April is Child Abuse Prevention Month

  • Published
  • By Diane Bradley
  • Family Advocacy Program Assistant
Child Abuse Prevention Month started in New York in 1874 with a little girl named Mary Ellen Wilson, a nurse named Etta Wheeler, and Henry Bergh, the founder and president of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Mary Ellen’s father died shortly after she was born and her mother boarded her with Mary Score. When her mother could not make payments, Mary Ellen was turned over to the Department of Charities. The department placed Mary Ellen with Mary and Thomas McCormack. Thomas McCormack died shortly after and Mary married Francis Connolly. The Connolly couple beat Mary Ellen on a daily basis. Her cries could be heard by the neighbors who called police, but no help came.

One of the neighbors told a visiting nurse, Etta Wheeler, and she contacted Henry Bergh. Mr. Bergh sent an investigator (who posed as a census worker to gain access) to the home. The investigator confirmed Ms. Wheeler’s story and Mr. Bergh contacted an attorney who took the case to court.

Mary Ellen was removed from the home and appeared in court dressed in ragged clothing with bruises all over her body and a gash over her left eye. She testified her parents were dead and she did not know her age. She could not remember when she did not live with the Connollys who whipped and beat her every day. She also said, “I do not want to go back to live with mamma because she beats me so.”

Mary Ellen was permanently removed from the Connolly home and raised by the Spencer family. Mary Ellen’s case led to the establishment of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

In the 1960s, the U.S. government passed legislation requiring child abuse reporting in all states. In 1974, The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act was signed into law and established the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, which is the basis for our laws against child abuse today.

In conjunction with Child Abuse Prevention Month, most states also promote the Blue Ribbon Campaign, which started with a Virginia grandmother named Bonnie Finney in 1989. Ms. Finney’s 3-year-old grandson, Michael “Bubba” Dickenson died from injuries inflicted by Ms. Finney’s daughter’s violent boyfriend. Ms. Finney tied a blue ribbon on the antenna of her van in memory of her grandson and her silent statement spread and led to what we now know as the Blue Ribbon Campaign.

When asked why she chose the color blue to make her statement, she replied “I never intend to forget the battered, bruised body of my grandson. Bruises are black, then eventually blue. Therefore, blue serves as a constant reminder to me to fight for our children.” Each year more and more people join the effort to bring awareness to the fight against child abuse.

For more information, contact Family Advocacy Program, at 696-5380 or visit the Family Advocacy office at the 7th Medical Group Life Skills Support Center, Room B3111.