NCJ Number
184182
Journal
Child Abuse Review Volume: 9 Issue: 3 Dated: May-June 2000 Pages: 200-216
Date Published
2000
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This paper describes the development of the Stay Safe program, a comprehensive child sexual abuse prevention program that has been implemented in the majority of primary schools in the Republic of Ireland since 1991.
Abstract
Training modules were developed for children, parents, and teachers. The prevention of child sexual abuse was placed in the broad context of personal safety skills, and the program used behavioral descriptions rather than verbal definitions of sexual abuse. Specially trained two-person teams composed of a mental health professional and a teacher conducted parent and teacher training modules. School-based instruction of children was done by regular class teachers. A total of 10-12 lessons were designed to be taught at the rate of two sessions per week. A multimedia approach to instruction was incorporated into the Stay Safe program to facilitate multimodal learning. Video modeling, didactic instruction and discussion, workbook exercises, role-play, and behavioral rehearsal were all used within this multimedia approach. To take into account developmental changes in cognitive and linguistic skill, two separate sets of lesson plans were developed for junior and senior cycles of the Stay Safe program. The training focused on disclosure, assertiveness, coercion management, abuser identification, mutual peer support, self-esteem enhancement, and the promotion of victim rehabilitation. A controlled evaluation of the program showed that it led to significant gains in knowledge and skills for children, teachers, and parents; for children, these gains were maintained at 3 months follow-up. 3 tables and 29 references