LDS Church Donates to Center for Sexually Abused Children

Sister Rosemary M. Wixom, General Primary President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, handed over a check for $100,000 to the Avenues Children’s Justice Center which helps children who have been sexually abused.

The Children’s Justice Center is a refuge for children who have experienced abuse. The Center offers counseling, referrals for support services, connections to legal services, law enforcement support and information to help children and their family members overcome the effects of abuse. “We have all been touched today by what happens here,” Wixom told Mormon Newsroom.

I cannot imagine the fear that a child must feel under those circumstances. It is beyond me, but I know it happens and I know it’s prevalent and I know that [the center] is meeting their needs…The Church takes this matter very seriously.

Bishop Gary E. Stevenson of the Presiding Bishopric and other General Authorities of the Church were also in attendance and later toured the facility. Children’s Justice Center program director Susanne Mitchell and program manager Jodi Fait led the tour and offered a step-by-step scenario of how the Center would help a 10-year-old girl sexually abused by an older male cousin. Stevenson spoke of the importance of the Children’s Justice Center’s cause,

I don’t think that there’s a social responsibility that would be more fundamental than protecting our children and preserving their innocence.

The money will be used for training and other resources to support the use of evidence-based child interview techniques.