FRANKFORT, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron has launched a new campaign to raise awareness about child exploitation in Kentucky, a problem that has been made even worse by the COVID-19 pandemic.
With blue pinwheels outside the Capitol as a symbolic backdrop for child abuse prevention, Cameron on Monday announced a new campaign to raise awareness of and find a way to prevent young people from being sexually exploited.
The program is designed to help parents and caregivers learn to recognize the signs that an adult may be grooming a child for exploitation. The organization — Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky — said a recent survey indicated 25% of Kentuckians said they could not recognize the signs of child abuse.
The campaign will use billboards, signs on buses and social media posts to help people become more aware of indications that a child is being abused. The signs ask: "Are they good for your kids?" They're meant to make parents and other guardians think twice about people — even friends or family members — who could be grooming them for sexual exploitation.
"The campaign we are talking about will help stop child abuse before it starts, by equipping parents and caregivers — and every adult — with the information necessary to recognize and prevent Kentucky's youth from being groomed for abuse," Cameron said during a news conference Monday morning.
Pictured: a sign on a TARC bus in Louisville, Ky., meant to help adults recognize the signs of other adults grooming children for sexual exploitation.
Jill Seyfred with Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky clarified exactly what "grooming" means.
"When we say 'grooming' what we mean is a perpetrator is deliberate about building trust with a child or family with the intention of gaining sexual gratification with that child," Seyfred said.
Experts say teachers play a key role in reporting child abuse, and they expect reports to increase now that kids are returning to school.
The $30,000 campaign is being paid for by the Child Victims Trust Fund, which is funded in part through the purchase of special license plates.
For more on the “Are They Good for Your Children?” campaign, free background checks on babysitters and nannies, and other information click here.
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