Parent engagement in education for children and young people’s online, relationship, and sexual safety : A rapid evidence assessment and implications for child sexual abuse prevention education

Abstract

[Excerpt] We recently conducted a rapid evidence review on educational programs that focus on child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention (Trew et al., 2021). In that review, we learned that child-focused CSA prevention education could be enhanced by looking at how to improve the parent engagement or involvement. We know from a previous review (Hunt & Walsh, 2011), that parents’ views about CSA prevention education are important. But further evidence is needed to develop concrete strategies for strengthening parent engagement in appropriate and effective ways. As identified in the above-mentioned review (Trew et al., 2021), prominent researchers in the CSA prevention field have noted that if prevention efforts are to be successful, it is imperative to include parents (Hunter, 2011; Mendelson & Letourneau, 2015; J. Rudolph & M.J. Zimmer-Gembeck, 2018; Wurtele & Kenny, 2012). This research focuses on two complementary aspects of parent engagement in CSA prevention: (i) parent participation in parent-focused CSA prevention (ii) parent participation in school-based or child-focused CSA prevention.