Tamara Tunie Speaks Up to End Child Abuse Deaths
The National Coalition to End Child Abuse Deaths says Ms. Tunie is lending her star power to the group’s efforts by becoming their official spokesperson.
The Coalition, which includes the National District Attorneys Association, Every Child Matters Education Fund, the National Association of Social Workers, the National Center for Child Death Review, and the National Children’s Alliance, is working to make child maltreatment deaths a national political priority.
According to the Coalition, more than 2,500 U.S. children are killed each year as a result of abuse and neglect.
[ Also Read: Jane Lynch Says No to Texting While Driving ]The relationship between the Coalition and Ms. Tunie began in October 2009 following the release of the report, “We Can Do Better: Child Abuse and Neglect Deaths in America” at a rally on Capitol Hill, where Ms. Tamara Tunie (pictured above) was a guest speaker.
On “Law and Order, Special Victims Unit,” she plays the role of Dr. Melinda Warner, a medical examiner who helps solve fictional crimes about abuse and neglect. Off screen, she’s now devoting time to helping real life victims.
Her first action as the official spokesperson is a YouTube Video asking the public to sign a petition urging Congressional leaders to hold hearings to raise awareness and establish a national commission on child abuse deaths.
To sign the petition visit www.endchildabusedeaths.org. Over the next year, Ms. Tunie will participate in and host awareness raising events in select cities on behalf of the Coalition and its mission.
Ms. Tunie stated, “When Neal Bear, the executive producer of Law and Order: SVU, brought this organization to my attention, I had to become involved. The statistics are shocking! It is my hope that my involvement will bring much needed attention and resources to this problem.”
[ Also Read: Leaders Join Hands for Online Safety of Youth ]“Ms. Tunie’s help in raising awareness about this national tragedy is invaluable. Preventing child deaths from abuse and neglect can become a common goal for the nation’s policymakers, civic leaders and the creative community,” says Kimberly Day, coordinator for the Coalition.
The announcement was made Tuesday, Jan. 18.
Photo courtesy: The National Coalition to End Child Abuse Deaths
