SAHUARITA, Ariz. (KGUN) — Teaching children about personal safety and boundaries can be a difficult conversation—but one Southern Arizona nonprofit is making it easier by adding some familiar, friendly faces.
At The Rock Church of Sahuarita, characters like Moana, Princess Elsa and Steve from Minecraft helped bring an important message to life: learning to say "no" can be heroic.
During Thursday morning’s "Story Time" event hosted by Southern Arizona Against Slavery, organizers asked children questions using the familiar characters—like, “Do you have to give them a hug if you don’t want to?” The kids responded confidently: "No!"
Sitting among the crowd was volunteer Jackielynn Yescas, dressed as Disney’s Princess Jasmine. She says her costume is a way to help kids pay attention to safety lessons.
"They look at us like heroes," Yescas said. "So if they look up to us, then they’re going to listen."
As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, Yescas says these kinds of conversations are ones she wishes she had when she was young.
"I was five years old, so I just felt like I couldn't say anything," she shared. “It can happen to anybody. It can be a friend. It could be a family member.”
According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, 93% of children who are abused know their abuser.
Yescas grew emotional as she explained why it’s so important to start these lessons early.
“To think that being so young, and not knowing myself, it could save other kids to just know that, 'Hey, it's OK,'" Yescas said. "There’s nothing wrong with speaking up for yourself. It’s OK to say no. It’s OK to go and tell your parents."
Lisa Hansen, founder and CEO of the nonprofit Power Over Predators, says her own experience with sexual abuse and trafficking began when she was just 15 months old. Now, she’s focused on empowering children to speak up—something she says is crucial to preventing abuse before it happens.
“I know we all shame tattletales,” Hansen said. “But if it comes to our kids and they’re being touched inappropriately, if they’re being pushed physically—anything—if they say, ‘I’m telling,’ that puts the predator in a position to where they know that this child has power and they have somebody that they can go to and that they can tell."
Hansen joined Southern Arizona Against Slavery organizers on stage to talk about the warning signs of predators—especially those children might encounter online while using tablets. She also emphasized the importance of teaching kids the skills, language and body cues they can use to protect themselves.
Hansen said it’s critical for children to understand what safe touch looks like and to know who the safe people are in their lives.
"They're the ones that don't have a voice. They don't know how to protect themselves and and so if we can teach our kids signs early on, then we can prevent these things from happening to them," Hansen said.
Now, Yescas is passing that message on to her own five-year-old, who also attended the event—teaching her that saying “no” is not only OK, but powerful.
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Maria Staubs is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2024 after graduating from Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Maria by emailing maria.staubs@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, or Twitter.
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