#childabuse

While COVID-19 Cases Increase — So Do Cases of Abuse

Alexis Acker-Halbur Did you know?, Never Give Up, Sexual Abuse , , , ,
Children in front of an angry man

It seems our world is being devoured by pandemics. One pandemic that you don’t often hear about is childhood and domestic abuse. Here’s a recent update from nomore.org I thought you’d be interested in.

As more cities go on lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19, NO MORE and the National Domestic Violence Hotline (The Hotline) have teamed up on a new public awareness and action campaign to respond to a challenging byproduct of isolating at home: victims of domestic violence are increasingly trapped with their abusers.

National and local domestic violence hotlines in the U.S. expect huge increases in calls as states take more drastic measures to quarantine. The Hotline is hearing from survivors that COVID-19 is already being used by abusive partners to further control and abuse.

Like COVID-19, the signs of domestic abuse are not always visible. However, now that people are spending almost 24/7 at home, they might hear more coming from their neighbors’ homes than usual. That’s why NO MORE & The Hotline created #Listeningfromhome — a campaign that aims to heighten people’s awareness of the problem, learn to recognize the signs, and encourage them to safely get help if they do hear or observe incidents of domestic abuse.

“We want people to take COVID-19 seriously and be vigilant in staying home and trying to stay healthy, but while they’re home, we hope to enlist them as allies in the effort to stop the epidemic of domestic violence—now, and beyond this immediate crisis,” said Pamela Zaballa, Global Executive Director of the NO MORE Foundation. “It is an effort to do the most good possible during an especially scary, uncertain time.”

The campaign also calls on those who can to donate to The Hotline. The Hotline’s entire team, more than 150 people, began working remotely last week so that they can continue to provide critical, life-saving services for hundreds of thousands of survivors — no matter what happens.

Copyright © 2020 The NO MORE Foundation. All rights reserved.

Thank you NO MORE for this enlightening article. Keep up the great work that you do for abuse survivors.

Trauma and Health in a World of COVID-19

Alexis Acker-Halbur Cancer, Did you know?, Healing, Never Give Up, Sexual Abuse, T.R.U.T.H. Program , , , , ,
A picture of a little girl

I was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer in 2007. I truly believed that the cancer was caused by childhood trauma I had experienced. I began writing my book, Never Give Up: Break the Connection Between Stress and Illness, and made the bold statement that: Unresolved Childhood Trauma Causes Health Conditions in Adults. Several medical people said my statement had no statistics to support my belief. Still, I continued to work on my book to explain how I survived cancer. In 2014, when my book was published, I continued to get feedback from people saying there was no evidence to support my belief.

I never wavered in my belief that adults can resolve childhood trauma, and survive it without becoming ill.

In a May 2020 article in TIME Magazine, I found this amazing information: According to a 1998 landmark study, conducted by Kaiser Permanente and the CDC, childhood trauma is strongly correlated with a person’s health as an adult. The study explored Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, surveying more than 9,500 adults insured by Kaiser Permanente about ACEs they may have faced as children. These included ‘psychological, physical or sexual abuse,’ ‘violence against mother,’ and ‘living with household members who were substance abusers, mentally ill or suicidal, or ever imprisoned.’

These study findings were from 1998 – that’s nine years before my diagnosis with cancer. I wish I had known about this study earlier. Nonetheless, my belief that childhood trauma affects adult’s health IS very accurate. (Note: Even one ACE in childhood increases adult health risks.)

Luckily, a company like Kaiser Permanente is investing in efforts aimed at reducing the number of ACEs in our communities.

It’s Time for TRUTH!

I would like to invite the people at Kaiser Permanente to consider my T.R.U.T.H. Program. (The Road to Unresolved Trauma Healing.) The T.R.U.T.H. mission provides trauma survivors with the opportunity to resolve issues to achieve a healthy mind, body, and spirit.

All over the world, we’re trying to eradicate the coronavirus. Why not end adverse childhood trauma, too, since over 60 percent of adults in the U.S. experienced at least one ACE in childhood, while 1 in 6 experienced four or more.

To find more information on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) please click on this link: https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/acestudy