Townline students get a lesson in personal safety

The third-graders in Jennifer Mietus' class have been learning about prepositions, pronouns, adjectives and adverbs.

On Monday, they took a break to learn another very important lesson.

In recognition of April as "Child Abuse Prevention Month," the Child Assault Prevention Program was presented to students at Townline Elementary School in Vernon Hills on Monday.

Facilitators from the Zacharias Sexual Abuse Center gave the 45-minute session in four different classrooms throughout the day.

"You have the right to be safe, strong and free," said presenter Georgia Vasquez. "You are going to be hearing those three words a lot this morning."

Vasquez along with Sandra Heraver performed a number of skits demonstrating how to handle potentially dangerous situations like a bully confrontation, a stranger attempting to grab a child and a known adult making a sexual advance.

"Everyone here has an alarm inside of them," Vasquez said. "You know that funny feeling like butterflies and you start to feel unsafe? You all need to listen to that alarm."

Vasquez said most cases of abuse are from people the victim knows. Family members and friends of family are the culprits 85 percent of the time. Quoting statistics from the FBI, Vasquez said one in three girls and one in five boys are sexually assaulted before they turn 18.

"This program is about empowering children to say 'stop' and to say 'no'," Vasquez said. "It's about teaching them to seek out another adult if they are threatened."

The national Child Assault Prevention program has been seen by more than 12,000 students in the last 25 years. Vasquez said it's difficult to quantify its effectiveness, but there have been many children who approach their teachers after the program to tell them about abusive situations.

The Gurnee-based Zacharias agency is the only rape crisis center in Lake County. The 25-year-old group provides free counseling for children and adults, a 24-hour hotline and educational programs in schools and hospitals, among other places. They provide 24-hour counseling services and advocacy for victims and families.

"Each child will know they have a right to be safe, strong and free," Vasquez said.