If you didn’t know, the Kempe Foundation and the Kempe Center are both named after Dr. Kempe, a pioneer and advocate for child abuse prevention and awareness. Here’s a little bit about his story, and how his vision lives on to this day through the work we do.
Dr. Kempe’s Life
German-born C. Henry Kempe, MD, fled to the United States during the rise of the Nazi Party in the 1930s. In his new home, he learned to speak English and excelled in school, eventually earning a medical degree, and becoming the youngest chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. As a young physician, Kempe became the first in the U.S. medical community to identify and recognize child abuse. Kempe founded the center, originally known as the National Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect, with his wife, Ruth Kempe, MD. In 1962, he and his colleagues, including former CU medical pioneers Brandt F. Steele, MD, and Henry Silver, MD, published the paper “The Battered-Child Syndrome,” a groundbreaking study that shined light on a societal scourge that had long lurked in the shadows.
The Battered-Child Syndrome
Dr. Kempe purposefully choosing the dramatic term ‘battered child’, he later commented, as a ‘jazzy title, designed to get physicians’ attention’. The authors described the ‘battered child syndrome’ as a ‘clinical condition in young children’, usually under three though possibly of ‘any age’, who had been subject to serious physical violence. The journal emphasized that this was a ‘frequent cause of permanent injury or death’, the authors urged that physicians must consider this as a cause in children exhibiting symptoms such as fractures, soft tissue swellings, and skin bruising.
His Impact
Through Kempe’s efforts, child abuse reporting laws now exist in all 50 U.S. states. Kempe’s work led to the passage of the 1972 Colorado law requiring legal counsel for the child in all cases of suspected abuse. In 1976, The Kempe Foundation was established to lead fundraising, awareness, and advocacy efforts for children.
How he lives on
The best way to exemplify how his legacy lives on through the Kempe Foundation and the Kempe Center, is to read his daughter’s words.
“Among professionals working in the field of child abuse and neglect, The Kempe Center has long been regarded as a touchstone and resource for teaching, educating, idea-sharing, cultural awareness and distinctions, journal publication and worldwide gatherings and meetings,” Annie Kempe said. “In our society, the Kempe Center serves to remind us of our responsibilities to protect the vulnerable – our children – as well as their needs and rights here in Colorado and everywhere,” she said. At its 50-year mark, the center’s vision remains aligned with C. Henry Kempe’s overarching passion: “Our children’s future and the world’s future are one.”
A Call to Action
Want to get involved with Dr. Kempe’s vision? Join the A Call to Action conference as a way to amplify his message and impact around the world. We will reconvene and expand the international community of practice with an expected 3000 participants from 20 countries gathering to debate, innovate, and discuss ways to transform child welfare and to re-imagine healthy, restorative, and healing ways of working with children and families.
Learn more here: https://web.cvent.com/event/3bda240f-def7-45a7-8f44-64f6087c123a/summary
