WHAT IS CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE?

Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation [1]- If any adult engages in sexual activity with a child, that is sexual abuse.- If another child or adolescent engages in sexual activity with a child, a grey area enters where some sexual behavior is an innocent exploration rather than abuse.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN TWO TYPES OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE?

There are 2 (two) main types of child sexual abuse: touching and non-touching. 
1. Touching abuse. It includes touching a child’s genitals, making a child touch someone else’s genitals, playing sexual games, and/or putting objects or body parts inside the vulva or vagina, in the mouth, or in the anus of a child for sexual pleasure. 
2. Non-touching abuse. It includes showing pornography to a child, exposing a person’s genitals to a child, prostituting/trafficking a child, photographing a child in sexual poses, encouraging a child to watch or hear sexual acts either in person or on a video, and/or watching a child undress or use the bathroom.
Note: Acquaintance rape is the most common type of sexual assault. Over 80 % of rapes are acquaintance rapes and more than 50 % of them happen on dates.

THE FACTS

● Every 9 (nine) minutes child protective services substantiate or find evidence for, a claim of child sexual abuse.● Physical evidence of child sexual abuse is rare, and because of the complexity of the trauma and relationship with the abuser, victims seldom disclose the abuse until adulthood.  ● Over 65,000 children are abused in the United States each year.● Approximately one in four adult women and one in thirteen men were abused sexually as children.*● Experiencing child sexual abuse is an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) that can have many long-term impacts on a person's physical, emotional, and mental health including:
      - Increased risk of suicide      - Unplanned pregnancies      - Chronic health conditions such as obesity or cancer      - Depression and PTSD      - Substance abuse

WHAT WILL HELP PARENTS PROTECT THEIR KIDS?

● Get involved with community-based prevention efforts.● Seek more information about how to prevent abuse and keep children safe.● Protect your own children.● Support child abuse victims.● Teach others about child abuse prevention.● Report immediately suspected child abuse.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PREVENT CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE?

● Avoid one-child, one-adult situations behind closed doors as much as possible. Most parents will find it impossible to avoid them altogether, but at the very least, they should insist that schools, daycares, youth sports, etc., all have policies forbidding these situations.
● Forbid secrets. Sex offenders often “test” prospective victims on their ability to keep secrets by asking them to keep inconsequential ones, then escalate to more consequential ones. Don’t get in the habit of asking your children to keep secrets, and tell them to tell you if someone asks them to.
● Know the warning signs. Demographically, those who want to abuse children sexually look like the rest of us. It’s their behavior that sets them apart. If someone is more interested in spending time with kids than adults, if someone refers to a child as their “special friend,” if someone is showering a child with gifts, money, or outings, this can be a red flag. If there is someone in your neighborhood who always comes out of the woodwork to babysit at a moment’s notice, don’t let them babysit. And if someone seems more fond of your child than you are, you need to be concerned.
● Teach anatomy. Teach children the correct names for their genitals. Teaching them that sexuality is something that they can talk about with you. Some sex offenders say they prefer abusing children without the knowledge of sexuality. Suppose a child knows the correct names for sexual body parts and acts. In that case, they will also be able to describe sexually inappropriate acts they witnessed or any abuse committed against them.

PREPOSED CHILD EDUCATION

The La...n’s Kids Safer, Smarter Schools curriculum is the country’s first Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 school-based prevention and personal safety curriculum series. The curriculum contains educationally sound content for children, parents, teachers, and administrators.