"To help people realize that they can stop child sexual abuse, we have the power to stop this by being aware of it, by taking responsibility for talking to other adults when we're concerned about their behavior," says Gianna Gariglietti, the Executive Director of CASA.
But talking about sex abuse is hard for a lot of people. Gariglietti says most people pretend that sex abuse isn't a problem when it really is.
"Child sexual abuse is a problem everywhere, and Virginia and the Valley is no exception to that, and I would like to think we are, but the fact of the matter is that we aren't, I mean, one in four women and one in six to eight boys will experience abuse or attempted abuse in their lifetime," says Gariglietti.
The toll-free line is only offered in five other states in the country, but the Virginia Department of Health felt the hotline was needed because Virginia's sexual abuse statistics matched the national average.
"I do believe, and certainly stop it now believes that not everybody who sexually abuses a child wants to continue to do this, there are sex offenders who do want help, there are people who do want to get better," says Gariglietti.
And those people can receive help that will lead them in the right direction instead of continuing in the wrong direction. To find out more information about the hotline, go to our featured links section.