You're Not Alone: The Journey From Abduction to Empowerment

Every day, in communities across the country, children are abducted by people they know, by family members, by people they have met on the Internet, by acquaintances, and by complete strangers. It is estimated that more than one million children are reported missing each year. Fortunately, many of these children return home safely within a short period of time. Unfortunately, some do not return at all. And some children who return face major obstacles in their road to recovery and healing. Several years ago, the Department of Justice, through its Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), pledged itself to helping the victims of abduction, whether it be the families, the siblings left behind, or the children themselves. We have created resources to help these families cope with the aftermath of abduction and begin the healing process. With the assistance of family members who have experienced firsthand the abduction of a child, OJJDP created a guide for families of missing and abducted children, titled When Your Child Is Missing: A Family Survival Guide-one of the resources most widely requested and used by families of missing and abducted children. In 2006, we created What About Me? Coping With the Abduction of a Brother or Sister, which helps siblings who were left behind cope in the aftermath of the abduction. This third document, You're Not Alone: The Journey from Abduction to Empowerment, was prepared with the assistance of young adults who were themselves abducted as children and who are walking the path of healing and recovery. It is designed to help others who experience abduction begin to put their lives back together. Each abduction is different, and so is the path to recovery. And though the road to recovery is different for everyone, the destination is the same-to find empowerment and normalcy, and to live as full a life as possible.