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September 26, 2006

It's All About the Children

A co-worker of mine told me this morning that she has left her husband because he is physically abusing her teenage son. To her great credit, she left him the first time she saw him punch the boy - for no reason. At the police station, her son was taken aside and interviewed. Only then did she learn that the abuse had been going on for some time, with the father often punching him so hard he fell to the floor. I know this boy. He's a good kid – and he's a big kid, not one who would easily fall to the floor. My friend was told by the police that they could not charge her husband because the boy had no bruises or injuries.

How interesting it is that a report has come out today showing that Oregon is not doing a good job of protecting the well-being of children. Non-profit groups are unable to keep up with the need for help for child abuse victims, and growing drug abuse and other family stressors are making it worse.

Some time ago, I read something that has stuck with me ever since. If you want to know how well a society is doing, look at the way it treats its children. We ought to be very concerned about what this report says about the state of our families and our society.

Posted by Becky at September 26, 2006 09:56 AM