Thousands are traveling from around the world to attend the annual Crimes Against Children Conference, which will be held at the Sheraton Hotel in Downtown Dallas.
The conference, the largest of its kind worldwide, will be held from August 11 to 15. Over 5,500 experts in investigating, prosecuting, and assisting in the recovery of children who are victims of crime will travel to Dallas to share research and participate in workshops throughout the week-long conference.
This year marks the 36th anniversary of the conference, which is being hosted by the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center (DCAC).
“This year, we’ll have over 22 countries represented,” Irish Burch, president and CEO of DCAC, told The Dallas Express.
“All of these child abuse professionals in disciplines of law enforcement, CPS, child protection, medical and social workers and advocacy centers, and those in prosecution all come together and say, ‘What are the best practices? What did you learn from this case that you went through and prosecuted?'” explained Burch.
“Instead of everybody individually working these cases on their own, DCAC brings all of these organizations together and says, ‘How can we make this better for this family? How can we gather this information where this child is not having to tell their story over and over again?'” Burch added.
DCAC is the only nonprofit of its kind in Dallas that collaborates with law enforcement, Child Protective Services, the pediatric medical community, and prosecutors to create streamlined services for children who have survived abuse. DCAC provides families with advocates and therapists who walk alongside them and support them throughout each stage of the process.
Burch said that the line of work can often feel very isolating.
“The content alone makes it feel heavy, and sometimes you feel like you might be running on a treadmill like I’m running as fast as I can, but I’m running in place,” she said. “When you’re [at the conference], and you’re united with other people doing this work, it presents an energy and a magic that really helps to re-energize you.”
The conference will have nearly 240 speakers and over 500 workshops this year.
Technology companies will host educational sessions for law enforcement and teach better ways of catching perpetrators of child abuse. Professionals will also present case studies of successfully prosecuted and cold cases.
“Although it is a week’s event that happens every year, it is a lifetime of connections that you can make that you will be able to take back with you,” said Burch.
In Dallas, assaults on children are not easily tracked on the City’s public-facing crime analytics dashboard. However, the victim demographic dashboard shows that more than 1,000 individuals under the age of 18 have been assaulted in Dallas proper this year as of August 8.
Since its founding, the DCAC has served over 100,000 children and families free of charge. To become involved, check out the organization’s volunteer opportunities here.