MILTON — April is Child Abuse Prevention Awareness month, and two cases the Santa Rosa Kids’ House are investigating emphasize what the organization’s executive director, Keith Ann Campbell, says:
“Any kind of abuse sees no lines. It’s everywhere.”
The first case involves a female graphic designer, Kimberly Seevers, of Jay, who was charged with sexual battery of “juvenile males,” according to her arrest report — once last November and again April 12.
The second case involves a logistics brokerage owner, Christopher Traffanstead, from Gulf Breeze, arrested April 7 and charged with sexual assault and lewd and lascivious behavior on a victim between 12 and 16 years old.
Both alleged abusers have different genders and come from different parts of the county, Campbell said.
MORE PEOPLE REPORTING
Calls reporting child abuse last year to the SRKH totaled roughly 2,500; this year, calls have already topped 1,000, Campbell said, adding she doesn’t believe there’s a rise in abuse, but there is an increase in reporting.
“I like to say it’s because of awareness … (People) are just learning, ‘Hey, this is wrong,’ and reporting it now,” Campbell said.
However, she also noted the national statistic for sexual abuse of youths is one in five, while those in Santa Rosa County are one in 19.
Florida, she said, is consistent with the national average, Campbell said.
“One thing everybody should know is we are all mandatory reporters — every adult. If you see something, it’s always best to report it. It’s better to be careful than let something slide through.”
COMING FORWARD
In the Seevers and Traffanstead cases, there were roadblocks to reporting.
In the Seevers case, Campbell said, “During our investigation, we found out boys had been in that situation but didn’t think anything was wrong.”
She said young males tend to congratulate each other instead of recognizing the situation as dangerous. “A 15-year-old boy is a victim, whether he knows it or not,” she said.
Multiple times in the Traffanstead case, the detective prompted the victim to describe the alleged abuse, and the conversation was difficult.
Campbell said she grew to understand this kind of difficult disclosure during a conference when a presenter asked the audience members to recall the details of their first sexual experience, then tell them to the stranger next to them.
“A lot of people don’t want to come forward,” she said.
DEFINING ABUSE
Child Abuse Prevention Awareness month covers all youth-targeted violence.
In Santa Rosa County, Campbell said, there is a lot of neglect, and a lot of children removed from drug-laden environments. However, she said, the county’s south end, particularly Gulf Breeze and Navarre, reflects most of the 1,000 calls her office receives, and the trend was physical abuse.
She said a significant number of cases come from parents who don’t understand what abuse is. Florida statute allows for spanking, she said, but anything causing bruising could indicate abuse. “It depends on what kind of bruising and where,” she said.
Campbell said the SRKH nor the Department of Children and Families want to separate children from parents.
For parents who conflate discipline with abuse, Campbell said, “DCF will work with that family and send them to classes for free about what is discipline and what is abuse.
“We're not here to take kids from families, but (to) protect.”
●2,500: Number of abuse cases reported to the Santa Rosa Kids’ House in 2015
●1,000: Number of abuse cases called in to SRKH so far in 2016
●1 in 5: The national average for sexual abuse cases of boys and girls
●1 in 19: The average in Santa Rosa County
● Florida is the second deadliest state for child abuse
BY THE NUMBERS
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Why Santa Rosa County's child abuse numbers are rising