Fernando Lagunas, a local author, community leader, and pastor at Renewing Life Christian Church, introduced his first book, "Prevención del Abuso Sexual Infantil," translated as "Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse," during a presentation at the Franklin Square Public Library on Sept. 29. Around 50 people attended the presentation.
To publish his book, Pastor Lagunas, 61, collaborated with EAC Network, a not-for-profit human service agency with 70 programs to help those in need in New York City and Long Island. The book was written as an educational resource to help parents, churches, schools, and community leaders recognize the risks of child sex abuse, start difficult conversations, and better protect children.
The goal of the library presentation, which was held from 6 to 8 p.m., was to bring awareness to child sexual abuse prevention and encourage the community to become more informed and proactive in protecting children. The event began with an introduction from Zaida Lagunas, the pastor's wife, who translated for him throughout the presentation.
Pastor Lagunas said he was motivated to write the book after years of pastoral counseling with families affected by childhood sexual abuse and its long-term emotional, relational, and behavioral consequences. The book emphasizes prevention before any sexual abuse occurs, which includes educating parents, caregivers, teachers, and the community.
He started working on this book during the pandemic and took him approximately four to five years.
“Before anything, we have to protect these children," Pastor Lagunas told the library audience through his wife. "We have to create a culture where, you know, where the community, where the families, you know, get this culture of prevention and protect our children, you know, and I got that in my heart. And then, you know, I started doing a lot of research, and I started going, you know, and basically started writing, started writing about it.”
As a resident of Franklin Square for 30 years, he told the Herald that he saw many families endure the trauma of child sex abuse and become greatly affected by it. He added that he believes workshops, group discussions, and open, ongoing conversation with children can help create a culture where they feel safe speaking up.
He identified silence, stigma, and family involvement as major barriers to discussing abuse and intended to continue addressing this issue through open conferences and broader community outreach.
“What I want the whole community, parents, and everybody who read this book to do is, you know, to bring attention and alert to their surroundings, and you know, to their own child,” Pastor Lagunas said. “… I want the whole community to learn about teaching their children how to protect themselves because we're not going to be there with them 24 hours.”
He told the Herald that while researching and writing the book, he faced many challenges, including resistance from the community and from his young grandchildren. According to him, many people weren’t open to discussing the topic, which made it more difficult.
Despite these challenges, he said that, during conferences and in other communities, he plans to continue speaking about protecting children.
“I think we have to unite, you know, we have to get together, unite, and fight for this basically," he said. "We have to fight for this. We have to really take control of this situation, regardless of who gets hurt.”
EAC Network collaborated with Lagunas to host the library presentation to raise awareness of its programs, the Child Advocacy Center and Safe Harbor Program.
The event closed with an open floor discussion, giving one attendee a chance to raise concerns on the effect child sexual abuse on the child as well to the rest of the family members.
