The Metro KC Youth Collaborative presented an educational program, “Sexual Predation and Cyber Bullying” Wednesday, September 23, 2015 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. at the Children’s Campus of Kansas City, 444 Minnesota Ave., KCKS 66101.
L-R: Judith Westmoreland, JD, MOCSA;
Sherilynn Chan, MS, Children’s Mercy Kansas City;
The Honorable Genise Montecillo, MO House of Representatives.
The statistics are staggering. More than 13 million youth are bullied each year, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Nearly 160,000 kids stay home from school each day to avoid being bullied. Bullying has become such an important issue that it was included in the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2009 revision of its policy with regard to the role of the pediatrician in preventing youth violence. Cyber bullying and sexual texting, too, are increasingly of concern both in schools and at home. Technology is being used to access our children’s worlds for malicious purposes.
Missouri Representative Genise Montecillo (92nd House District) authored legislation (House Bill 501) that requires schools that teach sex education to also educate their students about these issues. The bill was overwhelmingly supported in both chambers of the General Assembly. Governor Nixon signed the bill into law and it went into effect on August 28, 2015. The Honorable Genise Montecillo joined the Metro KC Youth Collaborative to discuss this extremely important and far-reaching legislation, along with subject experts from the Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault (MOCSA) and Children’s Mercy Hospital Kansas City.
The following topics were addressed:
- Additions that House Bill #501 will make to the current law
- The prevalence and conceptual issues related to cyber victimization and cyber bullying
- Research on risk factors and associated outcomes related to cyber bullying
- Prevention and intervention approaches to cyber victimization and cyber bullying
- How sexual predation plays out on the Internet especially in the lives of youth
- The differences between consent, sexual assault and sexual harassment
- Some of the laws surrounding sexual assault and sexual harassment
Speakers included:
The Honorable Genise Montecillo, Missouri House of Representatives: MO House Bill 501 and its Impact upon Missouri (Re: Sexual Predation)
Sherilynn Chan, MS, Children’s Mercy Hospital Kansas City: Cyber Bullying- Predictors, Outcomes, and Implications for Prevention and Intervention (Chan_Cyberbullying Presentation_9 22 15 FINAL)
Judith Westmoreland, JD, Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault: Sexual Predation among Teens
Josh Helmuth, Channel 41, interviewed Paul Cesare, Coalition Coordinator, on Tuesday afternoon at the MCHC office, and prepared a video report which aired on Tuesday at 10:00 p.m.. (The clip contains two segments, the first of which was recorded this morning for the early show.)
If you have any questions, please contact Paul Cesare at (816) 283-MCHC (6242) ext. 239 or pcesare@mchc.net.
