Using Available Resources to Increase Awareness to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse, Essay Example

A top priority for all parents should be to communicate to children the danger signs to watch for that child predators present. “Experts estimate that one in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before their 18th birthdays. 67 percent of all reported sexual assaults happen to children ages 17 and under. Despite these alarming statistics, there are steps you as a parent can take to reduce your children’s risk of being sexually abused.” (“Tips for Parents”). Communicating to your children that most predators are family members and not strangers is the key to prevention of the heinous crime that strikes young children. Communicating to your child not to be alone in a situation without a friend can help to eliminate most of these situations because predators are most likely to strike children that are alone.

In China, school based programs such as Child Sexual Abuse Prevention (CSA) is currently being taught as a regular topic in order to strengthen children’s awareness of the potential harm of child abduction and potential for sexual predation. “A study consisting of over 650 questions was presented to both students and their parents to find out their awareness of the risk associated with potential child predation in the country.” (Elsevier 2007). The results showed that 98 percent of the parents were willing to have their children informed about child predators in the elementary years but most of them thought child predation occurred mostly by strangers and not family members. They were grossly misinformed. This gave rise to community based programs which could enlighten the entire cities and communities in order to reach out to the children as well as put the parents and others on watch for the safety of the children as a whole (sort of as a neighborhood watch).

“Studies reported in Iowa over 14,000 innocent children fell victim to sexual predation.” Providing public awareness through television advertisements, advocacy services, internet research and private confidential meetings has proven successful for many liaisons in Iowa to support over “56,000 children and 10,000 adults throughout various counties.” (“Prevent Child Abuse Iowa”).Community Partnerships such as AmeriCorps have grouped together to aid in funding projects to help create and enhance public awareness to the parents and children and involve community members through grants to support the prevention of child sexual assaults.

Churches firmly believe in spreading the firm word through service announcements and flier throughout the community and at masses. They further believe in improving selection, supervision and education of workers for the church and church related functions. Most churches send their employees to special classes to spot potential child predators for they do exhibit certain character qualities that those trained can readily spot in the workforce such as the clergy and social services areas.

Often if you personally contact your state representative or have a local group contacts your state representative requesting assistance to prevent child sexual abuse with regard to sexual predators they will offer assistance in the form of worker education programs and offer to make brochures and distribute them for you and your foundation. The Amber Alert is sponsored and funded by the United States Federal Government.

Other useful tools to educate children about sexual predators are through school teachers and school counselors. It is very important a child trust the person they are confiding in and receiving information from hence this is often someone at school.

Informing parents that sometimes child predators come in all forms can help to prevent child abduction and sexual predation in children. A parent may think they are leaving their precious child with a very nice sitter but indeed that sitter may be a child predator. Most often predators are men but in some instances predators can be men or women disguised as men. Mothers need to be aware of their surroundings at all times when they have their children with them especially whilst at grocery stores, play grounds, gyms and other child related areas and large places where a predator can easily snatch a child and escape uneasily spotted such as an airport or a shopping mall. Cameras are not always efficient and effective to identify an alleged predator for various technical malfunction reasons and we all know that the first (48) hours are the most precious hours to finding a child or an adult alive after an abduction, unfortunately.

Prevention is simply the best means of preventing a crime, but if the crime does in fact take place the press or news is probably the most important source to attempt to recover a child that has been abducted and to prevent sexual abuse. The Amber Alert Systems serve as emergency broadcast systems across the United States to inform the public a child has been abducted and sexual molestation or death is possibly on the horizon. Amber Alerts are actually broadcasted across several countries in case of parental abduction cases to prevent across the border escapes that are not protected by the Hague Convention with the United States. The AA empower law enforcement in order to beef up security to the streets and set up block ways and have more security to prevent crossing state lines with an abducted child.

A child can be taught practical and safe ways to escape a child abductor. There are videos sold that teach step-by-step instructions on how and when a child should try to escape or just simply wait for police or SWAT to come in and attempt a proper and safe rescue. Children should never be in a place alone without a companion.

To recap, communication is the key to teach children ways to keep themselves safe from child predators. If the worst happens there is hope. Technology advancements do help to rescue some children but unfortunately many children do not survive the viscous animals that steal them.

Works Cited

“Tips for Parents” (2009) Retrieved February 20, 2010 from, http://www.preventchildabuseny.org/paprevsex.shtml

Elsevier “Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse in China” Knowledge, attitudes, and communication practices of parents of elementary school children 10198 (2007).

“Prevent Child Abuse Iowa” (2006) Retrieved February 20, 2010 from, http://www.pcaiowa.org/PCA_Iowa_frequently_asked_questions.html