Branding Arc announces the donation of marketing support aimed at increasing awareness for Stop Abuse. This contribution will help reach child sexual abuse victims who have been silenced during stay-at-home orders resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. 

The pandemic and subsequent school closures have kept children away from teachers and school personnel who often assist victims in identifying and reporting abuse. According to Child Welfare Information Gateway, 67% of substantiated child abuse or neglect reports come from victim-serving professionals and 19% of these reports come from education personnel in the U.S. Child welfare agencies in some cities across the U.S. are reporting an over 50% decline in reports of abuse during the spring of 2020 compared with the same time period in 2019. The Stop Abuse program and website is a valuable resource for victims and advocates to access when they may be unable to reach out to someone directly.

In addition to providing in-kind website management, optimization, and hosting services, Branding Arc’s President, Adam Parks, believes in the mission of this organization and the critical education they provide. “During this time of need, this is one small way we can help make this crisis a priority,” says Mr. Parks. Adam met Regina Marscheider, Executive Director of Stop Abuse, in 2016 and was immediately intrigued by “Simon Says Just Tell,” a nationally acclaimed sexual abuse prevention education program she developed for elementary school children. The show has been performed to hundreds of thousands of children throughout the United States and Canada, prevented thousands of cases of abuse, and has resulted in the arrest and incarceration of over 158 child molesters in Virginia, alone.

The drop in reported cases this year is alarming and increases the need to promote Stop Abuse and its program. According to the CDC, about 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 13 boys experience child sexual abuse. 91% of child sexual abuse is perpetrated by someone the child or child’s family knows. The CDC also reports the total lifetime economic burden of reported child sexual abuse in the United States in 2015 was estimated to be 9.3 billion. Protecting children from violence requires public expenditure on child protection and criminal justice systems to safeguard them from harm. The additional investments in prevention programs, like “Simon Says Just Tell,” help to ultimately reduce the cost to individuals and society while instructing and empowering children.

By raising public awareness through educational programs like Stop Abuse and supporting legislative action, child sexual victimization can be eliminated from our communities. The Stop Abuse website is a tool used to promote awareness and raise funds for the presentation of the Stop Abuse program in schools and other settings. Branding Arc’s donation will help support the mission of Stop Abuse and the vital role they play in supporting these victims and advocates.

To access online educational material, learn more about “Simon Says Just Tell,” or to make a donation, please visit stopabuse.com. Your support can make the difference for a child in crisis. 

About Branding Arc

“Located in Port Saint Lucie, FL, Branding Arc is a full-service marketing agency focused on providing website, marketing, and reputation management services to the financial services and receivables management industries. Our team is comprised of communications and branding experts who listen to your vision, learn your story, and use that understanding to help position your brand, find new customers, and manage your business’ online reputation. We customize each client engagement ranging from simple one-time projects to the outsourcing of your entire marketing department, adeptly handling creative direction, graphic design, programming, and project management. By closely monitoring the marketplace and competition, we are able to identify trends and leverage opportunities that drive bottom-line revenue for our clients.”

About Stop Abuse

“Stop Abuse, powered by Spectrum Puppets, is a 501(c)3 organization formed to prevent child sexual abuse through education, detection, and referral. We produce the Emmy Award winning marionette program, ‘Simon Says Just Tell,’ that teaches children to recognize, prevent, and disclose abuse in a non-threatening environment. Thousands of cases of abuse have been prevented and hundreds of child abusers have been successfully prosecuted and imprisoned as the result of the Stop Abuse Program. For more information, visit stopabuse.com.”