Press Release – Special Envoy for Women & Children – April 8, 2013 – The office of the Special Envoy for Women and Children in collaboration with the Ministry of Human Development, Social Transformation and Poverty Alleviation will be launching a children’s book entitled “My Body is Precious”.
It is becoming increasingly important to discuss the sensitive subject of Sexual Abuse of Children. Recognizing that it is not an easy conversation to have, the office of the Special Envoy partnered with the Ministry of Human Development and with assistance from UNICEF, they were able to produce 30,000 copies of the child-friendly “good touch, bad touch” booklet to be distributed countrywide.
“My Body is Precious” is part of a national public information campaign on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and follows successful symposiums hosted by my Office in August 2010 and October 2011. The book, which targets children between the ages of 6 and 10 years, will assist parents who have a hard time talking about the Sexual Abuse of Children while teaching children what to do if they are touched inappropriately. We hope that this book will ultimately contribute to the prevention of sexual abuse and exploitation of children as well as an increase in perpetrators being reported and convicted.
The launch of “My Body is Precious” will take place at 9:00am on Monday, April 15th at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts. With the help of the Institute of Creative Arts, a dramatization of the book will also be presented at the launch. That performance will be repeated over three days in an effort to reach all students from infant 2 to standard 2 within the Belize District. The skit will thereafter be taken on a countrywide tour sponsored by the National Institute of Culture and History.
For additional information or inquiries, please feel free to contact my Assistant Program Coordinator, Delahnie Bain, at 223-1941/42 or by email at: [email protected].