Jacob Stapledon

Safe Kids Thrive a True Resource for Primary Prevention

May 23, 2023 by Jacob Stapledon

Safe Kids Thrive a True Resource for Primary Prevention

Jacob Stapledon

May 23, 2023

Last month, the Boy Scouts of America began distributing victim compensation payments as part of a $2.4 billion settlement agreement to more than 82,000 survivors of child sexual abuse. This is the conclusion of a legal action that commenced in November 2020. For decades systemic sexual abuse and subsequent cover-ups led to ongoing abuse within the organization, tarnishing the reputation of one of the leading youth organizations in the nation. Since the surge of litigation, there have been a number of changes within Boy Scouts focusing on preventing sexual abuse. These changes include “mandatory youth protection training for volunteers and employees, a screening process that includes criminal background checks for new adult leaders and staff, and a policy requiring at least two youth-protection trained adults to be present with youth at all times during scouting activities.” The Boy Scouts of America, after 110 years, enacted a major policy shift which should become the standard in every youth- serving organization.

In the 25 years that Children’s Cove has served children and families on the Cape & Islands, we have worked to stem the tide of child sexual abuse and reduce its stigma through our community engagement and education programs. We worked with hundreds of youth-serving organizations across the Cape & Islands, including the Boys Scouts of America’s Cape Cod Chapter, to provide training to recognize, respond, and report child abuse. We have also helped many organizations streamline their own reporting processes.

As part of our training there is a very important message we feel is important to share with every youth-serving organization: where children are, those who seek to take advantage of children will also be there. Organizations cannot afford to take the risk that everyone in their employee or volunteer pool will act in good and moral character. Because of this, we have provided feedback and suggestions on how to reduce instances of abuse within their own organization. This is a critical part of our mission as the Child Advocacy Center (CAC) for Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard.

We also want to share that in addition to our training, there is a website that can help organizations adopt best practices to prevent child sexual abuse. It was created by the Massachusetts Task Force for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse. This task force used a multidisciplinary approach to develop guidance and resources for best practice guidelines for the prevention of child sexual abuse in youth serving organizations. Utilizing evidence-based information, research and experts in the field, in 2020 the task force launched a first of its kind website, SafeKidsThrive.org.

This resource, coordinated by the Office of the Child Advocate and Children’s Trust, allows youth-serving organizations of every size to assess and improve the safety of their programs at no cost. For many years, each youth-serving organization had to develop their own safety policies and procedures. Unfortunately, child sexual abuse rarely makes its way to the top of the list of priorities, not through malice or meaningful intent, but from the lack of easily obtainable resources and information. Now, all the information an organization needs to form comprehensive child abuse prevention guidelines is available.

We believe that with comprehensive prevention planning all youth-serving organizations can develop clear zero-tolerance guidelines which will make their organization unattractive to those looking to harm children. “

Through this website any youth-serving organization can develop their own toolkit for prevention, focusing on elements of prevention. These include an organizations policies and procedures, volunteer and employee screening, hiring and criminal background checks, codes of conduct, education and training (for adults and children), sustainability of best practices and more. Their toolkit and website offer outlines and examples for organizations to develop their own policies or review the ones they currently have in place to improve them. The instructions and examples are clear, simple, and easy to understand.

We believe that with comprehensive prevention planning all youth-serving organizations can develop clear zero-tolerance guidelines which will make their organization unattractive to those looking to harm children. And, in instances where there is alleged sexual abuse, the community will know it will be taken very seriously. These policies and changes need to come from organizational leadership, and conversations surrounding sexual abuse and children’s safety should be encouraged. And, more so, our community and parents need to ask youth-serving organizations what policies they have in place to prevent child sexual abuse in their organizations. The more we bring these discussions to light, the closer we can get to a future free from the sexual abuse of children.

The community engagement and education program at Children’s Cove is available to provide direct support in developing toolkits for youth-serving organizations using the Safe Kids Thrive program, offering professional training to employees working with children, and supporting the development of effective reporting protocols. There is no cost to these services. If you would like to learn more about developing a child sexual abuse prevention toolkit for your youth-serving organization, please visit SafeKidsThrive.org, or reach out to our Community Engagement and Education Program Manager Jacob Stapledon.

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It’s Time to Have the Conversation

April 18, 2023 by Jacob Stapledon

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It’s Time to Have The Conversation

Jacob Stapledon

April 18, 2023

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, which is an important time for non-profits and advocacy groups to raise awareness of child abuse and neglect. The statistics on child abuse are overwhelming. One in four girls — and one in six boys — will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday. Most victims suffer in silence. It is estimated that more than 90 percent of abuse victims never report what happened to them. Even more alarming is that more than 90 percent of perpetrators are someone that an abused child knows and trusts – a coach, camp counselor, teacher, someone in their faith community, or a family member. This is a public health crisis our communities must face.

April is also Sexual Assault Awareness Month, in which 1 in 6 women and 1 in 26 men will experience a sexual assault in adulthood. Young men in college face a risk of sexual assault five times higher than the national average. This month is a rallying cry across the state and nation to urge our community to come together to make a difference.

So, for these two important awareness initiatives, Children’s Cove, Independence House, a Safe Place Nantucket and CONNECT to End Violence have partnered in an effort to create a joint public awareness poster campaign titled “It’s Time to Have the Conversation.” With this first collaborative campaign, for the first time in our organizations’ histories, we are united to bring the issues of exploitation, assault and abuse of adults and children to the forefront of our community conversations. We need to engage our community at a broader level to truly impact the future. The poster features bold colors to catch attention, Cape & Island imagery, concise language, and a QR code and website URL where anyone can learn about the services our agencies provide on the Cape and Islands. The website includes direct access to emergency hotlines to help survivors of abuse gain access to supportive services.

We believe we can create communities where everyone lives free from abuse, has a voice that is heard, and can enjoy healthy, safe, and empowered lives. And we need your help to do it.”

As part of the campaign, we are partnering with local area Chambers of Commerce to encourage local businesses to share these posters in spaces such as bathrooms or other communal areas where victims of abuse may see them and learn about help available to them. Each of our organizations will also be distributing posters across our community to raise awareness, and work together on a matching social media campaign.

CC0096 Collaborative Resource Poster 11x17 04.03.23

Our message has been missing in locations that people frequent. It is missing in restaurants and bars. It is missing in recreational centers and activities. It is missing in hotels and resorts. We are missing in the places most people work, or shop, or get their lunch. For too long, our visibility has been missing from most people’s lives. For too long, sexual and domestic violence has remained a taboo subject hidden in the shadows, which increases the likelihood of the victimization, and minimizes the chances someone will receive support.

As a community, we cannot afford to do that anymore.

Sexual assault, domestic violence, child sexual abuse, and sexual exploitation happens here. It happens in every town on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket. These issues impact people of all ages, genders, cultural backgrounds, and socioeconomic status.

“It’s Time to Have the Conversation.” It’s time to bring these issues to light.

We believe we can create communities where everyone lives free from abuse, has a voice that is heard, and can enjoy healthy, safe, and empowered lives. And we need your help to do it.

If you would like to support the mission to raise awareness about these issues, please reach out to the representative from the organization that serves your area:

Jacob Stapledon, Children’s Cove, Jacob.Stapledon@childrenscove.org

Chris Morin, Independence House, ChrisM@indhouse.net

Morgan Beausoleil, CONNECT to End Violence, MBeausoleil@mvcommunityservices.org

Rachel Devine, A Safe Place Nantucket, rachel@asafeplacenantucket.org

A special thank you to each member of this committee in their incredible work on this project. And an additional special thanks to the team at Pierce-Coté Advertising for turning the concept of our vision into reality.

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SAFE Child Communities: Bringing Protective Factors Home

April 18, 2023 by Jacob Stapledon

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SAFE Child Communities: Bringing Protective Factors Home

Jacob Stapledon

April 18, 2023

During Child Abuse Prevention Month, it is a critical time to talk about ways to facilitate prevention for families. Given the focus of our work we primarily talk about body safety, online safety, ways to teach children about consent, and those skills parents can teach and pass on to reduce the likelihood of sexual abuse or exploitation. While teaching those skills are paramount, they are not the only ways in which we can work together to prevent child abuse. Our close community partners at Cape Cod Children’s Place a few years ago received a grant from The Children’s Trust, called the SAFE (Stop Abuse For Every) Child Communities. This grant, and the programming funded by it, uses evidenced-based strategies to significantly reduce the risk of child abuse using a community approach.

Using evidence-based frameworks and the brain development of children, this work is focused around developing and increasing the skills and access to families in what is known as the Five Protective Factors. These protective factors include:

Parental Resilience: having the skills and ability to cope and bounce back from challenges.
Social Connections: having friends, family, and community to provide emotional support and assistance.
Concrete support in times of need: such as the knowledge and ability to access life essentials such as food, clothing and housing when there is need.
Knowledge of parenting and child development: accurate information and skill development in raising children with appropriate expectations and interventions.
Childrens social and emotional development: teaching and understanding a child’s ability to interact positively with others and communicate their emotions.

It is only through collaboration, communication, and dedication to our children and future that create a community where children are free of abuse…”

The programming and staff at Cape Cod Children’s Place (CCCP) provide education and skill development around these protective factors and incorporates it in all the work they do. More than that, however, there is a critical component around this work, which is helping move community-based agencies in the same direction of prevention.

Since inception of the grant and mission CCCP has worked with Children’s Cove and other community partners to organize agencies who provide services which supports one or more of these protective factors, and over the last year and a half has begun to bring these organizations back together since the onset of Covid-19 separated elements of our community. And this is coming together in a much larger way this month.

On April 26th, the SAFE Child Community of providers is holding a resource fair from 9:00am-4:00pm at the Cape & Islands Association of Realtors Building in Yarmouth. This fair has a dual purpose for the day, the first is to reconnect and reintroduce agencies and those working in them to one another. There has been a lot of change since Covid-19 in providers and its staff and leadership, this fair provides an opportunity for each organization meet one another, network, understand referral processes, and increase access to services for the families they serve. The fair is open to all agencies and their staff and teams to attend for the day.

However, for the second half of the day, from 12pm-4pm the fair will be open directly to the community as well. This way there is dedicated time for agencies and individuals to network in the morning, and then the families each organization serves can learn about the programs available across our community.

It is only through collaboration, communication, and dedication to our children and future that create a community where children are free of abuse, have a voice that is heard, and where they enjoy healthy, safe, and empowered lives.

A special thank you to the SAFE Child Community Resource Fair Committee:

Marly Pereda- Cape Cod Children’s Place

Molly Titus – Cape Cod Family Resource Center

Chris Morin – Independence House

Carla Koehl – Cape Cod Foster Closet

Natalia Frois – Cape Cod Council of Churches

Barbara Dominic – Children’s Behavioral Health Working Group

Jacob Stapledon – Children’s Cove

Ari Branning – Children’s Cove

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Adverse Childhood Experiences: The Hidden Public Health Crisis

March 20, 2023 by Jacob Stapledon

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Adverse Childhood Experiences: The Hidden Public Health Crisis

Jacob Stapledon

March 20, 2023

In 2014, Pediatrician Nadine Burke, later appointed as Surgeon General of California (2019-2022), presented a TedTalk which summarized a major public health crisis impacting Americans. Dr. Burke Harris stated:

In the mid-’90s, the CDC and Kaiser Permanente discovered an exposure that dramatically increased the risk for seven out of ten of the leading causes of death in the United States. In high doses, it affects brain development, the immune system, hormonal systems, and even the way our DNA is read and transcribed. Folks who are exposed in very high doses have triple the lifetime risk of heart disease and lung cancer and a 20-year difference in life expectancy. And yet, doctors today are not trained in routine screening or treatment. Now, the exposure I’m talking about is not a pesticide or a packaging chemical. It’s childhood trauma.”

When Dr. Burke Harris references childhood trauma, she explains that this term falls under a larger category of what is called Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define ACE as “…traumatic events that occur in childhood such as experiencing violence, abuse, or neglect, witnessing violence in the home or community and/or having a family member attempt or die by suicide. Also included are aspects of the child’s environment that can undermine their sense of safety, stability, and bonding, such as growing up in a household with substance use, mental health problems, or instability due to parental separation or household members being in jail or prison.” According to the CDC, 61% of adults surveyed had experienced at least one type of ACE before age 18, and nearly 1 in 6 reported they had experienced four or more.

The original ACE study in the 1990’s, in which more than 17,000 individuals across 25 states participated, found a direct link between a high of number of ACEs causing greater negative outcomes across the span of a person’s life.

This is illustrated by the CDC’s ACE Pyramid:

ACEs pyramid_expanded (1) — Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Violence prevention: The ACE pyramid

Additional surveys taken in the late 2010’s, assessing the impacts of ACE in smaller and more diverse communities have replicated this link and identified that the impacts of ACE may also increase the risk for the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

With such profound results and studies about ACE, it is concerning that so many in the general public haven’t heard of it. In our community engagement and education efforts, Children’s Cove has often found that even professionals and community members have heard not of ACE.

We believe that the best way to mitigate the lifelong impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences in our communities is by talking about it.”

It is hard to understand how a public health crisis of this magnitude goes largely unnoticed or unknown in the general community. It certainly isn’t due to the lack of evidence-based information. So why is this? Dr. Burke Harris offers a theory in her TedTalk:

You know, at first I thought that we marginalized the issue because it doesn’t apply to us. That’s an issue for those kids in those neighborhoods. Which is weird, because the data doesn’t bear that out… If I were to ask how many people in this room grew up with a family member who suffered from mental illness, I bet a few hands would go up. And then if I were to ask how many folks had a parent who maybe drank too much, or who really believed that if you spare the rod, you spoil the child, I bet a few more hands would go up. Even in this room, this is an issue that touches many of us, and I am beginning to believe that we marginalize the issue because it does apply to us. Maybe it’s easier to see in other zip codes because we don’t want to look at it. We’d rather be sick.”

Is this the case? Is the lack of awareness, conversation and acknowledgement of the problem exist because it impacts so many of us?

Let’s find out.

The full questionnaire in the original ACE study was very comprehensive with more than 200 questions. So, in order to help more people, the organization ACEs Too High winnowed down those questions to a simple questionnaire, and here it is:

Prior to your 18th birthday:

Did a parent or other adult in the household often or very often swear at you, insult you, put you down, or humiliate you or act in a way that made you afraid that you might be physically hurt?
Did a parent or other adult in the household often or very often push, grab, slap, or throw something at you or ever hit you so hard that you had marks or were injured?
Did an adult or person at least 5 years older than you ever touch or fondle you or have you touch their body in a sexual way or attempt or have oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse with you?
Did you often or very often feel that no one in your family loved you or thought you were important or special? Or your family didn’t look out for each other, feel close to each other, or support each other?
Did you often or very often feel that you didn’t have enough to eat, had to wear dirty clothes, and had no one to protect you? Or were your parents were too drunk or high to take care of you or take you to the doctor if you needed it?
Were your parents ever separated or divorced?
Was your mother or stepmother often or very often pushed, grabbed, slapped, or had something thrown at her or sometimes, often, or very often kicked, bitten, hit with a fist, or hit with something hard, or ever repeatedly hit over at least a few minutes or threatened with a gun or knife?
Did you live with anyone who was a problem drinker or alcoholic, or who used street drugs?
Was a household member depressed or mentally ill, or did a household member attempt suicide?
Did a household member go to prison?

Every time a person answers “yes” to one of the above questions, it is an affirmation of an Adverse Childhood Experience.

Regardless of the total number, it is important to understand that individuals may be negatively impacted across time, however, it is not a given. There is hope for a better future when positive experiences, protective factors, and early-intervention efforts are implemented following trauma. These mitigating actions can reduce the influence of ACE to lessen the unhealthy impacts across someone’s lifespan.

We believe that the best way to mitigate the lifelong impacts of ACE in our communities is by talking about it. We need to continue conversations in our family and friend groups, ask teachers, counselors, and pediatricians if they have heard of the ACE study and if not, ask them to learn about it. Our society needs the ACE study to become a requirement in higher education degrees for those who wish to work in counseling, social work, or medicine.

It can be hard for individuals to acknowledge ACE experiences, but in doing so it may change the narrative of one’s own childhood and relationships with family and friends. It can also be beneficial to prevention efforts by helping to identify ways in which families and communities could reduce the likelihood of ACE in the next generation.

Understanding protective factors and working as a community to support children and families is critical, as well as acknowledging the impacts of ACE and how to reduce the effects of these experiences through early intervention. As a Child Advocacy Center for Cape Cod and the Islands, Children’s Cove will utilize evidenced based practices to help children who have experienced violence and abuse. Our network of community providers is here to offer hope and healing to mitigate the long-term impacts of trauma.

If you would like to learn more about how we can create a community where children are free of abuse, have a voice that is heard, and can enjoy healthy, safe, and empowered lives, please contact Jacob Stapledon, Community Engagement and Education Program Manager at Children’s Cove.

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Help Erase the Wait with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cape Cod & the Islands

March 16, 2023 by Jacob Stapledon

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Help Erase the Wait with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cape Cod & the Islands

Jacob Stapledon

March 16, 2023

It takes a community coming together to create a world where children live free from abuse. In fact, when we look at some of the major protective factors for children to prevent or easily recover from adverse childhood experiences, “connectedness” is at the top of the list. Nationally and locally, the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America offers supportive mentoring to nurture the potential of children, builds healthy social connectedness, and provides additional support for children to thrive.

Our community partner, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cape Cod and the Islands (BBBSCI), works with under-resourced families to offer their children transformational, one-to-one professionally supported relationships with caring adult mentors. Children’s Cove and BBBSCI share the vision of a community where children are free of abuse, have a voice that is heard, and where they enjoy healthy, safe, and empowered lives. Our collaborative approach allows Children’s Cove to provide free training for BBBSCI staff and volunteers on early recognition of trauma and how to respond to concerns of abuse. In turn, we provide referrals to BBBSCI for safe and supportive mentors for the children we serve.

BBBSCI wants our youth to achieve their full potential, which contributes to healthier families, better schools, brighter futures, and stronger communities.

However, BBBSCI has an enormous challenge ahead of them. The need for supportive mentors to children who are at-risk and need assistance outpaces the number of volunteers currently available. BBBSCI needs volunteer mentors for children in our community, and some children have waited more than a year for an appropriate match.

‘The need for supportive mentors to children who are at-risk and need assistance outpaces the number of volunteers currently available… and some children seeking support have been waiting more than a year for an appropriate match.’”

Executive Director JR Mell of BBBSCI talks about the way in which they match volunteer mentors to youth. “This isn’t a one size fits all solution. We take so much into consideration when matching ‘Bigs’ with ‘Littles.’ We ensure that each volunteer has a rigorous screening process for safety, we have extensive questionnaires for both prospective ‘Bigs’ and ‘Littles’ waiting for a mentor to identify interests, hobbies, personalities and more. We want to make sure that when we make a match, it is a match that sticks.”

This month, BBBSCI has launched a new “Erase the Wait” campaign to recruit 72 adult volunteer mentors on Cape Cod during the month of March. With 72 youth waiting for a ‘Big,’ they are excited to recruit and raise awareness on the need for more mentors to step up and become ‘Bigs.’ BBBSCI has already held two major events to recruit potential volunteer-mentors, and has another event coming up.

On March 31^st at the Hog Island Brewery in Orleans, the agency aims to provide a venue for people to join them, learn about mentorships, answer questions and meet current volunteer mentors. There is no cost to attend the event. The event starts at 4:30pm with light appetizers and a cash bar, with one drink per guest provide by BBBSCI. There will be door prizes and major gifts from Nauset Marine. At 6:00pm a live band will take the stage which should make it a good night for all. Bring your friends and join BBBSCI for a great night on the Lower Cape!

Mell adds, “we hope you’ll join us for a great night at Hog Island Brewery to learn more about the BBBSCI program, meet our Big 3 Leadership Committee and learn more about how you can get involved with our mission.”

If you are interested in volunteering to become a ‘Big,’ or want to learn more, join BBBSCI in Orleans on March 31^st by registering on Eventbrite here. You can also find our more information on their Facebook Page or by calling 508-827-8170.

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Catfishing and Sextortion: Real World Danger

February 21, 2023 by Jacob Stapledon

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Catfishing and Sextortion: Real World Danger

Jacob Stapledon

February 16, 2023

In 2012, MTV started a series which highlighted the deceptive practices of individuals in the online dating world, titled “Catfish.” As a common internet term, “catfish” is someone who creates a fake profile on social media, dating, and chatroom sites. This is often done by combining another person’s photos with false personal information (height, weight, age, etc.) to create a realistic fake identity. Catfishing was dismissed at first, but it is on the rise and can no longer be disregarded, as it carries real burdens, emotional damage, actual physical harm, and sexual exploitation.

A notable case of catfishing was subject of a Netflix documentary, “ Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist,” which detailed the events surrounding Notre Dame football player Manti Malietau Louis Te’o, or Manti Te’o. During 2012, Te’o was the victim of an online catfishing relationship which he believed to be real and was very emotionally invested. The perpetrator of the catfishing, Ronaiah “Naya” Tuiasosopo, used photos of a high school acquaintance of hers to develop a fake online identity known as Lennay Kekua. The elaborate details, utilization of photos, stories of a car accident and diagnosis of leukemia kept Te’o invested and involved in this catfishing hoax. Tuiasosopo used other acquaintances to validate their online Lennay persona and when Lennay eventually died from her supposed leukemia illness, Te’o was devastated.

During this catfishing incident, Te’o, a promising NFL prospect, often referenced the death of girlfriend “Lennay” in press conferences and recorded interviews as an influential part of his football career. However, when more questions about her death and his stories about their relationship were raised, it was discovered Lennay did not exist. While it was eventually discovered Te’o was a victim of catfishing, at the time future football prospects were jeopardized due to accusations that he participated in the catfishing hoax to garner public favor. The backlash against Te’o was vicious, and as a result he was isolated, and suffered from severe depression and anxiety.

However, some catfishing cases have escalated into even more dangerous and lethal situations. Thomas Montgomery, a married 46-year-old father of two murdered his co-worker, 22-year-old Brian Barrett as a part of an online love triangle caused by catfishing.

Sextortion ‘is a form of child sexual exploitation where children are threatened or blackmailed, most often with the possibility of sharing with the public a nude or sexual images of them'”

In 2005, Montgomery created the persona of an 18-year-old male in an online chatroom and started an online relationship with an alleged “18-year-old girl.” This relationship took place over a year as he exchanged photos of his younger self with this girl. When his secret was found out and the “girl” discovered his true age, she somehow found and began messaging Montgomery’s co-worker Barret online in the same forum. Her goal was to make Montgomery angry and jealous. At the same time, the “girl” known as “talhotblond” continued to chat with Montgomery. Ultimately, Montgomery’s rage and jealousy grew to the point where he shot and killed Barret. As the investigation unfolded, it came to light that “talhotblond” was actually Mary Shieler, a 45-year-old married mother who had used her daughter’s photos to create her fake online profile to talk to numerous men.

Then in November 2022, catfishing caused a kidnapping and multiple murders that made news headlines for weeks. Austin Lee Edwards, a Virginia State Sheriff’s Deputy, traveled to Riverside California, kidnapped a 15-year-old girl after murdering three of her family members and set their home on fire. Edwards had met this girl online while posing as a 17-year-old male. They had numerous online conversations, shared explicit messages, and images with one another. Little is known about when, how long, and what platform was used for this online exchange, but the consequences were dire. While the girl was eventually rescued, Edwards died in a shootout with law-enforcement leaving many questions unanswered.

Catfishing is also used for the online sexploitation of children. This has become a regular practice and is on the rise. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported a 97% increase in cases involving online enticement of children in 2020, and a dramatic increase in cases of sextortion. According to NCMEC, Sextortion “is a form of child sexual exploitation where children are threatened or blackmailed, most often with the possibility of sharing with the public a nude or sexual images of them, by a person who demands additional sexual content, sexual activity or money from the child.”

These situations often arise through the means of catfishing, pretending to be someone similarly aged, making fake profiles, and sending fake or stolen images to gain trust. These cases are on the rise locally as referrals for sexual exploitation of children has increased in southeastern Massachusetts by 40%. In addition, the targeting of young men for sextortion has increased to become one of the highest targeted groups nationally.

Another recent post by NCMEC details the dire consequences of sexploitation by catfishing:

When we talk about online safety, when we ask parents and teens to Take the Pledge and to Be Smart and Be Safe Online, it isn’t because it is something were just supposed to say. It’s because we are seeing the dramatic increase in catfishing and sexploitation right here on Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard. We are imploring parents and caregivers to Have the Conversation with your children; about online safety, about body safety, about family rules and values. Please start these conversations early, and even if you didn’t, start them now. Have these conversations often, because the risks to children and dangers they may encounter online are just as frequent.