Projects

To end child abuse, we need to start by creating a paradigm that supports the end. While many still think child abuse can't end, a growing number of people don't buy that idea anymore. Subsequently, new solutions are coming out of a new paradigm. They are proactive rather than reactive. Rainbird is developing a number of proactive solutions, but we also support some very cool existing solutions that aren't being well-utilized, if they're being used at all. 

Why aren't we using what we already have? Some people will tell you that we lack the money, but that's not true. We have plenty of money. We just aren't putting it into child abuse, or if we are, we're paying for things that don't make much of a difference.  

So why create more solutions when we don't use what we have? That's the question to ask, and it brings us to the heart of the issue of child abuse. The real solutions need to start with us, and they don't for 3 very good reasons:

First, we lack the right kind of knowledge. We know the horror stories we've read, witnessed, or experienced, but we don't know what to do, what resources we have, who to turn to, how much to talk about, and who to say it to. So we do nothing, and then we tolerate this problem and tell ourselves and each other that child abuse can't end. Which is why it doesn't.   

Second, we lack a sense of urgency. We don't see how child abuse impacts us directly or indirectly all the time. Maybe your child's friend is being abused and your child visits that home. Or you lost a loved one in a drunk driving accident caused by a person who drank to medicate memories of sexual abuse. Or your son uses drugs to escape the pain of an abuse he can't tell you about. Or your daughter's husband hits her as a result of being raised in a home where he was hit as a child. Or your taxes pay for the costs of child abuse, but none of your hard-earned money is paying for the end of it. Which means that you'll be paying for the rest of your life for something that will never get better. There are countless ways that child abuse directly and indirectly impacts us, and we don't know it. Call us for more examples. 

Third, we lack the will or desire to end child abuse. The not-so-kind fact is that most of us live like we have far more interesting and important things to do. Most of us are motivated by what will make us rich, sexy, or better looking. Turn on the tv. Open a newspaper. Check out Facebook. Look around you. Even our laptops and cell phones determine our attractiveness quotient. If we could find a way for people to get sexy, rich, or better looking from ending child abuse, we think folks would line up for that. But if we don't care enough to demand anything, why should our politicians? Why should they spend any time or money on an issue if we are an insufficient demand for them to do so?

But that's all we're missing. Not money. Not education. Not solutions.

Our projects provide an opportunity for self-reflection, clarify the urgency, and educate you about existing solutions that can end child abuse. We target research, public education, government accountability, political and corporate responsibility, reform of legal, medical, educational, and law enforcement systems, and the social tranformation of individuals, families, communities, and cultures that are currently contributing to the persistence of child abuse.

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