Improving Empathy in the Prevention of Sexual Abuse Against Children and Youngsters

Abstract

The aim of this research is to study the improvement of empathy in child-care professionals (i.e., teachers, psychologists, social workers) involved in the prevention of sexual abuse against children and youngsters. An E-Learning training pilot program was conducted with pre- and post-measures (T(1) = at the beginning and T(2) = after 6 months) using the program's standardized questionnaires of Situational Empathy and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) as a Dispositional Empathy measure. A sample of 42 experienced professionals involved in activities with children and youngsters was obtained from the International Movement of Popular Education in Latin America called "Fe y Alegría." Significant progress was found in the scales of Situational Empathy and in some Coping subscales. The final outcomes seem to indicate that the prevention program elicits important changes in the cognitive sphere and that these changes are more intense when the implication level for the situation is greater. This research shows that empathy can be improved through professional experience and careful situational involvement.

An Evidence-Based Education Program for Adults about Child Sexual Abuse (“Prevent It!”) That Significantly Improves Attitudes, Knowledge, and Behavior

“…The results from these studies suggest that a brief exposure to CSA educational materials may increase knowledge in the short-term, but not be sufficient to change behavior. One online version of a CSA education program shows that professionals (i.e., teachers, psychologist, and social workers) who interact with children and youth regularly had significant gains in CSA related empathy in the 6 months after taking the online program (Man-Ging et al, 2015 ). Similarly, other classroom-based studies show an increase in short-term knowledge as well as increase appropriate behavioral intentions (Hébert et al, 2002 ; Kenny, 2009 ; Bowman et al, 2010 ; Rheingold et al, 2012 ).…”

Integrative review addressing the effectiveness of child sexual abuse preventive interventions

“…The training provided by ManGing et al (2015) in Italy was intended to improve the identification of CSA through empathy indirectly. In this sense, empathy was analyzed as a cognitive and affective ability that would encourage protective behavior toward children suspected of having experienced CSA.…”

“…The training was based on roleplaying and tasks intended to enhance learning(Guastaferro et al, 2020). As a result, readiness and awareness of protective behavior were observed among children.Among the professions that were the focus of the interventions, there were social workers(McMahon & Reimers, 2013), teachers and school personnel(Gushwa et al, 2018;Lipson et al, 2019), sports coaches(Nurse, 2018), teacher training students(Altundağ, 2020), and other professionals working with children(ManGing et al, 2015).One example was a training program provided in the United States to social workers, named Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) (McMahon & Reimers, 2013). It involved online training that consisted of a 90-minute lecture, in addition to live and interactive training for the workers of an agency assisting children exposed to commercial sexual exploitation in the country.…”

Revisão integrativa sobre a efetividade de intervenções preventivas do abuso sexual infantil

“…Entre as categorias de profissionais que foram foco das intervenções, estão assistência social (McMahon & Reimers, 2013), professores e profissionais que trabalham em escolas (Gushwa et al, 2018;Lipson et al, 2019), treinadores esportivos (Nurse, 2018), alunos em formação para a docência (Altundağ, 2020) e, de forma abrangente, profissionais que atuam com as crianças (ManGing et al, 2015). 2015) visava aumentar a identificação do ASI indiretamente pelo estímulo à empatia.…”