Donald Findlater and Enid Hendry ECSA - A project to identify effective and promising responses to child sexual abuse from around the world with the aim of helping all nations to develop and implement effective child sexual abuse prevention strategies.

1. From theory to practice- a new tool to help
construct a child sexual abuse prevention
strategy
Donald Findlater and Enid Hendry
ECSA - A project to identify effective and promising responses to child
sexual abuse from around the world with the aim of helping all nations
to develop and implement effective child sexual abuse prevention
strategies

2. Workshop objectives
By the end of the workshop participants will be able to:
• Recognise the array of possibilities for preventing child sexual
abuse before it happens
• Identify innovative as well as traditional evidence-informed
primary, secondary and tertiary interventions to prevent child
sexual abuse from around the world
• Develop or revise a child sexual abuse prevention strategy
using a new tool, which draws on the Smallbone et al. (2008)
comprehensive prevention framework

3. Eradicating Child Sexual Abuse: the project
Aims:
• to identify effective and promising responses to child sexual
abuse from around the world and, by doing so, help nations
implement effective strategies to protect children from sexual
harm
• to develop a new easy to use prevention toolkit, with step by
step guide to strategy development.

4. Eradicating Child Sexual Abuse: the toolkit
Free, searchable on-line toolkit helps you:
• Identify and understand the child sexual abuse problems
specific to your community, region or country
• Identify interventions to address identified problems, targeted
at different groups, ages and stages of abuse process
• Design and develop a child sexual abuse prevention strategy.

5. Eradicating Child Sexual Abuse: the theory
• Takes a public health approach to prevention
• Recognises need for communities to tailor solutions to fit
their particular child sexual abuse problems and context
• Uses Smallbone et al. (2008) framework to focus and organise
thinking by audience and prevention level.

6. Four pre-conditions to child sexual abuse
Adapted from: D. Finkelhor, Child Sexual Abuse: New
Theory & Research 1984
Thoughts
MOTIVATION
‘Wanting to’
INTERNAL
INHIBITORS
‘Conscience’
OVERCOME
VICTIM
RESISTANCE
‘Doing it and getting
away with it’
EXTERNAL
INHIBITORS
‘Others’
(Creating
Opportunity)
Sex with
a child
Sex with
a child

7. ECSA: the theory
Primary
Prevention
(before abuse)
Secondary
prevention
(before abuse)
Tertiary
Prevention
(after abuse)
Offenders and
potential offenders
Children and young
people (potential
victims)
Families and
communities
Situations
Smallbone et al
(2008)

8. Interventions and resources identified

9. West Cairns, Queensland, case study
• Disproportionately high rates of sexual offences, teen pregnancy &
STIs
• Majority of offenders (61%) Aboriginal or Torres Strait persons. 40%
of reported victims are indiginous persons.
Themes:
• Community problems- violence, alcohol and substance abuse,
frequency of rape, girls trading sex ++
• Family problems - high levels of family violence, loss of respect for
controls, lack of adult monitoring ++
• Peer concerns - youth gangs, conflict between groups ++
• Youth sexual behaviour- male sexual entitlement the norm, lack of
respect for girls, high rates of STIs, consent not understood
• Barriers to reporting sexual victimisation – pervasive fear of police,
culture of victim blaming.

10. Queensland case study (city area) – the plan
Safer Public Spaces
1. Improved and targeted police patrols
2. Targeted community night patrols
3. Designing out YSVA
4. Awareness and safety education for at-risk group
Safer Homes
5. Community rule setting
6. Tailored parent education
Safer Youth Networks
7. Sex, ethics and guardianship program for youth
8. Therapeutic innovations to prevent re-victimisation

11. Creating prevention strategies: a step by step
approach
Step 1: Beginning
• identify key partners and develop partnerships
• develop shared vision
• develop skills and capacity to influence
Step 2: Define and describe nature of csa problem
• define child sexual abuse problems in your area
• describe size of and nature of each problem
• prioritise problems to tackle
Step 3: Use tool to identify potentially effective interventions
with reference to nature of problems, audience and prevention
levels
Adapted from: WHO/ London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (2010)

12. Creating prevention strategies: a step by
step approach
Step 4: Identify key strengths and gaps (eg in policies, skills,
infrastructure and resources)
• agree priorities and process for addressing key gaps
• prioritise interventions using Smallbone framework, taking
account of capacity and capabilities
Step 5: Create action plan for delivery
• agree & define roles and responsibilities
• agree implementation process and timetable
• develop professional skills and networks
Step 6: Monitor, evaluate and share learning

13. ECSA - A project to identify effective and promising responses to child
sexual abuse from around the world with the aim of helping all nations to
develop and implement effective child sexual abuse prevention strategies
From theory to practice – a new tool to
help construct a child sexual abuse
prevention strategy
Launch of tool - May 2015
Email: wolvercote@lucyfaithfull.org.uk