“When a young person is traumatized, it sets the stage for a life that is more difficult.” Dennis S. Charney, MD
“Is anything more important than ending violence against children and adolescents?”
That rhetorical question was posed by Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and President for Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System, in his opening remarks at a recent conference sponsored by the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center and the World Childhood Foundation USA. “When a young person is traumatized,” said Dr. Charney, a renowned expert in the neurobiology and treatment of mood and anxiety disorders, “it sets the stage for a life that is more difficult.”
The conference, “Ending Violence Against Children: Developing a Roadmap to a Healthy Childhood and Adolescence,” was held Thursday, March 22, and Friday, March 23, in Stern Auditorium, and kicked off the 50th anniversary of the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, a unique New York City-based program that delivers comprehensive medical and mental health services and prevention education to people ages 10 to 22.
More than 70 percent of the young people who come to the Adolescent Health Center have a history of trauma, according to conference co-director Angela Diaz, MD, PhD, MPH, Director of the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center and the Jean C. and James W. Crystal Professor of Pediatrics, and Professor of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
“Young people are our present and our future,” said Dr. Diaz. “Together, we can create a model for ending violence against children.”
Sixty experts served on panel discussions that included research into the long-term consequences of early childhood abuse and neglect, the economic impact of violence in childhood, and ways to safeguard the mental health of children and adolescents. Panel participants covered topics such as abuse prevention, support for survivors, the role of the justice system, and ways to find innovative solutions.
David Finkelhor, PhD
Rachel Lloyd, Founder and President of Girls Educational and Mentoring Service (GEMS), participated in a panel discussion on helping victims of sexual trafficking. “Poverty is the baseline for almost every child who ends up being sexually trafficked,” she said. “Sexual trafficking is a matter of demand and supply, but it’s driven by sexual abuse at home, poverty, domestic violence, and running away from Child Protective Services.”
The audience was comprised of hundreds of clinicians, researchers, policymakers, philanthropists, and youth advocates, who came together to identify solutions to defend children’s rights and promote better living conditions for children. Joanna Rubinstein, DDS, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer, World Childhood Foundation USA, also served as co-director of the conference.
David Finkelhor, PhD, Director, Crimes against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire, delivered the conference’s keynote address, and proposed the creation of a common field of study to examine the full scope of violence against children, including bullying and peer victimization, as well as abuse by adults and how the risk of violence changes over the course of development.
“Children suffer five times more violence than adults,” he said. “Why are they so vulnerable? They are small, dependent, inexperienced. Kids don’t choose their families, schools, or neighborhoods.”
Dr. Diaz and Dr. Rubinstein concluded the conference with a call to action that would include addressing barriers to identifying victims and integrating a “trauma-informed” approach into programs that interact with children and youth. “This is the beginning of a movement,” Dr. Diaz said.
Angela Diaz, MD, PhD, MPH