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"Child Abuse, Sexual - prevention "
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Effectiveness of the SmartShield for knowledge on sexual abuse prevention among primary school children in Malaysia: A quasi-experimental study
Child sexual abuse is a significant public health issue with long-term psychological, physical, and social consequences. Despite increasing awareness, its prevention remains underrepresented in the Malaysian primary school curriculum. The SmartShield program was developed as a culturally relevant, age-appropriate, and video-based intervention to improve sexual education knowledge among primary school children. A quasi-experimental controlled trial was conducted using stratified multistage cluster sampling. Six government primary schools were randomly selected from five regions. In each school, one class from the lower and one from the upper primary were chosen. The sample size was estimated by comparing two means. The SmartShield intervention consisted of two modules per age group and was delivered through 20-minute video-guided sessions. Knowledge was assessed at baseline, post-Module 1 (Week 2), and post-Module 2 (Week 4) using validated questionnaires. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA, adjusting for sex and region. A total of 881 children for each lower and upper primary student were recruited. The intervention group showed significantly greater improvements in knowledge scores compared to the control group across all modules and time points (p < .001). Among lower primary students, adjusted mean scores increased from 78.5% to 97.1% in the intervention group versus 80.1% to 90.3% in the control group. Among upper primary students, knowledge scores rose from 79.5% to 97.8% in the intervention group, compared to 77.6% to 95.1% in the control group. The SmartShield program was effective in enhancing child sexual abuse knowledge among Malaysian primary school children.
Journal Article
Online offending behaviour and child victimisation : new findings and policy
Exploring a range of issues including the role of social media and the behaviour and psychopathology of online offenders, this pioneering text provides a comprehensive overview of the established themes and emergent debates relating to the online sexual abuse and victimisation of children.
Book
Knowledge Gains Following a Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program Among Urban Students: A Cluster-Randomized Evaluation
Objectives. We evaluated a school-based child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention program, Safe Touches, in a low–socioeconomic status, racially diverse sample. Methods. Participants were 492 second- and third-grade students at 6 public elementary schools in New York City. The study period spanned fall 2012 through summer 2014. We cluster-randomized classrooms to the Safe Touches intervention or control groups and assessed outcomes with the Children’s Knowledge of Abuse Questionnaire. Hierarchical models tested change in children’s knowledge of inappropriate and appropriate touch. Results. The intervention group showed significantly greater improvement than the control group on knowledge of inappropriate touch. Children in second grade and children in schools with a greater proportion of students in general (vs special) education showed greater gains than other participants in knowledge of inappropriate touch. We observed no significant change in knowledge of appropriate touch among control or intervention groups. Conclusions. Young children benefited from a school-based, 1-time CSA prevention program. Future research should explore the efficacy of CSA prevention programs with children before the second grade to determine optimal age for participation.
Journal Article
“I never expected that it would happen, coming to ask me such questions”:Ethical aspects of asking children about violence in resource poor settings
Background
International epidemiological research into violence against children is increasing in scope and frequency, but little has been written about practical management of the ethical aspects of conducting such research in low and middle-income countries. In this paper, we describe our study procedures and reflect on our experiences conducting a survey of more than 3,700 primary school children in Uganda as part of the Good Schools Study, a cluster randomised controlled trial of a school-based violence prevention intervention. Children were questioned extensively about their experiences of physical, sexual, and emotional violence from a range of different perpetrators. We describe our sensitisation and consent procedures, developed based on our previous research experience and requirements for our study setting. To respond to disclosures of abuse that occurred during our survey, we describe a referral algorithm developed in conjunction with local services. We then describe our experience of actually implementing these procedures in our 2012 survey, based on reflections of the research team. Drawing on 40 qualitative interviews, we describe children’s experiences of participating in the survey and of being referred to local child protection services.
Results
Although we were able to implement much of our protocol in a straightforward manner, we also encountered major challenges in relation to the response of local services to children’s disclosures of violence. The research team had to intervene to ensure that children were provided with appropriate support and that our ethical obligations were met.
Conclusions
In resource poor settings, finding local services that can provide appropriate support for children may be challenging, and researchers need to have concrete plans and back-up plans in place to ensure that obligations can be met. The merits of mandatory reporting of children’s disclosures to local services need to be considered on a case by case basis—in some places this has the potential to do harm. Research teams also must agree on what level of ancillary care will be provided, and budget accordingly. Further practical examples of how to address the challenges encountered in this work are needed, in order to build a consensus on best practices.
Trial registration
NCT01678846
(clinicaltrials.gov), August 24, 2012
Journal Article
Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Training for Childcare Professionals: An Independent Multi-Site Randomized Controlled Trial of Stewards of Children
Given the significant rates and deleterious consequences of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), identifying effective primary prevention approaches is a clear priority. There is a growing awareness that childcare professionals (e.g., teachers, childcare personnel, clergy) are in a unique position to engage in prevention efforts due to high accessibility to children and expertise in child development. However, CSA prevention programs targeting childcare professionals have received insufficient attention. The goal of this study was to conduct an independent multi-site controlled evaluation of an existing CSA prevention program,
Stewards of Children
, offered through both in-person and web-based formats. This study included 352 childcare professionals recruited from children’s advocacy centers across three states. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) in-person training, (2) web-based training, or (3) waitlist control. Dependent variables included CSA knowledge, CSA attitudes, and self-reported CSA preventive behaviors. Results indicated that
Stewards
impacted knowledge, attitudes, and preventive behaviors. No differences were found between training modalities (i.e., in-person versus web-based) on knowledge and preventive behaviors. Results indicate that brief trainings for childcare professionals may impact CSA prevention efforts.
Journal Article
Internet Child Abuse: Current Research and Policy
Internet Child Abuse: Current Research and Policy provides a timely overview of international policy, legislation and offender management and treatment practice in the area of Internet child abuse. Internet use has grown considerably over the last five years, and information technology now forms a core part of the formal education system in many countries. There is however, increasing evidence that the Internet is used by some adults to access children and young people in order to ‘groom’ them for the purposes of sexual abuse; as well as to produce and distribute indecent illegal images of children. This book presents and assesses the most recent and current research on internet child abuse, addressing: its nature, the behaviour and treatment of its perpetrators, international policy, legislation and protection, and policing. It will be required reading for an international audience of academics, researchers, policy-makers and criminal justice practitioners with interests in this area.
1. Introduction 2. Legislation and Policy: Protecting Young People, Sentencing and Managing Internet Sex Offenders 3. Characteristics of the Internet and Child Abuse 4. Combating Child Abuse Images on the Internet 5. Stage Model for Online Grooming Offenders 6. Understanding the Perpetrators Online Behaviour 7. Policing Social Networking Sites and Online Grooming 8. Assessment and Treatment Approaches with Online Sexual Offenders. Conclusion
Julia Davidson is Professor of Criminology and Director of Research in Criminology at Kingston University, she is also Co-Director of the newly formed Centre for Abuse & Trauma Studies.
Petter Gottschalk is Professor of Information Systems and Knowledge Management in the Department of Leadership and Organisation at the Norwegian School of Management, and he lectures at the Norwegian Police University College on knowledge management, Internet, criminal entrepreneurship and organized crime.
eBook
Single-exposure messages for child sexual abuse prevention: a randomized controlled online trial testing educational and humanizing approaches
Background
Child sexual abuse and exploitation, including online material depicting such acts, constitute a major public health concern. Prevention efforts likely benefit from public understanding and destigmatization, yet communication strategies on this topic face persistent misconceptions and strong emotional reactions. This randomized controlled online study examined whether brief educational and humanizing communication interventions influenced knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intentions related to prevention, while avoiding adverse emotional or ethical effects.
Methods
A total of 2,019 adults from Spain and Portugal were recruited via an online panel and randomly assigned to one of four conditions: an educational message, a humanizing message with empathy focus, a humanizing message with prevention focus, or a neutral control message. Each intervention consisted of a short video and accompanying text presented as part of a health information campaign. Measures included affective state, stigma-related attitudes, literacy about therapeutic options, openness toward the topic, and behavioral intention to seek information.
Results
Exposure to any intervention message led to short-term changes in affective responses, with lower positive valence and slightly higher arousal compared to the control group (medium effect for valence, small for arousal). No significant differences emerged for stigma dimensions, knowledge, openness, or behavioral intentions. All three intervention formats performed similarly. The study did not identify measurable short-term adverse or rebound effects on stigma. Dropout rates did not differ across conditions, but languages.
Conclusions
Brief communication interventions elicited short-term affective responses without evidence of increased stigma or avoidance on the measured outcomes. While the present single exposures appear insufficient to change attitudes or behavior, such formats may serve as a foundation for repeated, multi-channel prevention messaging integrated into broader educational efforts.
Trial registration
German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS), DRKS00038927, retrospectively registered on 09/01/2026.
Journal Article
Engagement in a web-based intervention for individuals who committed sexual offenses against children: observational study
Web-based interventions have been shown to be effective for various health and mental health problems. However, the effectiveness of interventions is often limited by the fact that individuals do not start or complete them. Using data from an intermediate analysis of the randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of @myTabu, the current study investigated engagement with a web-based intervention for 113 individuals convicted of child sexual abuse and/or for child sexual exploitation material. @myTabu is a human-supported, web-based intervention for individuals who have been convicted for sexual abuse of children or the use of child sexual exploitation material with the goal of reducing the risk factors for recidivism and actual recidivism. The results of the present study indicate that (a) 81% of the participants logged into the web-based intervention within 8 weeks after login credentials were sent; (b) there was a trend toward lower treatment readiness and lower belief in their own technical prerequisites in individuals who did not login; (c) 15% of the participants completed all requested sessions within the first 5 weeks of participation, and the average participant logged in on 6 different days and completed two sessions; (d) the number of login days and completed sessions could be predicted by treatment readiness. We discuss these findings and their implications for the development and implementation of further web-based interventions in the forensic context. Trial registration: German Clinical Trial Register (DRKS00021256). Prospectively registered 24.04.2020.
Journal Article
Therapist guide for maintaining change : relapse prevention for adult male perpetrators of child sexual abuse
Providing step-by-step guidelines to relapse prevention with adult male child sex abusers, this guide is based on the author′s experience of piloting a unique cognitive-behavioural treatment approach in community-based, secure hospital and prison sex offender programmes. Hilary Eldridge presents the theoretical base for relapse prevention, and includes information on: the relapse process and its implications for assessment of perpetrator patterns; intervention in those patterns and maintenance of change; rationale for the exercises used in each phase; how to introduce the exercises; how to deal with client questions and resistance; and different ways of explaining the materials. The author also provides sample therapist//client dialogue.
eBook