U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Guidelines for Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Programs

NCJ Number
108993
Date Published
1986
Length
6 pages
Annotation
These guidelines give suggestions for creating, conducting, and evaluating school and community child sexual abuse prevention programs directed at children from preschool through adolescence.
Abstract
Prevention programs should empower children to identify and resist the advances of adults. Programs should try to minimize the guilt felt by victimized children who have not disclosed the abuse by teaching children that not telling someone about their abuse is not their fault and that many children need to think for a while before being ready to tell someone. Professionals also need to identify the verbal and nonverbal clues indicating that a child is experiencing a stressful reaction to the prevention materials and that the reaction may point to victimization. Instructions focus on selecting age-appropriate materials and materials for developmentally or physically disabled children, selecting and training presenters, and evaluating the program's positive and negative effects and the retention of content.