What Does School Bus Safety Have To Do With Sexual Abuse Prevention?

Christine Murray, See the Triumph Co-Founder, wrote an op-ed for the Durham (N.C.) Herald-Sun today in the wake of recent allegations of sexual assault occurring on an elementary school bus in Durham Public Schools. Below is an excerpt from the piece, and the full piece can be found at the following link: http://www.heraldsun.com/opinion/guestcolumnists/x1154812548/National-School-Bus-Safety-Week-and-sexual-abuse-prevention.

"Parents across North Carolina reacted with fear and outrage when they heard the news of allegations of two sexual assaults that occurred Sept. 11 on a school bus taking children home from W.G. Pearson Elementary School in Durham. According to reports, a 5-year-old child was forced by older children to perform oral sex, and a second family reported that their child was sexually assaulted on the same bus ride.

The Durham Public School system faced criticism for their handling of the allegations, and they responded by assigning a bus monitor for that route and installing all district buses with video cameras. These are steps in the right direction, but more sweeping changes are needed to promote a culture of safety on buses and throughout our schools. No parent should have to fear that his or her child will face harm and abuse when they send their children to school every day.

Did you know last week was National School Bus Safety Week? Attention to safety on school buses should extend far beyond traffic safety. In order to promote cultures of safety, we must ensure that school districts consider safety at all levels, including appropriate training for bus drivers, proper behavior among students, and the prevention of sexual abuse and bullying on buses."

Read the remainder of the piece here: http://www.heraldsun.com/opinion/guestcolumnists/x1154812548/National-School-Bus-Safety-Week-and-sexual-abuse-prevention