Empowered adults able to recognize and react responsibly to child sexual abuse made a difference for 13-year-old Sammy.* As an elementary school student in the Poudre School District, she learned how to recognize, refuse, and report abusive behavior during Voices Carry Child Advocacy Center’s Safety Smarts Program. As a teenager, she remembered what to do in an unsafe situation.
Sammy and her 7-year-old sister were home alone when a family friend visited and attempted to sexually abuse her. Using the skills that she learned in Safety Smarts, she managed to get to a safe place and locked her sister and herself inside. She immediately called her parents. Her parents reported the incident to the police, and Sammy and her family visited Voices Carry for a forensic interview and victim advocacy services. The perpetrator was convicted of his crime thanks to Sammy sharing her story during the forensic interview.
*Identifying details have been changed for the privacy and safety of the child.
