NCJ Number
104260
Date Published
1986
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Parents of children involved in school-based sexual abuse prevention education should be informed about how to talk to their children about sexual abuse, understand the indicators of sexual abuse, and know how to provide and seek help if their children are abused.
Abstract
Parents should be supplied with specific words to use when talking with their children about sexual abuse and receive suggestions for rewarding children for self-protective behavior. To promote a more active parental role in a school-based prevention program, program administrators must involve parents in the development of the program and in its implementation. Homework activities could include optional activities for parents and children to do together. Most parent meetings are primarily composed of mothers. Program planners should encourage fathers to participate in sexual abuse discussions, and the father's distinctive role in sexual abuse prevention education should be delineated. Family night presentations, particularly in secondary schools, should cover such topics as sexual abuse, family violence, and normal sexuality. Information about sexual abusers must be included in parent education, with attention to what parents can do to help their children develop nonabusive sexual behaviors.