7 Radcliffe St., Suite 200, Charleston, S.C. 29403
* Ph. 843.965.5444 * www.D2L.org
NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: J. Dean Foster, 843.735.5070, dean@fosteramg.com
Or, Erika Rowell, 843.965.5444, erowell@D2L.org
Web: www.D2L.org Twitter www.twitter.com/darkness2light
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/DarknesstoLight Blog: www.D2Lblog.com
Organizations Help Prevent Child Sexual Abuse
By Achieving “Partner in Prevention” National Standard
Darkness-to-Light Provides Adult Training to Prevent CSA
Charleston, S.C. – (Insert Date Here, 2012) – A growing number of youth-serving
organizations in the U.S. and Canada are achieving national recognition for doing their part to
end child sexual abuse (CSA).
Charleston, SC-based Darkness to Light (D2L) provides the recognition with its “Partner
in Prevention” designation. This national standard is awarded to organizations which train 100percent of their staff / employees how to prevent, recognize the signs and react responsibly to
CSA.
During 2011 alone, 44 organizations from nine states and Canada achieved the “Partner
in Prevention” standard thanks to the D2L training program. D2L has championed the movement
to end CSA since its founding in 2000 and now has education programs in 49 states and 15
foreign countries. The Partner in Prevention designation was created to help parents and
caregivers recognize organizations who take CSA prevention seriously by implementing policy
and training staff.
“2011 was a year in which headlines of abuse stories and scandals dominated the news
and our public awareness,” said Jolie Logan, D2L President and CEO. “But it was also a year
that brought substantive change to public action. Thousands of adults have taken up the cause to
end CSA by learning how to prevent, recognize signs and react responsibly.
“These are positive outcomes to mark and much work remains.”
Ms. Logan said CSA is pervasive in a society where it is repressed and not discussed.
She said more and more organizations are now seeking out a dialogue for prevention and they
are sending parents and the community a message with the Partner in Prevention distinction.
D2L’s national initiatives include partnerships with YMCAs across America, the
Delaware Attorney General’s Office and dozens of other public / private organizations.
On a statewide level, a D2L partnership with the South Carolina Department of
Education has also achieved national honors. S.C. teachers and school staff now lead the nation
in the number of participants to complete prevention training. More than 50-percent of the state’s
teachers have completed trainings and SCDOE officials have pledged to achieve 100-percent
participation.
To learn more about CSA prevention training or to enroll your organization in D2L’s
“Partner in Prevention” program, please visit www.d2l.org. Please also contact D2L Program
Support Manager Erika Rowell at 842-965-5444.
About Child Sexual Abuse
Crime and behavioral studies have long cited child sexual abuse for its devastating
impact on society. Statistics are startling, according to the Fourth National Incidence Study of
Child Abuse & Neglect:

95% of abuse is by someone the child knows and trusts.

73% of children don’t tell anyone until well after the abuse has occurred, if they
tell at all.

Statistically, approximately 500,000 babies born in the U.S. each year will be
abused before they reach age 18.

In the U.S. alone, there are an estimated 42 million adult survivors of child sexual
abuse.

Child sexual abuse is linked to a host of social issues including teen pregnancy,
psychiatric disorders and substance abuse.

Child sexual abuse ranks second to murder as the most expensive victim crime in
the U.S., where immediate and long term costs exceed $35 billion annually.
About Darkness to Light (D2L)
D2L has championed the movement to end child sexual abuse (CSA) since its founding in 2000.
To date, D2L’s prevention education programs have trained more than 300,000 adults and 3,600
teaching facilitators in 49 states and 15 foreign countries.
Youth serving organizations such as YMCAs, schools, faith centers, camps, sports organizations
and others may earn D2L’s Partner in Prevention designation by implementing CSA policy and
training staff. Partner in Prevention is now recognized as a leading symbol for organizations that
take CSA prevention seriously.
Independent third-parties, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National
Crime Victims Center and several leading hospitals and universities, among others, routinely
evaluate and validate D2L’s methodology and training materials.
For more information, please visit www.D2L.org.
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