ARKANSAS, USA — With the coronavirus pandemic comes isolation, and that isolation has proven an increase of alleged child abuse cases in central Arkansas.
"They feel like they are the only one,” said Tracey Childress, director of the Cooper-Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center.
When kids are taken into the Cooper-Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center, they take a peak of wall art, painted hands reflecting those who've also suffered child abuse.
"When they go and get to put their hand-print up and they are looking and see all the other children's hand-prints, you can see a light bulb go off that they are not alone,” said Childress.
In May, 73 children have added their hand-prints to the wall, representing an increase number of cases during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We are seeing a surge, at least we have in our counties. We serve six counties and have three office locations,” Childress said.
When life around us began to shut down -- including schools, churches, after school programs -- the number of child abuse cases took a drastic dip.
Not because abuse stopped happening. Instead, kids didn't have an outlet to turn to.
Now that the state is reopening, the number of abuse cases have increased. The CAC has learned they have about 20 more cases on their hands now than normal because of isolation.
"This tells us that we know children don't need to be isolated. Ninety-four percent of the time, children know or are in the home with their abusers,” said Childress.
Child advocates say while some COVID restrictions are still in place, it’s important we all keep a close eye on children.
Childress says we should watch for potential abuse signs, like sudden behavior change, withdrawals from activities and conversations, and learning regression.
"They need that mechanism, that outlet in place for them to be able to reach out,” said Childress.
If you suspect any child abuse, you should contact the state’s child abuse hotline at 1-844-SAVE-A-CHILD.