NEW YORK—Miss America 2013 Mallory Hagan joined with Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes and the Crimes Against Children Bureau to raise awareness for child sexual abuse on Thursday.
Twenty-nine percent of female rape victims in the United States occur when the victim is younger than 11 years old, according to the National Center for Victims of Crime, 1992.
Hynes said when he learned that Hagan’s platform was raising awareness about child sexual abuse and preventing it, he wanted to partner with her to help raise awareness.
“I applaud Miss Hagan for tackling such a difficult and personal issue,” he said in a statement. “I understand what it’s like to be the child of an abused parent—my mother was the victim of domestic violence. Miss Hagan and I know this abuse leaves no member of the family unscathed.”
Hagan said in her immediate family alone, five women, including her mother, have suffered from abuse. The women “have come forward with stories from their childhood that will forever haunt me,” said Hagan in a statement.
“They have inspired me to become an advocate so that I can bring light to a challenging issue that so desperately needs our attention,” she added.
The Crimes Against Children Bureau was created in 1997 and seeks to investigate and prosecute offenders who abuse children under 13.
Help Options
If you know of a child who is in immediate danger, call 911.
If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, call the New York State Child Abuse & Maltreatment Hotline at: 1-800-342-3720
