By Khalida Sarwari
Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright spoke at a luncheon in San Francisco this afternoon about the importance of child abuse prevention, emphasizing that the challenge of child abuse is more widespread and complex than most assume.
Albright was the keynote speaker at the “For the Love of a Child” benefit luncheon at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, hosted by the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center in honor of National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
“In my life, I’ve worn a lot of hats,” Albright began. “But today I am here as a mother.”
Albright’s daughter Katie Albright serves as executive director of the community-based nonprofit that aims to prevent child abuse and neglect, promote healthy families, and preserve the mental health of children in the Bay Area.
Albright began the keynote with a comical correlation between her role as a mother and as a former diplomat. She quipped that dealing with children is not all that different from negotiating peace in the Middle East, “except with children, tantrums are less frequent and don’t last 2,000
years.”
Drawing on her own experiences as a diplomat, Albright offered comparisons between methods used in the prevention of child abuse and those used in the realm of foreign relations.
It is essential in foreign diplomacy, Albright said, for a nation to have the support of a network of allies striving to create new opportunities and solve hard problems, in much the same way that it is necessary to create such a network for child abuse prevention.
Critical thinking is another necessary asset in foreign relations, Albright said, noting that when facing global issues, a foreign diplomat must first try to understand things from the point of view of others before taking any measures. Similarly, Albright stated that each child abuse case is unique and so the measures taken must be tailored accordingly.
Finally, Albright said that preventative diplomacy is key to both fields. According to Albright, just as the future of a nation depends upon crisis prevention, the future of a child is contingent upon the quality of nutrition, healthcare, education and network he or she receives.
Whenever a child is denied those things, Albright said, “We are all damaged.”
Albright closed the keynote with the basic premise that “every individual counts.” Child abuse cannot go unnoticed, she said, in a community that looks out for each of its members.
For information about services available at the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center, go to http://www.sfcapc.org/.