Local students given safety lessons to learn how to spot, prevent child abuse

NISKAYUNA, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Child abuse prevention is critically important. New York state has mandated all public schools to provide abuse prevention education in all grades through Erin's Law, which was enacted in 2019.

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and the St. Peter's Crime Victim Services unit has been visiting local schools to teach children important safety lessons. St. Peter's Prevention Educator and Community Liaison Adriana D'Orazio expertly tackled some tough topics on Friday with a fourth grade class at Birchwood Elementary in Niskayuna.

D'Orazio has been at a different school every day teaching students about child sex abuse and how to respond to it through five critical safety rules:

1. Know what's up
2. Spot Red Flags
3. Make a move
4. Talk it up
5. No blame/no shame

"It's a great program because it really empowers kids to use their voice to get help," said D'Orazio.

Using the MBF Child Safety Matters program, an evidence based curriculum, D'Orazio gives students language to identify physical and sexual abuse and spot red flags. Student Eliana Masambo was listening closely and said, "I think this lesson is important because there are people out there who don't do the right things, and people need to be safe, and they need to know how to do that properly."

Eliana, who was celebrating her tenth birthday Friday morning, may be young, but the age-appropriate lessons, incorporated through games, are easy to remember. "I liked how we went over them and made it even more understandable. When we talked about what we could do and how we could do it," she added.

D'Orazio explained, "We recognize this is definitely a difficult conversation, but our children are 100 percent of our future and it's our job as adults in their lives to protect them and keep them safe."

She ended her presentation with the most important lesson of al -- teaching students that abuse is never a child's fault and encouraged them to seek out trusted adults in their lives when they spot the red flags discussed in class.

D'Orazio told NEWS10 they were able to reach more than 11,000 students last year through the program. For more resources on how to talk to your kids about these difficult and sensitive topics, you can visit the MBF website to access talking points, toolkits, and learn more about the program.