A silent epidemic. That’s how the American Medical Association (AMA) characterizes child sexual abuse in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused before the age of 18. That helps explain the renewed efforts underway in East Texas for the passage of the Jenna Quinn Law in Congress. The bill would allow existing grant funding, under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to be used for a federal program, which aims to prevent child sexual abuse in school and community settings.
Texas already approved a state version of Jenna’s Law back in 2009, becoming the first mandate of its kind in the country. It requires K-thru-12 training of students, school staff and caregivers on how to prevent, recognize, and report child sexual abuse. Jenna’s Law has since expanded to include childcare centers, foster care centers, child planning agencies, and universities. And it is now law in 35 states.
Previous attempts to enact a national Jenna’s Law failed to make it to the president’s desk twice before – failing to make it out of committee or to a full vote before previous congressional sessions ended. U.S. Senator John Cornyn of Texas introduced the legislation in the Senate on March 30, 2023, where it passed unanimously nearly a year later, on February 9 of this year. Senator Cornyn and fellow bill co-sponsor Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire point out that after Jenna’s Law passed in Texas, a study found educators reported child sexual abuse at a rate almost four times greater after training than during their pre-training career.
U.S. Representative Nathaniel Moran, who represents District 1 [which covers a large swath of far East Texas] has taken on the task of pushing the bill in the House. Moran tells KLTV News, “I can think of no better way for us to spend our time, our money, and our resources in this nation than to protect those that are vulnerable,” as Moran added, “I want people to recognize, this law really empowers and educates those that are already in positions of authority to help identify those victims of sexual abuse and then help them get to a place of hope and recovery.” The Jenna Quinn Law has already passed unanimously in the U.S. Senate.
KLTV News covered a roundtable discussion in Tyler, Texas last Thursday, February 22, as Congressman Moran and Senator Cornyn were joined by law enforcement and local educators, along with child sexual abuse survivor Jenna Quinn. As the namesake of the legislation, Quinn spoke optimistically about the future of the bill in Congress. “I think today is a day to focus on hope that there are people, there are communities, there are organizations like the Child Advocacy Center that will stand beside survivors and hope for them and fight for them when they can’t fight for themselves.”
