Safe Passage Supports Kids as they Work through Unspeakable Crises HEALING THE TRAUMA OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE

by Jeanne Davant

In a cheerful playroom at Safe Passage, there are toys and games that would delight any child. One end of the room is set up as a campsite with a tent and make-believe campfire; it’s easy to envision happy campers playing there. But the children who enter this playroom have gone through unspeakable experiences.

Safe Passage is a Child Advocacy Center — a facility that brings together a multidisciplinary team to surround victims of childhood sexual abuse with care, support, and love.

“Kiddos who have experienced sexual abuse have not only had their bodies violated, but they’ve had their trust violated,” says Maureen Basenberg, Safe Passage’s executive director. Often they’ve been made to feel that the abuse is their fault by a perpetrator who uses blame, shame, and even threats of violence to continue the exploitation and keep it a secret.

That kind of mistreatment has profound, lifelong consequences for victims — PTSD, substance abuse, eating disorders, depression and suicide, to name a few. But Basenberg and her team at Safe Passage are determined to do everything they can to minimize those consequences and guide children and their families toward healing. One-fourth of

American girls and 1 in 13 boys will experience sexual abuse before they are 18, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Child abuse wasn’t against the law until the 1970s, so this professional, coordinated response really only came about in this generation,” Basenberg says.

Even so, it takes tremendous courage for an abused child to come forward and report sexual abuse, and investigation of these cases is extremely challenging for children, families, and the professionals who work with them. But when a family comes to the center, they find an investigation and support model that has proven its value.

According to the National Children’s Advocacy Center, children whose cases were handled in CACs, especially those where services are co-located, were more likely to receive forensic medical exams, and their cases were far more likely to be prosecuted. One study showed that prosecution rates increased by 196% in a district with significant CAC use, compared with a 1% decrease in a district with limited CAC use. In addition, co-located services have been shown to limit additional trauma.

Basenberg learned about the CAC model when she was working with the Arizona Governor’s Office for

Children, Youth and Families. She put the model into practice at Childhelp, the Phoenix Children’s Advocacy Center, where she was director for nine years.

When she moved to Colorado Springs to head Safe Passage in 2016, the organization was headquartered in a Victorian house on Cascade Avenue that lacked room for the staff she needed, let alone for outside service providers.

Basenberg spearheaded a campaign to raise $2.2 million to buy and remodel a facility at 2335 Robinson Street, the former home of Rocky Mountain PACE. She increased Safe Passage’s staff to 10 and brought in El Paso County Sheriff’s Office staff and the Colorado Springs Police Department’s Child Crimes Unit, with 18 sworn and civilian staff. Also housed in the building are UCHealth’s forensic nursing program, the Family Center (a mental health partner), and Kidpower Colorado, which provides personal safety and violence prevention education to reduce the risk of abuse. The center provides supportive, child-friendly spaces where abused children can talk to a trained forensic interviewer about what happened to them.

“It’s their chance to be heard, and a key part of the forensic investigation,” Basenberg says. The child may also meet with a forensic nurse, and a family advocate will talk with the sup- porting caregiver to determine the family’s needs and suggest resources. The first priority is making sure the abuse won’t happen again.

“Statistically, 90% of sexual abuse is perpetrated by someone known to the victim,” Basenberg says. “We’re not going to let a kid walk out the door unless we have reasonable certainty that they’re going to be safe.”

The Safe Passage team follows up to make sure children and their families have everything they need.

“We’re fortunate now in this field to have some excellent clinicians that understand the work that needs to be done,” she says. “We know that, especially if they are receiving mental health services, the prospects for these children are good. They come out with better boundaries and stronger belief in themselves versus a kiddo that never had that opportunity.”

In 2022, Safe Passage served 747 child victims and 738 caregivers, who are classified as secondary victims, Basenberg says. Community support is key as the organization seeks to help more victims by hiring more staff and engaging additional partners.

“We’re looking to grow our own in-house mental health services, alongside the Family Center, to better reach the mental health needs of kiddos in our community,” she says.