At the January 5 meeting of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville Steve Collins informed members about Gwinnett’s Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Initiative.  He described the program, Stewards of Children, which aims to train adults to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child abuse.  According to him, one in ten children will be sexually abused before age 18.  The goal of this training is to counter this “silent epidemic.”  Core values of the initiative are 1) adult focused prevention, 2) community engagement, and 3) cultural change.  He asserted that we live in a period where it is possible to bring these issues into the light.  Referencing Malcolm Gladwell’s theory of a 5% “tipping point” that can create cultural change, Collins said the goal is to use this program to train 5% of adults in Georgia.  Several counties have exceeded that goal; Gwinnett has 7.2% trained.  He showed two video clips where victims of sexual abuse as children discussed the lifelong consequences and explained how the club might provide contacts with groups to be trained or sponsor the cost of training.