NCJ Number
117021
Date Published
Unknown
Length
36 pages
Annotation
A 1983-1984 pilot project in Cincinnati used 'Sesame Street' puppets and coloring activities to educate in child sexual abuse prevention.
Abstract
Program goals were to provide young children with the ability to protect themselves from sexual abuse by highlighting the difference between appropriate and inappropriate touching and instructions about what to do should someone touch them in an inappropriate way. The program also was designed to provide parents and teachers with information about child sexual abuse, as well as models for discussions with children. The program emphasizes the concept of private body areas that children have the right to control, the difference between okay and not okay touching, the right to say 'no' to adults who are doing something wrong, the importance of trusting one's own feelings, and the need to tell others if the child is touched inappropriately. At the end of the presentation children color and receive colorful 'scratch and sniff' stickers. Children receive additional coloring pages and stickers 4 to 6 weeks after the presentation to evaluate retention of information and to reinforce the material covered in the performance. A followup study of 83 preschool children indicates that the program was well received by children and parents, although 3-year-olds did not comprehend and remember the program information as well as 4- and 5-year-olds. 10 references.