Biden foundation partners with Doylestown Health to help prevent sex abuse of kids

The Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children— named in honor of the former Delaware attorney general who died of cancer in 2015 of cancer — aims to end child sexual abuse.

His father, former Vice President Joe Biden, announced a partnership Tuesday intended to advance the foundation’s mission in Bucks County.

The foundation will help train the medical staff  at Doylestown Health in how to recognize and prevent child sexual abuse. The hospital treats 8,000 kids in its emergency rooms every day.

For the most part, kids come in with bumps and bruises, said CEO James Brexler. But, sometimes, there’s more to the story.

“Many times, there’s a deeper darker issue that’s going on,” he said, adding that the training will help doctors, nurses and others identify signs of abuse and prevent it from happening.

Doylestown Health hopes to use this knowledge and facilitate more training within the broader community — including schools, said a hospital representative.

During his appearance at Ann’s Choice retirement community in Warminster, Biden said that the silence that long surrounded child sexual abuse allowed perpetrators to go unnoticed.

“Silence is complicity. Silence is consent,” he said. For a long time, Biden said, he and others didn’t talk about the issue. His son, Beau, on the other hand, was outspoken about it.

Biden likened his son’s efforts to prevent abuse to the Violence Against Women Act, which he drafted in the 1990s. Both efforts, he said, lead to better health outcomes for survivors across their lifespan.

He concluded his remarks by saying that the new partnership will save children’s lives.

“We want child predators to know, Bucks County will not be safe for them,” said Biden.