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Prevention Programs in School Might Help Kids Recognize Abuse |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: School-based sexual abuse prevention programs can teach children to recognize mistreatment and might increase self-protective behaviors, according to a new review of studies. "It was a concern that anxiety may be increased as we found in the review, but we were pleased that there was an increase in knowledge," said lead reviewer Karen Zwi of Sydney Children's Hospital in Australia. The aim of the systematic review was to determine whether school-based sexual abuse prevention and education programs are effective, if they protect children and if they might cause unintentional harm. The review appears in the latest issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing medical trials on a topic. The Cochrane reviewers analyzed 15 studies that included school-age pupils and high school students living in Canada and the United States. Nine studies found that children who received sexual abuse prevention education demonstrated greater knowledge of the subject compared to children in a control group. "Child sexual abuse is a serious problem for school-aged children worldwide," the reviewers write. Experts say most cases of sexual abuse go unreported. Moreover, the Cochrane reviewers said without a uniformly accepted definition, it is difficult to know how often sexual abuse occurs, especially in countries where there have been few studies conducted. Joan Duffell, director of partnership development for the Committee for Children, said school-based prevention programs could help children know when to report abuse.
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