Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman NANCY F. MUNOZ
District 21 (Morris, Somerset and Union)
Assemblywoman CAROL A. MURPHY
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
Urges American Academy of Pediatrics and New Jersey Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics to issue guidance for pediatricians and family doctors on discussing personal space and privacy with children.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Assembly Resolution urging the American Academy of Pediatrics and the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics to issue guidance for pediatricians and family doctors on discussing personal space and privacy with children.
Whereas, Child sexual abuse is a common adverse childhood experience affecting one in four girls and one in eight boys; and
Whereas, Children who experience sexual abuse may develop serious lifelong physical and mental health consequences; and
Whereas, Pediatricians can provide anticipatory guidance to children regarding personal space and privacy over the course of a child’s life, in developmentally appropriate ways, to increase a child’s knowledge of appropriate and inappropriate touching, and to teach a child how to respond to inappropriate touching; and
Whereas, Currently, there are insufficient resources for pediatricians and family doctors to utilize in providing children and parents anticipatory guidance on personal space and privacy for children, which reduces the potential for this dialogue to occur; and
Whereas, It is altogether fitting and proper for this House to urge the American Academy of Pediatrics and the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics to develop materials and issue guidance to assist pediatricians and family doctors in providing children and parents anticipatory guidance on personal space and privacy for children, in order to potentially either reduce the incidence of child sexual abuse or prevent the increase in such abuse; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House urges the American Academy of Pediatrics and the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics to develop materials and issue guidance to assist pediatricians and family doctors in providing children and parents anticipatory guidance on personal space and privacy for children.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to each member of the board of directors of the American Academy of Pediatrics and each member of the executive committee of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
STATEMENT
This resolution urges the American Academy of Pediatrics and the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics to issue guidance for pediatricians and family doctors on discussing personal space and privacy with children.
Child sexual abuse is a common adverse childhood experience affecting one in four girls and one in eight boys. Children who experience sexual abuse may develop serious lifelong physical and mental health consequences. Pediatricians can provide anticipatory guidance to children regarding personal space and privacy over the course of a child’s life, in developmentally appropriate ways, to increase a child’s knowledge of appropriate and inappropriate touching, and to teach a child how to respond to inappropriate touching.
Currently, there are insufficient resources for pediatricians and family doctors to utilize in providing children and parents anticipatory guidance on personal space and privacy for children, which reduces the potential for this dialogue to occur.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics is urged to develop materials and issue guidance to assist pediatricians and family doctors in providing children and parents anticipatory guidance on personal space and privacy for children, in order to potentially either reduce the incidence of child sexual abuse or prevent the increase of such abuse.