West Virginia Senator Mike Woelfel (D-Cabell) is pushing for stronger efforts to protect children in the state from sexual abuse. In 2023, the West Virginia Child Advocacy Center helped nearly 5,000 children, with 68% of those cases involving allegations of sexual abuse.
“Our state has alarmingly high rates of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect,” Woelfel said. “This is one reason our foster care system is overwhelmed, with more than 6,000 children in foster care.”
Woelfel’s proposed Senate Bill 220 would require public schools to teach children in grades 3 through 6 about child sexual abuse prevention, personal safety, and assault awareness. For students in grades 7 through 12, the bill calls for education on dating violence and sexual violence prevention.
Senator Amy Grady (R-Mason) noted that a similar program already exists in schools.
“We just want to make sure we’re not duplicating efforts,” Grady explained to Woelfel during Monday’s session. “The part of the bill regarding domestic violence prevention for high school students may not be covered fully, so we are looking into that as well.”
Woelfel, however, expressed doubts about the effectiveness of current programs.
“When a state agency says ‘we already do this,’ it feels like they’re trying to avoid doing more,” Woelfel said. “I want to see the official rules and statutes that show these programs are actually happening and making a difference.”
The bill has now moved to the Rules Committee. Woelfel remains concerned that the proposal may not make it past the Senate.
