Preventing child abuse is subject of talk

By Kendal Gapinski
Daily Local News
February 17, 2014

http://www.dailylocal.com/general-news/20140217/preventing-child-abuse-is-subject-of-talk

WEST WHITELAND – Justice4PAKids will host a seminar on Sunday at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church to help residents learned how to better protect their children from abuse.

The “Keep Your Kids Safe” lecture will feature guest speaker Elizabeth Pitts, formerly from the Chester County DA’s office, discussing ways to protect children from sexual abuse. The event will take place at St. Paul’s Parish Hall at 1105 Lincoln Highway in Exton on Sunday starting at 12:30 p.m. and will last around an hour.

Pitts is a former Deputy District Attorney for the county and currently is the associate director of investigations for Swarthmore College. According to the organization, Pitts supervised the Chester County District Attorney’s Office Child Abuse Unit for more than a decade. She has also been a guest lecturer on child abuse and Megan’s Law at local universities.

According to Justice4PAKids, around 90 percent of all sexually abused children are abused by someone they know. The organization said the purpose of the seminar on Sunday is to make families aware that “stranger danger awareness is not enough.”

Maureen Martinez, president of the organization, said the lecture is part of a series of seminars the group hopes to hold once a month. She said that the monthly seminar series will rotate to different groups and organizations who are interested in learning more about preventing child sex abuse. She also advised attendees to not bring children to the seminar.

Justice4PAKids, a local group that helps child sex abuse victims, has three main focus areas: improving statute of limitations laws, education through seminars and literature, and comforting victims by putting them in touch with professional organizations.

Those interested in attending the lecture on Sunday should RSVP to info@justice4pakids.com by Friday.