A Critical Priority: Preventing Child Sexual Abuse
Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a serious issue that affects many children and families in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), at least one in four girls and one in twenty boys across the United States experience such abuse, a figure that likely underestimates the impact of the problem since so many cases are never reported. And while child sexual abuse may be a daunting issue, it is preventable.
Doing so requires early and effective measures. To address the issue, lawmakers, advocates, researchers and non-governmental agencies have over the years focused on education programs and child protection policies aimed at safeguarding children and preventing sexual abuse. While these efforts are important first steps, more research is required to ensure the use of evidence-informed solutions and to better understand how well some of these strategies are working, where they are working and who they are working for.
Some of the top leaders in the field of child sexual abuse prevention have developed nine research projects aimed at addressing this gap and expanding the science base needed to prevent child sexual abuse. Based out of universities and nonprofit institutions—including the Universities of Kentucky, Michigan and New Hampshire, the Center for Violence Prevention Research, Prevent Child Abuse America, and Michigan State, Northeastern, Johns Hopkins and Virginia Commonwealth Universities—each project is unique in its area of focus. Together, they show how creative ideas and teamwork can help us learn which prevention approaches work best.
To elevate some of the early work of these important projects, the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse is releasing a special issue entitled the Primary Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse Perpetration. The final issue will be comprised of nearly 20 articles from the child sexual abuse prevention research portfolio, covering such topics as lessons learned, developing tools to measure and identify child sexual abuse, study design for unique contexts and preliminary findings. This collection will offer practical insights into what does and does not work, helping other researchers design stronger studies and avoid possible pitfalls in a sensitive and complex field, and helping practitioners and lawmakers identify prevention programs and policies that demonstrate early potential.
Preventing child sexual abuse is a daunting challenge and a vital priority. Protecting children is something we can all be a part of. With the knowledge gained from this collection of research, we can build a world where kids grow up safe, happy and healthy. Together, we can make a difference.
The special issue can be accessed via Journal of Child Sexual Abuse | Journal | Taylor & Francis Online
To help in this effort, CDC, working with the CDC Foundation, received funding from Congress and a generous gift from the Oak Foundation to help support a portfolio of projects studying these CSA prevention programs and policies.
