Healthcare professionals unite for #ChildDignity
Less than a week to the #ChildDignity in the DIgital World congress! Today we spotlight some of the speakers from the healthcare sector, an area which will be well-represented at the event. When the devastating physical and psychological long-term impact that the online sexual exploitation of children causes is better understood, then governments and lawmakers will be in a better position to fight it. Here are some speakers to listen for:
Dr. Sharon Cooper, Developmental and Forensic Pediatrician. Dr. Sharon Cooper is a Developmental and Forensic Pediatrician who has evaluated and treated child victims of sexual abuse and exploitation for more than forty years. She has served as a subject matter expert in the areas of the psychosexual development of children, the victimization associated with abusive images in the digital world and the commercial sexual exploitation of children. She is the senior editor of one of the most-cited textbooks on this subject for over a decade. Her talk is entitled: The Harm to Children in Online Child Sexual Exploitation. Why Children Don’t Tell? How Can We Intervene Sooner and More Effectively?
Dr. Donald L. Hilton, Adjunct Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center. Dr. Hilton is an adjunct associate professor of neurosurgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Texas, USA. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a diplomat of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. His research and publishing interests have included minimally invasive surgery and neural mechanisms of addiction. He will speak on: Pornography and the Developing Brain: Protecting the Children.
Dr. Mary Anne Layden, University of Pennsylvania (US). Dr. Layden is a psychotherapist and Director of Education at the Center for Cognitive Therapy at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the Director of the Sexual Trauma and Psychopathology Program, and the Director of the Social Action Committee for Women's Psychological Health. Amongst others she has co-authored a chapter about the child exploitation industry with Linnea Smith. She will treat the topic: Pornography and Violence. The Long-Term Effects of Pornography Use.
Dr. Elizabeth Letourneau, Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Director of the Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse. Elizabeth Letourneau is Professor with Tenure at the Department of Mental Health, and Director at the Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. For nearly 30 years Dr. Letourneau has developed and evaluated child sexual abuse-related prevention, policy and practice. As the inaugural director of the Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse her efforts now focus on the developing and evaluating CSA prevention interventions; one of these focuses on perpetration prevention and was recently awarded funding by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH. She will speak on: Preventing Online Offending. What Have We Learned About Clinical Interventions WithYouth and Adult Sex Offending Behaviors?
Michelle Williams, Dean of the Faculty, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Michelle A. Williams, SM ’88, ScD ’91, is Dean of the Faculty, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She is an internationally renowned epidemiologist and public health scientist, an award-winning educator, and a widely recognized academic leader. Prior to becoming Dean, she was Professor and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard Chan School and Program Leader of the Population Health and Health Disparities Research Programs at Harvard’s Clinical and Translational Sciences Center. She will speak on: Epidemiology of Child Maltreatment: What The Data Show by Region. What We Know About Online Victimization.
These are just a few of the many speakers and participants who will meet to discuss a united plan to end online child sexual exploitation. In the days to come we will look more in depth at other speakers and organizations who are working hard in the field. Thank you for joining us on the journey towards #ChildDignity!