April is Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Month β and there is a blind spot at the center of our child protection system that most people β including most professionals β donβt know exists.
Here is what I know that most people don't:
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βSibling sexual abuse accounts for nearly half of all childhood sexual abuse within families. It is estimated to affect 1 in 20 children. And it is almost entirely absent from the prevention curricula, professional training, and policy frameworks designed to stop it. When something is not named, it cannot be prevented.
I am Colleen Mullowney, founder of SSTA AWARE and a survivor of sibling sexual abuse. Twenty-five years ago, I named what happened to me. Telling my story began as survival. Then I became a mother, and it became a mission β to shine a light on this silent epidemic so that no child must carry what so many have endured.
SSTA AWARE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded to change that. We exist to intentionally include sibling-specific language in prevention, policy, and healing frameworks β so that the children most overlooked by the system are finally seen.
In two years, SSTA AWARE has:
β’ Earned 501(c)(3) nonprofit status
β’ Launched the #OneWord Initiative β partnering with national child protection organizations to add one word β Sibling β to their existing curricula, policies, and training frameworks
β’ Secured our first external donor through Fidelity Charitable
β’ Presented at the Chadwick Child and Family Maltreatment Conference in San Diego
β’ Joined as co-producer and panelist for the 2026 Sibling Sexual Trauma & Abuse Conference: Breaking the Silence β June 23 at Long Island University
β’ Established the 1st U.S. National Platform for Brave Movement β an international organization for lived experience experts in childhood sexual abuse
β’ Launched development of professional continuing education for clinicians, social workers, law enforcement, and advocates β providing guidance for SSTA assessment and treatment
This is what momentum looks like in year two of a self-funded nonprofit. And we are just getting started.
This April, I am asking for your help.
A donation of any size directly funds the awareness, education, and infrastructure we are building to reach more children, more professionals, and more communities. Here is what your gift makes possible:
β’ $50 helps us reach a new professional with SSTA education resources
β’ $100 supports the development of our free family navigation guide
β’ $250 funds outreach to a new organizational partner for the #OneWord Initiative
β’ $500 helps us bring the awareness presentation to a college campus or community group
β’ Any amount moves us forward
And if giving isnβt the right fit right now, that is completely okay. Here are two things you can do today:
β’ Follow, share, and repost. Find us at @sstaaware on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Share a post this month. Tag a friend. Every share reaches someone who may desperately need to know they are not alone.
β’ Connect me. Do you know someone working in child protection, mental health, policy, or advocacy who should know about SSTA AWARE? An introduction β even a quick email forward β could open a door that changes everything.
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Sharing this with one person who needs to hear it β a parent, a teacher, a counselor, a friend β is a gift too. Awareness is the first step toward prevention.
Every child deserves to grow up free from sexual abuse. Thank you for taking the time to consider work that seeks to name what has too often gone unnamed β and to strengthen the broader effort to protect, educate, and heal.
With gratitude and hope,
Colleen Mullowney
Founder, SSTA AWARE
A 501(c)(3) Nonprofit
βsstaaware.orgβ
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