This beautiful 4-year-old girl is Teghan Alyssa Skiba, and she died July 19, 2010, at UNC-Chapel Hill hospital, a victim of what Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell called one of the worst cases of abuse his investigators had ever seen. She was bitten, beaten, tortured and sexually assaulted over a period of days while in the care of her mother’s boyfriend, who’s been arrested and charged with first degree murder. This should never happen to anyone, and it should never EVER happen to an innocent little child. As a mother myself, I think of Teghan’s pain, terror and despair, while she was trapped and alone, beaten and raped, and it makes me heartsick. So sick, my whole being recoils and wants to pretend this never happened. I have to force myself to keep typing because child abuse HAS TO STOP.

I’ve spent my life trying to make the world a better place. I support several non-profits and I do volunteer work. Every year since 2006, I’ve been involved in the global “Can’t Stop the Serenity” program which has raised almost half a million dollars for Equality Now, to help women and girls around the world. I’ve supported Feeding America, Kids Need to Read, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Mercy Corps, Pennies for Peace, Wikipedia, Bat World Sanctuary, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and Unicef. I’m a trained literacy volunteer, and have donated books and money to libraries. I’ve donated my handmade jewelry to events such as the Raleigh Saint Patrick’s Day Parade, Toast to the Triangle to benefit the Tammy Lynn Center for Developmental Disabilities, and school fundraisers. I’ve helped friends and strangers with my money, time and creativity, in countless ways. At home, I strive to raise my children in a healthy, nurturing environment.

But Teghan’s story touched me especially deeply. So deeply that I can’t let it go. I won’t let it go. In the midst of my day-to-day life, worrying about how fat I am, how old I’ve become, my sick kids and old cats, what’s for dinner, and paying the bills, this story brought me back to the truth… that there are so many, many more important things in life than my petty frustrations. And one of the very most important is keeping children safe.

How can we stop this sinister offense? It’s an overwhelming and repugnant task, seeking the monsters among us. Is our courage equal to our desire to do the work? Is there anything we can do?

Speak out, and bring light to the darkness of abuse. Educate yourself about the prevalence and signs of abuse. If you are the victim of abuse, or if you suspect abuse, please report it. If you have parenting problems, please seek help. If you can, please support the agencies and organizations which work to end abuse.

Here’s a list of resources, by no means exhaustive. Search the Internet for others in your area.

Prevent Child Abuse: North Carolina

Project Safe Girls

Child abuse statistics

Recognizing child abuse

Reporting child abuse

U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services: Child Welfare Information Gateway

CDC: Child Maltreatment Prevention

Darkness to Light: Child Sexual Abuse Prevention

Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-4-A-CHILD

Until child abuse is ended, I am going to keep Teghan’s picture on my website, and on my computer. A constant reminder that no matter how frustrating, despairing, or hard my life might be… someone, somewhere out there, needs me. And they need you.

Do whatever you can, no matter how little, but do something. Evil prevails when good people do nothing.

~ Jen

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