As a mother, I want more than anything to protect my children. Through the years I have learned that it is impossible to do this. I have witnessed bullies praying upon timid children (including my own); I have felt the hurt and anger when a girl broke my son’s heart. I have nursed them back to health when a virus has given them no choice but to rest.
The world is changing. I wrote a post about Who is Ted Bundy? When I realized this new generation doesn’t know the threat. Something that stuns me as we have regressed from children ourselves who rode our bikes from sun up until after the sunset…alone without the fear of predators….though they existed.
One in three women will fight the battle of cancer…that’s one of the girls, it’s me or one of my sisters. Those are not numbers I can support.
Another reality with its own unacceptable numbers I’m not comfortable hearing: the disheartening backlog of tens of thousands of rape kits in labs across the country, a backlog that contributes to a rapist’s 80 percent chance of getting away with his crime. EIGHT PERCENT! The backlog and its detrimental effects will be the topic of an SVU episode tomorrow, Wednesday, September 29th.
A non-profit organization, The Joyful Heart Foundation, founded in 2004 by Mariska Hargitay, who plays Detective Olivia Benson on “Law & Order: SVU has a mission to help victims of sexual assault, mend their minds, bodies, and spirits and reclaim their lives. Mariska started getting fan mail from rape survivors and was moved to create a foundation to help heal the victims of crimes dramatized on her show.
The world I want for my daughters does not include sexual assault, predators of any sort. The world I want for my daughters is one of freedom. It’s a world without limits on what they can do and the empowerment to make dreams come true.
I want a world that blooms in beauty–through nature and mankind. A world where education is in the forefront and laughter and joy compete for first place.
I want my daughters to be strong examples of “Girl Power” and never once say, “If Only I Had….”
I want them to make a difference in the lives of others because I know this will in turn make a difference in their own.
The world I want for my daughters includes inner peace and World Peace.
Help me create the world I want for my daughters, and the world you want for your own children.
Together we can create the world we dream of for our children…it’s the same world they dream of for themselves!
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