In a media conference advocating child safety and discussing the Take 25 Campaign, Attorney Alicia A.G. Limtiaco pointed out that the safety of the children begins at home.
“If we educate, if we make our community aware, if we make our children aware about how they can keep themselves safe from harm, from predators, then we are empowering them to protect themselves as well,” she told the members of the media.
She said in 84 percent of attempted abduction cases across the nation, “children were able through their own actions, to flee from their abductors, and escape from them. These are children that in many cases, were provided the safety tools and tips and information that help them to know how to respond and protect themselves.”
She called on the community to look at the 25 ways to make it safer for the children.
Limtiaco highlighted in her talk during the media conference on the campus of Northern Marianas College yesterday the Take 25 campaign.
She said it’s a national campaign for child safety of which the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, CNMI Department of Public Safety, the U.S. Marshall’s Service, Division of Youth Services and Public School System are partners with the National Center for Missing Children.
“We would ask you to look at the 25 ways to make it safer [for the children],” she said.
Limtiaco sought the media’s assistance in informing the public, especially, parents and guardians to take the 25 steps in ensuring the children’s safety.
“Spend 25 minutes every day and talk about ways they can be safer,” said Limtiaco.
She also said the parents and guardians must teach the children their full names, address, and phone numbers.
The Take 25 brochure, moreover, suggested for the parents and guardians to teach children to know their parents’ work or mobile numbers or call a trusted adult or 911 in case of emergency.
Limtiaco also highlighted the need for parents and guardians to obtain references in choosing caregivers or babysitters.
“Ask children of their experiences with the caregiver and listen very carefully to their responses,” she said.
She also advised them to keep abreast with technology saying that children nowadays are more technology and internet savvy.
The internet, she said, offers neither walls nor boundaries and can put children in a situation that can endanger themselves.
She also said for parents to place the computer in a common room and not in their children’s bedroom.
She also suggested that parents give their children a walking tour of the neighborhood and familiarize them with the landmarks — let them know where the Department of Public Safety and Fire Department are.
“Making sure they take a friend whenever they walk or bike,” she said.
Earlier in the discussion, Limtiaco also cited national statistics.
She said an estimated 787,000 children were reported missing each year or more than 2,000 are reported missing every day “and thankfully a vast majority of them are recovered quickly.”
She also cited 58,200 children were taken in one year by someone outside the family or an estimated 115 children experienced stereotypical abduction, the rarest type of abduction potentially posing great risk of serious harm.
She also said an estimated 203,900 children were victims of family abduction where the child was taken by a non-custodial parent with 24 percent of these kidnappings lasting for one week to less than a month.
For more information on the Take 25 campaign, the public is encouraged to visit www.take25.org.
