John Cornyn: “as families have been quarantined at home over the past several months, their lives have been filled with a whole new…”

“as families have been quarantined at home over the past several months, their lives have been filled with a whole new set of stressors. Loss of income, isolation, anxiety about their own health, and the stress of teaching children at home can test even the healthiest families and relationships. But it also puts children at higher risk of child abuse and neglect. In April this year, nationwide reports of abuse or neglect dropped by an average of about 40 percent compared to the same time last year. That doesn't mean there are fewer instances of abuse--probably far from it--just fewer reports. One of the things about children attending school is that their teachers and counselors can monitor them for signs of sexual assault, sexual abuse, and report that to the appropriate authorities. In 2018, two-thirds of the reports of child abuse were submitted by people who came in contact with treatment as part of their jobs--police officers, lawyers, social services, and, of course, teachers, as I said. Teachers, education professionals, and other support staff at school, like bus drivers, are responsible for more than half of the child abuse reports. But with children home during the pandemic, out of sight from the teachers and others who would otherwise see them on a routine basis, abuse is becoming more difficult to identify and report. Child sexual assault abuse was a crisis before the pandemic, with more than 42 million adult survivors in America.…”