Online Prevention Resources:
Child Sexual Abuse Prevention
While there is no guaranteed way to protect your child,therearethings you can start doing today to reduce the risk.
Our Approach
Preventing child sexual abuse requires involvement and investment on multiple levels, including programs that provide interventions for would-be offenders (often referred to as primary prevention). For secondary prevention, Saprea's approach invites parents to:
Talk
Communicate about everything and anything with your child—often.
Educate
Be your child’s trusted source for all things related to their bodies and sex.
Monitor
Pay attention to what your child is doing and with whom they’re doing it.
Support
Help your child navigate the emotional ups and downs that are part of the human experience.
What Is Child Sexual Abuse?
Because laws vary from one location to another, there is not a universal definition of child sexual abuse. This is one of the challenges to identifying the number of children who have been impacted. However, it’s important to have a definition of what sexual abuse is so that we can effectively fight against it.
Saprea defines sexual abuse as any situation where another person (adult or peer) forces or coerces a child or adolescent into sexual activity that may or may not involve touch. Sexual abuse is a form of child exploitation often motivated by personal gratification and/or financial gain.
Impacts of Child Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse impacts children from all cultures, ethnicities, environments, genders, ages, and socioeconomic backgrounds. And while we want you to know that sexual abuse is something that happens in all communities and corners of the world, what we would like to draw your attention to is the word impacts.
Sexual abuse can have persistent, long-term impacts that make it difficult for a child to focus on school, or to cope with future challenges. In fact, sexual abuse is correlated with increased depression, anxiety, substance use disorder, and suicidality. Sexual abuse can make it difficult for a child to be a child.
No child should be impacted by the trauma of sexual abuse.
What If My Child Has Already Been Impacted by Sexual Abuse?
Sometimes parents and children do all the right things and still find themselves navigating the traumatic impacts of child sexual abuse. If this is the circumstance you are facing, you may be feeling a mixture of overwhelming emotions and have a lot of questions. Our overview for responding when a child has been sexually abused can help you identify the next steps and provide the reassurance you and your child need.