School‐Based Education Programmes for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse

Abstract

The Campbell Collaboration (C2) was founded on the principle that systematic reviews on the effects of interventions will inform and help improve policy and services. C2 offers editorial and methodological support to review authors throughout the process of producing a systematic review. A number of C2's editors, librarians, methodologists and external peerreviewers contribute. The Campbell Collaboration SynopsisSchool-based programmes for preventing child sex abuse may improve knowledge and selfprotective behaviours but also increase anxiety; further research is needed Childhood sexual abuse is a serious problem for school aged children worldwide. There is no consistent definition of sexual abuse. Some studies restrict sexual abuse to instances of sexual body contact with the child, while others define sexual abuse as any sexual behaviour in a child's presence. Whatever its form, childhood sexual abuse can have a very negative impact on a child. The United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child states that "children have the right to be protected from being hurt and mistreated, physically or mentally" and the international community needs to investigate ways this can be done effectively. One widespread method used is to teach school aged children, using school-based programs, about child sexual abuse and how to protect themselves from it. It is important to know if this approach works, for how long it works and if it causes any unintended harm to children and adolescents. This is the purpose of this systematic review.While this review found improvements in knowledge and protective behaviours among children who had received school-based programs, these results should be interpreted with caution. The reasons for a need for caution is that there were problems with the way that many of the original studies were analysed, children's knowledge was tested only a short time period after the program, the studies were conducted in North America and therefore may not apply to other countries and cultures, and several studies reported harms, such as increased anxiety in children. Potential harms need to be closely monitored in future studies and existing school based programs. It is difficult to know if the changes in children's knowledge and protective behaviours seen in the studies will result in prevention of child sexual abuse. As such, school-based programs should, at best, be seen as part of a community approach to the prevention of child sexual abuse.School-based education programmes for the prevention of child sexual abuse 5 Abstract Background Child sexual abuse is a significant problem that requires an effective means of prevention. ObjectivesTo assess: if school-based programmes are effective in improving knowledge about sexual abuse and self-protective behaviours; whether participation results in an increase in disclosure of sexual abuse and/or produces any harm; knowledge retention and the effect of programme type or setting.

Disclosure of Child Sexual Abuse: Delays, Non‐disclosure and Partial Disclosure. What the Research Tells Us and Implications for Practice

“…It may be that targeting adolescents in general (rather than those at risk of abuse) may be a powerful prevention tool in encouraging early disclosure. Evaluations of child abuse prevention programmes have shown significant improvements in the levels of awareness of child abuse in children and young people (Rispers et al ., ; Zwi et al ., ). It may be that the increasing trend towards peer disclosure is a by‐product of such educational and awareness‐raising programmes.…”

Educational and Skills‐Based Interventions for Preventing Relationship and Dating Violence in Adolescents and Young Adults: A Systematic Review

“…The high prevalence of relationship violence and the severity and duration of its health consequences render this area an important public health issue. To date, many review studies have focused either on intimate partner violence or domestic violence in adult populations (Ramsay 2009; Wood 2010), or on the prevention of sexual abuse (Zwi 2009), or general violence (Mytton 2006), in children. We have found only one systematic review of interventions to prevent dating and relationship violence in young people (Whitaker 2006).…”

European Psychiatric Association (EPA) guidance on prevention of mental disorders

“…Meta-analytic level evidence highlights the effectiveness of Triple P (Positive Parenting Programme) in producing sustainable behavioural improvements for high-risk children aged 2-11 years with sub-threshold behavioural disorder [57]. Preventing violence and abuse; meta-analyses highlight effectiveness of school-based interventions to reduce violence [197], prevent sexual abuse [306] and bullying [279].…”