# If You See a Father Holding His Child’s Hand, Call the Cops!



## punkrockmommy (Oct 31, 2005)

The Virginia Department of Health officials want you to call the cops if you see a father holding his childs hand because he might be a sexual abuser!! WTF? how did this country get so wrong? My boyfriend showed me this article and i had to tell people. This is not a joke. This is crazy. Parents have to be careful enough these days but to say you cant hold your kids hand is a little far for me.

http://www.bloggernews.net/18108


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## cmom80 (Oct 18, 2006)

OMFG. I don't even want to show that to DH. He would be so upset.


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## sandygirl (Oct 27, 2007)

gee - what would they think of my father holding his granddaughter on his LAP in a wheelchair????







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## captivatedlife (Aug 16, 2006)

I thought it had to be a joke.

That is wrong. The picture they showed, everything. I could see showing a picture of a sleazy guy with a sleazy look on his face, or maybe a woman locked in a passionate embrace with an 8 yo...

but this is too much.


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## TayTaysMama (Oct 16, 2007)

Wow! Just WOW!

That is so wrong in so many ways! How sad that they did that to fathers!


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## kaylee18 (Dec 25, 2005)

The campaign is _not_ about hand-holding. The campaign is to get people to report suspected abuse, with the theory that intuitive suspicions based on observation of the nuances of public interaction may be correct. The campaign is being promoted with a photo of hand-holding and the slogan "It doesn't feel right when I see them together." It doesn't say to call if you see hand-holding, it says to call if something about an adult-child interaction doesn't feel right when you observe it. What do you want them to use an image of for their campaign, a photo of actual sexual abuse? Surely you can see how that would be impractical. Good grief.


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## thismama (Mar 3, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kaylee18* 
The campaign is _not_ about hand-holding. The campaign is to get people to report suspected abuse, with the theory that intuitive suspicions based on observation of the nuances of public interaction may be correct. The campaign is being promoted with a photo of hand-holding and the slogan "It doesn't feel right when I see them together." It doesn't say to call if you see hand-holding, it says to call if something about an adult-child interaction doesn't feel right when you observe it. What do you want them to use an image of for their campaign, a photo of actual sexual abuse? Surely you can see how that would be impractical. Good grief.









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What a ridiculously biased article linked to here. Nobody will have his life ruined for being reported upon for holding his child's hand. Fact is a LOT of children get sexually abused, the vast majority at the hands of men. It's nice to see something being done about that sad reality, rather than the 'stranger danger' propaganda we seem to prefer to focus on.


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## Blu Razzberri (Sep 27, 2006)

You know, I understand the thought process behind this. Don't get me wrong, this is sad. It's sad that we have to scrutinize everybody - even if it's just a well meaning dad. I think that automatically calling CPS is a little far, but think about it.... the stats are something like 1 in 3 kids are sexually abused in some way shape or form. Also, the majority of sexual abuses are by family members (though, that doesn't make it automatically dad, either).

If I was out and I observed something that seemed "off" to be about a child with an adult (male or female); I wouldn't hesitate to call the cops. But then, CAS here isn't at all like CPS is in the USA. This type of situation has never arisen, but I have stopped to watch before when I see an adult pulling a screaming child out of a store. I'm watching to see how the adult is interacting with the child and to see if I get that wrong feeling.

Basically, I think it's important to be aware and pay attention to your surroundings and watch out for kids; but don't jump the gun...KWIM?


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## mama_nomad (Apr 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kaylee18* 
The campaign is _not_ about hand-holding. The campaign is to get people to report suspected abuse, with the theory that intuitive suspicions based on observation of the nuances of public interaction may be correct. The campaign is being promoted with a photo of hand-holding and the slogan "It doesn't feel right when I see them together." It doesn't say to call if you see hand-holding, it says to call if something about an adult-child interaction doesn't feel right when you observe it. What do you want them to use an image of for their campaign, a photo of actual sexual abuse? Surely you can see how that would be impractical. Good grief.

another







: i didn't get that from the ad at all--i got that you should go with your instincts (something this country seems badly out of touch with!) That blog was one person interpretation of the ad which was quick to attack...

the ad actually reminds me of the great book calledProtecting the Gift


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

1 in 3????? Can I ask where that statistic came from, and is it specific to sexual abuse or is that a more general figure?
I think the image weakens the message. The campaign is asking people to report private interactions that feel instinctively wrong, yet the image: of an adult male holding a child's hand: is public. Holding hands when crossing the road, for instance. It's badly thought out, and badly designed.


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## Arduinna (May 30, 2002)

The comments on that page to the article are pretty freaky though, people are equating this to their lack of safety in hitting their kids in public







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