid what can grow into acute anxiety, depression and inability to connect with other people.”

Conragan said the center’s capacity to support children who are abused has increased over the past year, since it opened a location in Orange.

“We’ve got three therapists that now interchangeably go out there and serve some of the children in Athol and Orange, so we’re super grateful,” Conragan said, noting that some residents struggle to make it to the Children’s Advocacy Center’s Greenfield facility on Wisdom Way. “We’re really wanting to expand our reach in Athol and Orange. We need to get more awareness going that we’re there and services are available … and we’re able to do that now because we have such a beautiful new space.”

Now that the center has built up its staffing at both locations and is able to expand its capacity, she said the next goal is to work on abuse prevention. Staff recently held a training on online safety at Frontier Regional School.

“It’s a complex social media, internet world now, and these invisible predators are accessing children through chats in games like Roblox, so 8- and 9-year-olds are basically being seduced by strangers,” Conragan said. “We really want to be focusing more on education and outreach.”

Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan said events like Friday’s flag-raising ceremony on the Greenfield Common and National Child Abuse Prevention Month help educate people on available resources and the importance of supporting children.

“It is sending a clear message to the community that we love kids, that we have a passion for making kids grow up in a safe and healthy environment, and that, to me, is one of the best statements we can ever make,” Sullivan said. “Sometimes we can get justice for them and we strive to do that. The No. 1 thing is that a young child heals and lives a vibrant life, and that’s very possible when we have a community that cares.”

Corinne Coryat, staff director for the 1st Franklin District legislative office, testified that healing is possible.

“I am here this morning in one of the most vulnerable roles of my humanity, as a survivor of child sexual abuse,” Coryat said. “Like many survivors, particularly those who experienced abuse so early in life, my awareness of this trauma did not surface until adulthood. Over the past 25 years, I have grappled with the echoes of someone else’s choice to take a part of me that was never theirs to begin with.

“For a long time I felt that my story was written across my forehead, that anyone who looked at me knew my secret, and I was afraid to speak aloud,” Coryat continued. “I know now that my secret is one shared by so many others and that it was never my shame to carry.”

Coryat added that work is being done across the state to advocate for legislation to support children and prevent abuse.

Legislators have reviewed several bills this session related to improving background checks and hiring practices for schools and youth-serving organizations, closing an age-of-consent loophole and amending the statute of limitations.

“An Act Relative to Enhancing Hiring Practices to Prevent Sexual Abuse” (S.1166) was sent to study by the Joint Committee on the Judiciary. According to the Massachusetts Bar Association, a study order “technically means the bill will be studied during the recess but most often is used as a quiet way to kill a bill.”

“An Act Relative to Sexual Assaults by Adults in Positions of Authority or Trust” (S.1163) was reported out favorably by the Joint Committee on the Judiciary and referred to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.

“An Act Amending the Statute of Limitations Regarding Criminal Prosecutions for the
Crimes of Sexual Assault and Rape of a Child” (S.1165) was reported out favorably by the Joint Committee on the Judiciary and referred to the Senate Committee on Rules.

For more information on proposed child abuse prevention legislation, visit enoughabuse.org.

Conragan said anyone who has questions about available resources or concerns about a child’s safety can call the Children’s Advocacy Center at 413-475-3401 or visit its website at cacfranklinnq.org.

“We have resources, we can walk through concerns, that’s what we do,” Conragan said.

Additionally, suspected child abuse can be reported to a 24-hour hotline at 800-792-5200.