April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month:We Must Protect What Cannot Protect Itself

By Rev. Jamesina Greene

A Mother’s Cry | The Redeeming Marketplace Ministries

There are some truths that sit heavy in the spirit.

This is one of them.

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and while many will acknowledge it with statistics, campaigns, and symbolic gestures, I feel compelled to pause and say what is often left unsaid:

Too many of our children are not safe.

Not in their homes. Not in their schools. Not in systems designed to protect them.

And far too often… not in the presence of adults who see—but do not intervene.

The Silent Crisis Among Us

Child abuse is not always visible.

It does not always leave bruises.

Sometimes it sounds like silence. Sometimes it looks like withdrawal. Sometimes it hides behind “behavior problems,” when in truth, it is unhealed trauma crying out for help. And what we have done—collectively—is mislabel pain as defiance.

We suspend it. We expel it. We criminalize it. And in doing so, we continue to feed a pipeline that I have spoken about time and time again: From classroom to courtroom. From neglect to incarceration.

The Connection We Must Acknowledge

Through the work of A Mother’s Cry, I have sat with mothers whose children were harmed long before they were ever handcuffed.

Children who were:

• Ignored when they spoke up

• Punished instead of protected

• Labeled instead of loved

And now… those same children are entangled in a system that asks:

"What did they do?" instead of: "What happened to them?"

Prevention Requires More Than Awareness

Awareness is not enough.

Prevention requires:

• Listening to children—even when their words are uncomfortable

• Believing them—especially when it disrupts our assumptions

• Intervening—even when it costs us convenience or relationships

• Creating safe spaces where children can speak without fear

And most importantly…

It requires us to become the kind of adults we needed when we were younger.

To the Mothers…

To the mothers carrying guilt…To the mothers who didn’t know…To the mothers who are now fighting for children the system failed…

I see you.

There is no handbook for navigating trauma layered with love.

But there is this truth:

Your advocacy still matters. Your voice still carries weight. Your presence still has power.

A Call to Communities, Churches, and Leaders

We cannot preach love and ignore suffering.

We cannot build ministries and overlook broken children sitting quietly in the pews.

We cannot claim justice and remain silent when harm is happening in our own communities.

This month—and beyond—I am calling on:

• Faith leaders to address child abuse with honesty and compassion

• Educators to recognize trauma-informed behaviors

• Community leaders to create protective networks around children

• Policy makers to prioritize prevention, intervention, and accountability

  
  

What Prevention Looks Like in Action

At A Mother’s Cry, prevention is not a slogan—it is a commitment.

It looks like:

• Advocacy for children impacted by trauma and incarceration

• Support for mothers navigating systems that often feel impossible

• Community education and conversations that disrupt silence

• Creating spaces where healing, accountability, and restoration can begin

We Cannot Look Away

If a child is being harmed, silence is not neutrality.

It is participation.

Let that sit where it needs to.

Closing Reflection

This month is not about wearing a color or posting a ribbon.

It is about asking ourselves:

Who is safe because I chose to act?

And perhaps even more honestly:

Who has remained in danger because I did not?

A Mother’s Cry Declaration

We will not look away. We will not be silent. We will protect, advocate, and stand—until every child is seen, heard, and safe.

💜Rev. Jamesina Greene, President & Founder,