The state house Education Committee is considering a bill to add child exploitation to the health curriculum in Pennsylvania schools.  The committee held a hearing on HB 2318.

The sponsor of the bill, Representative Mauree Gingrich (R-Leb) says over 90% of abusers are well known to the child.  She says the bill would help educate children about the risks and how to recognize dangerous situations and the warning signs of grooming.

Gingrich says the best defense we can provide our children is knowledge. She adds that awareness is a powerful tool in the fight against child sexual abuse and exploitation.  She says the Department of Education would develop age appropriate curriculum for grades K through 8.

The measure has bipartisan support.  Representative James Roebuck, minority chair of the education committee, says the bill is the next logical step after efforts to strengthen background checks and increase reporting requirements.   He says it’s an effort that transcends party and political differences.  He says our young children are our future and it’s the responsibility of elected officials to help protect them.

Former University of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia Eagle linebacker Al Chesley spoke in favor of the bill.  He says he was sexually abused by a policeman, who was a neighbor, when he was 13 years old.  He says when you arm kids with education, they begin to be empowered.

Erin Merryn of Illinois would like to see all fifty states pass such a bill. She says four states have already acted. A survivor of child sexual abuse, Merryn says we have to empower kids to tell, tell, tell.