Research & Issues
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CRIME AND MISCONDUCT Child-focused sexual abuse COMMISSION prevention programs How effective are they in preventing child abuse? Dr Jennifer Sanderson QUEENSLAND 2 Introduction that underlie this form of abuse. Child- focused sexual abuse prevention programs Under section 23 of the Crime and are an important component of these Misconduct Act 2001 the CMC has an efforts to decrease child sexual abuse. RESEARCH & ISSUES PAPER important role to play in preventing SERIES paedophilia. One way we do this is through evaluating current research and Child-focused disseminating this information to a wider NUMBER 5, JUNE 2004 audience. prevention programs Child-focused sexual abuse prevention This paper examines the current research programs may be targeted at the ISSN: 1446-845X into the effectiveness of programs community, parents, teachers, or a designed to prevent the sexual abuse of combination of these, but most are children. It: ABOUT THE AUTHOR targeted directly at children, usually in the examines the prevalence of child This paper was prepared by school environment.3 Dr Jennifer Sanderson of sexual abuse Research and Prevention, CMC. describes the core concepts Although some authors have suggested underpinning child-focused sexual that these programs place too much The papers in this series are refereed responsibility on children,4 others are more papers. They can also be accessed on abuse prevention programs convinced that children should be www.cmc.qld.gov.au/PUBS.html. discusses how these programs are targeted.5 Through exposure to prevention Information on this series and other being evaluated CMC publications can be obtained training, they argue, children can learn to examines their effectiveness from: identify potentially abusive situations, Crime and Misconduct Commission examines differences in how children resist advances and report approaches, and 140 Creek Street, Brisbane acquire knowledge GPO Box 3123, Brisbane Qld 4001 at the same time be reassured that they are Telephone: (07) 3360 6060 focuses on conceptual weaknesses in not to blame for any abuse.6 Because Toll Free: 1800 06 1611 naivety increases children’s vulnerability Facsimile: (07) 3360 6333 current programs that may be render- 7 E-mail: [email protected] ing them less effective. to sexual victimisation, these programs Website: www.cmc.qld.gov.au seek to counter children’s ignorance about We hope this paper may provide useful sexual abuse. Therefore, without negating © Crime and Misconduct Commission 2004 information for policy makers, service and adults’ primary responsibility for the Apart from any fair dealing for the educational providers, parents, and the protection of children, child-focused purpose of private study, research, general public. criticism or review, as permitted under programs play a vital preventive role. the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without permission. Inquiries should be made to the publisher, the Crime and How prevalent is child Core concepts Misconduct Commission. sexual abuse? Sexual abuse prevention programs for Estimates of the prevalence of child sexual children generally do three things: abuse vary considerably across studies. 1. They define sexual abuse. Children are Depending on how the term ‘sexual abuse’ taught definitions of sexual abuse, is defined, from 7 to 62 per cent of women RESEARCH & ISSUES and from 3 to 19 per cent of men have experienced some form of childhood 1 Dunne et al. 2003; Finkelhor et al. 1990; Goldman & Padayachi 1997; Western 1 sexual abuse on at least one occasion. Australian Government 2003. 2 Conte, Rosen & Saperstein 1986; Finkelhor What is being done about it? 1990; Oates 1990; Wurtele 2002. The recognition that child sexual abuse is 3 Finkelhor & Dziuba-Leatherman 1995. a significant problem has led to an 4 Kaufman & Zigler 1992; Melton 1992. increase in prevention initiatives. These 5 Finkelhor 1984; Wurtele 1998. initiatives need to involve comprehensive 6 Wurtele 1998. interventions that target individuals and 7 Bagley, Thurston & Tutty 1996; Budin & Johnson 1989; Elliott, Browne & Kilcoyne families as well as the sociocultural factors 1995. which usually involve the notion of and neglect prevention programs in Despite the importance of including a ‘bad’ touch, touch that causes Australia, for example, received details of control group in an evaluation of a ‘uncomfortable’ or ‘confusing’ feelings, 1814 individual programs, 67 per cent of program’s effectiveness, some providers or touching of ‘private parts’.8 which reported targeting sexual abuse.14 have argued that it is unethical to deny any 19 2. They teach children how to resist or Unfortunately, the national audit had a children access to prevention programs. If refuse overtures. This may involve low response rate, with only 5.3 per cent the prevention training has not been teaching them to say ‘no’ and escape of service providers responding to requests demonstrated to be effective for the the situation, with some programs also for information on their prevention particular client group, however, there is encouraging them to yell or scream, or, programs. Therefore this figure is likely to no evidence that participants are being less frequently, to physically resist the underestimate the number of child sexual denied access to an effective program. perpetrator.9 abuse prevention programs. Completing a thorough program evaluation, and giving it to the control 3. They encourage children to tell their group at a later date if it is shown to be parents or other trusted adults about effective, is preferable to continuing to what happened.10 Evaluations of current provide children with untested programs Many programs also teach children that: programs that may be of dubious merit. Despite the large number of programs They are not to blame for any sexual already in use, the national audit found The continuing provision of untested abuse. The adult or adolescent that many organisations appeared to be programs is of particular concern, because perpetrator is always responsible, never independently developing very similar prevention programs can engender false the child victim. programs. This is occurring because it is complacency in those parents who think Perpetrators may be people children easier to get funding to set up a pilot their children have been protected from know and trust. While generally program than it is to evaluate and adapt an sexual abuse simply because they have 20 avoiding the issue of incest, some existing program.15 Scarce resources, completed the program. Consequently, programs rebut the commonly held which could be used to evaluate and such parents may not maintain the same misconception that most perpetrators improve existing programs, are thus vigilance and supervision of their 11 21 are strangers. (An exception is the diverted into ‘new’ programs, which often children. Indeed, the completion of an New Zealand program ‘Keeping only duplicate what already exists.16 The ineffective program may increase rather Ourselves Safe’, where teaching emphasis has been on the provision of than decrease children’s vulnerability to 22 children about incest is included in the programs, rather than on testing their assault. As Tomison has pointed out, 12 prevention training. ) effectiveness. there is a social cost to providing There is ‘good’ touch as well as ‘bad’ ineffective programs. touch. Many programs focus on the Typically, programs are not tested before importance of caring, and teach being implemented. The national audit children to differentiate between ‘good’ found that 85 per cent of programs audited Program effectiveness and ‘bad’ touch. included some evaluation afterwards. Currently, many providers use programs However, the majority of these were non- There are ‘good’ secrets and ‘bad’ that either lack rigorous evaluation or have experimental, with 77 per cent involving secrets. Programs often deal with not been shown to be effective with the only an internal evaluation based simply secrecy, making a distinction between population being administered the on attendance and satisfaction. While non- appropriate secrets, which involve program. Many of these programs are experimental evaluations provide useful pleasant, ‘fun’ surprises, and inappro- imported from the United States23 where information about participant characteristics priate secrets, which are frightening very few of the commercially available and program implementation, they and must be disclosed.13 prevention materials have been adequately demonstrate little about the effectiveness evaluated.24 Programs vary in their emphasis on of the prevention training.17 particular concepts and skills. They also In contrast, 24 per cent of the evaluated 8 Tharinger et al. 1988. use different ways to teach prevention programs in the national audit examined 9 Wurtele 1998. concepts, such as films, videos, books, changes in children’s prevention skills by 10 Finkelhor & Strapko 1992. songs, plays, drama, colouring books, 11 Bagley et al. 1996. administering a test before and after the comics, symbolic modelling, role-playing, 12 Woodward 1990, pp. 13–16. program. However, only 2.6 per cent of puppets, teaching sessions, behavioural 13 Finkelhor 1984; MacIntyre & Carr 2000. these programs included a comprehensive skills training, and group discussions. 14 Tomison & Poole 2000. evaluation that compared the prevention 15 Tomison 1997; Tomison & Poole 2000. Some programs use only one method knowledge of participant children