Reconceptualizing child sexual abuse as a public health concern.

Abstract

Child sexual abuse (CSA) can be defined as sexual contact with a child or adolescent that occurs because of coercion or force or within the context of a relationship that is exploitative because of an age difference or caretaking responsibility (Finkelhor, 1992). A broad range of sexual activities may be involved in abuse, from "noncontact" offenses (e.g., voyeurism) to acts of varying physical intrusiveness (e.g., from fondling to intercourse; Walker, Bonner, & Kaufman, 1988). Legal definitions vary from state to state but often include similar elements. Criminal charges are determined based on the ages of the victim and the offender, the victim-offender relationship, the type of sexual act perpetrated, and the frequency of the abuse. Although adult males represent the largest group of child sexual offenders, estimatesThe authors express their thanks to colleagues who were willing to provide prevention information as well as comments on a draft of this chapter:

The Prevention of Childhood Sexual Abuse

“…66 The argument is based in part on studies of convicted and incarcerated offenders who reported being highly motivated to abuse, unlikely to be deterred, and willing to use forceful or sophisticated strategies to engage their victims. 67 Such a characterization of abusers and abuse dynamics, however, is greatly oversimplified. As noted, it fails to take into account the wide variety of Although researchers have conducted no experimental evaluations of whether educational programs prevent sexual abuse, they have provided a variety of supportive empirical findings so far.…”

Child Protection in Sport: Reflections on Thirty Years of Science and Activism

“…As Parton argues, child welfare and protection in any given country is closely related to the overall welfare regime and political and policy context of that country [45]. For this reason, sport administrators need to work closely with specialists in ethics, human rights, public health and child welfare if safety for young athletes is ever to be achieved and maintained [93][94][95][96].…”

Reviewing the Focus: A Summary and Critique of Child-Focused Sexual Abuse Prevention

“…Appropriateness of the focus on children. Critics have questioned the appropriateness of targeting young children (usually 3-to 10-year-old) for sexual abuse prevention, arguing that it is unrealistic to expect young children to defend themselves against the social, psychological, and physical manipulations used by perpetrators (Berrick & Gilbert, 1991;Daro, 1994;Kaufman et al, 2002;Melton, 1992;Reppucci et al, 2005). The expectation that children are able to protect themselves from abuse is not an expectation in the prevention of other forms of child maltreatment (Renk et al, 2002;Smallbone et al, 2008;Wurtele, 2009) and rests on several assumptions.…”

“…Key CSA prevention campaigners and researchers have long promoted the crucial role parents can play in keeping children safe (Gilbert et al, 1989;Kaufman et al, 2002;Reppucci et al, 2005;Wurtele, 2009). Despite this, the involvement of parents has been limited, and the focus has been on parents' protection of their children through education about the dangers of CSA.…”

“…The theoretical underpinnings for this approach lies in the proximal position parents occupy in a child’s ecology. This position allows them to create safer environments for their children, in which sexual approaches by adults are less likely to occur, and to ensure that their children are more difficult targets for CSA offenders through adequate parenting practices, familial relationships, monitoring, and communication (Kaufman, Barber, Mosher, & Carter, 2002; Wortley & Smallbone, 2006). The aim of this article is to demonstrate the need for this shift by summarizing the historical trajectory of child-focused prevention and to present a critique of this approach.…”