NCJ Number
148160
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 18 Issue: 4 Dated: (April 1994) Pages: 349- 356
Date Published
1994
Length
8 pages
Annotation
The efficacy of various child sexual abuse prevention strategies was studied.
Abstract
A survey was administered to victims and perpetrators of child sexual abuse--16 intrafamilial victims, 16 intrafamilial perpetrators, and 15 extrafamilial perpetrators. There were no differences between groups' perceptions of the steps that adolescents can take to prevent sexual abuse. Perpetrators were asked to name factors that would dissuade them from committing abuse. Intrafamilial perpetrators emphasized characteristics of self, such as empathy (38 percent) and to victim characteristics such as age (27 percent), and placed less importance on victim behavior. Extrafamilial perpetrators focused equally on victim behavior (33 percent) and their own characteristics (30 percent), and less on environmental variables such as the number of people present (18 percent) and child characteristics (11 percent). Thus, the data suggest that prevention efforts should include a focus on perpetrator as well as victim characteristics, and that different prevention skills or strategies may be effective at progressive stages of the victim-perpetrator relationship. Children may need to be taught to use an appropriate strategy according to their relationship to the perpetrator. 2 tables, 20 references