South Australian Parents want Child Protection Programs to be offered in Schools and PreSchools

Abstract

It is now widely realized that child sexual abuse is an all too common crime against children, resulting in long term damage to victims and heavy costs to the community. It is also realized that much abuse could have been prevented if children had been given basic information about acceptable and unacceptable touching, secrecy about touching and norms of adult‐child behaviour. Parents representing 250 families, caring for 565 children aged 3‐12 were interviewed to find out what parents tell their children to protect them from sexual molestation. Three quarters of all parents told their children nothing and most of those who thought that they had given information had only given hints. Furthermore, this “information” was passed on only after a traumatic event had already occurred. Parents revealed an inadequate knowledge of the dangers to children and a desire for school and preschool programs to remedy the deficit.