This week, we’re sharing another resource to help parents talk to their kids about racism, featuring guidance from Howard Stevenson, a clinical psychologist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. While parents often think, “I don’t want to burden my kids with racial stuff because it’s so heavy. It might damage their childhood,” Stevenson affirms us that “we do share things with our kids that are troublesome, perhaps scary, but it doesn’t throw off their childhood or lead them to nightmares.”

Additionally, reports of child abuse in New York City have dropped sharply since the COVID-19 crisis began. In the first eight weeks of spring 2019, New York City’s child welfare agency received an average of 1,374 cases of abuse or neglect to investigate each week. In the same period this year, that number fell to 672, a decline of 51 percent. Authorities are worried that the steep decline could be a sign of an epidemic of abuse spreading behind closed doors. 

To read more, see below for five news stories that caught our attention this week:

1. How To Talk To Kids About Racism, Explained By A Psychologist

Vox, (June 9, 2020): This article features a Q&A with Howard Stevenson on how to talk to kids about racism. Stevenson recommends that parents start having conversations with their kids about racism when they are young so that they can understand the issue and fight it.

2. Why Are Black Women and Girls Still an Afterthought in Our Outrage Over Police Violence?

TIME, (June 4, 2020): This opinion piece by Brittney Cooper, professor at Rutgers University and author, calls attention to the fact that Black women and girls face both racism and sexism, and argues for them to be more than an afterthought in outrage over police violence. 

3. Reopening Schools Safely: Prioritising Violence Prevention And Response In Back-to-school Planning

The Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, (June 12, 2020): This article highlights the Back to School recommendations by the Safe to Learn coalition focused on violence prevention and response.

4. Nigerian Women Are Taking To The Streets In Protests Against Rape And Sexual Violence

CNN, (June 9, 2020): This article covers the protests that have been taking place in cities across Nigeria to demand urgent action to combat rape and sexual violence against women.

5. Child Abuse Cases Drop 51 Percent. The Authorities Are Very Worried.

New York Times, (June 9, 2020): This article explains how there has been a sharp drop in reports of child abuse in New York City since COVID-19 began, and highlights why that is worrying the authorities.