Child Sexual Abuse Prevention

1
Child Sexual Abuse Prevention
This program is for informational purposes in the
prevention of child sexual abuse

• Presented by
• Sigríður Björnsdóttir
• www.blattafram.is
• www.darknesstolight.org

2
Agenda

• What is Child Sexual Abuse?
• Facts and Risks
• Signs of Abuse
• Why Children Wont Tell
• Consequences
• Make a Plan
• Reporting
• Prevention
• Break The Silence

3
What is Child Sexual Abuse?

• Any sexual act between an adult and a minor or
  between two minors when one exerts power over the
  other.
• Forcing, coercing, or persuading a child to
  engage in any type of sexual act.
• An agonizing and traumatic experience
• for its victims.
• A crime punishable by law.
• Darkness to Light

4
Facts and Understanding Risks

• 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 10 boys are sexually abused
  before their 18th birthday.
• 1 in 5 children are sexually solicited while on
  the Internet.
• Nearly 40 are abused by older or larger
  children. (Hrefna Ólafsdottir 2002, Iceland)

5
Facts and Understanding Risks

• 93 of all victims know and trust their abusers.
• More than 80 of sexual abuse cases occur in 1
  adult, 1 child situation.
• People who abuse children look and act just like
  everyone else. In fact, they go out of their way
  to appear trustworthy to gain access to children.

6
Signs of Abuse

• Dont expect obvious signs when a child is being
  sexually abused.
• Physical signs are NOT common.
• Possible physical signs
• Redness, rash or swelling in the genital area,
  urinary track infections or other such symptoms
  should be carefully investigated.
• Emotional or behavioral signs are more common.
• Sudden change in behavior.
• Sexual behavior and language that are not age
  appropriate can be a red flag.

7
Why Children Will Not Tell

• The abuser shames the child
• The abuser threatens the family or the child
• Children fear disappointing their parents and
  disrupting the family
• Some kids dont know that it is abuse

8
Consequences

• Child sexual abuse is a direct source of a number
  of problems facing us.
• 70-80 of survivors report excessive drug and
  alcohol use
• Young girls who are sexually abused are more
  likely to develop eating disorders
• More than 60 of teen first pregnancies are
  preceded by experiences of abuse or rape
• Children who are sexually abused may
• Blame themselves for the abuse, feel abandoned
  by their parents and adults, doubt that they are
  worthy of being loved
• ACE-Study
• The ACE Study used a simple scoring method to
  determine the extent of each study
  participant's exposure to childhood trauma.
• Conclusions
• Found a strong graded relationship between the
  breadth of exposure to abuse or household
  dysfunction during childhood and multiple risk
  factors for several of the leading causes of
  death in adults. www.acestudy.org

9
www.acestudy.org
10
Consequences

• Calculated data exists for the adverse childhood
  experience causality of several major conditions
•  
• Current depression 54
• Chronic depression 41
• Suicide attempts 58  
• (completed suicides are not included because
  this is all based on live patients whom we
  examined.)
•  
• Alcoholism 65
• All drug use 50
• Injection drug use 78
•   Promiscuity 48
• Rape victim 62
• Domestic violence victim 52

11
Make a Plan

• We cannot see clearly what we fear. Fear may
  undermine any gut feeling or intuition we may
  have. Protecting children from sexual abuse and
  recognizing abuse when it is occurring requires a
  willingness to look and listen, even when it is
  painful.
• 
  Stewards of children
• Learn where to go
• Whom to call
• How to react to disclosure
• Make sure that you dont attempt to investigate
  the details of the abuse.
• Seek the help of a professional.
• Child sexual abuse is a crime

12
Prevention

• Education and awareness training
• Provide CSA prevention training, policies and
  procedures on dealing with suspicious situations
  and reporting at all youth serving organizations.
  
• Hiring, screening, back ground checks, training
  and supervising
• More than 80 of sexual abuse cases occur in
  one-adult/one-child situation
• Evidence based education and awareness training
• Education for parents and other adults that
• work with children and teenagers
• Darkness to Light Stewards of Children
• www.blattafram.is

13
Prevention

• Education and awareness training
• Education for teenagers
• Talk to teenagers about child sexual abuse,
  consequences and the importance of getting help
  for the whole family.
• Teach respect for self, others and healthy
  relationships.
• Teach them the langue of boundaries and healthy
  communications.
• Tell them where to go for help.

14
Prevention

• Education and awareness training
• Education for Parents and Children
• Talk to Children about child sexual abuse, using
  age appropriate language
• Teach respect for self, others and healthy
  relationships.
• Teach them the langue of boundaries and healthy
  communications.
• Tell them where to go for help and that they can
  say NO to unwanted touch.
• Organisation WWW.blattafram.is
• Tools Kids on the block, puppets.
• Those are my private parts - kids book.
• 7 Steps to protecting our children

15
References

• www.blattafram.is
• www.darknesstolight.org
• www.thosearemyprivateparts.com
• www.acestudy.org
• www.cdc.gov
• www.kotb.com

16
Be the change you want to see in the world.
Ghandi