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October 26, 2004

Health Beat: Preventing child sexual abuse: A progress report

By Elizabeth Eddy -- ecnnews.com

Although child sexual abuse is an unfortunate reality, there is an active coalition in Gloucester working to combat it.

"The group continues to meet and move forward with our goals," says Barbara St. Pierre, a licensed social worker and co-chairwoman of the Gloucester Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Partnership. "We are trying to encourage the community as a whole to come together to learn more about child sexual abuse and the ways to reduce it and prevent it from happening."

So far, community response to this pilot project, funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, has been strong.

"We have had an excellent response in terms of the various representations," St. Pierre said, "starting at the mayor's office and including the schools, police and health departments, etc. — all of these really support this initiative."

The partnership, an offshoot of the Gloucester Coalition for the Prevention of Domestic Abuse, has also received financial support from the Massachusetts Citizens for Children, the Essex County Community Foundation, the North Shore Medical Center Foundation and the North Shore/Cape Ann Community Health Network/North Shore Magnetic Imaging Center.

"This gives us a framework and foundation to keep this going," said St. Pierre.

To observe Domestic Abuse Awareness Month, which included concerns about child-abuse prevention, a press conference was hosted by Mayor John Bell at City Hall earlier this month and attended by many city and state officials and citizens.

"This visual shows how Gloucester as a community has come together," said St. Pierre. "These groups are recognizing the importance of this as a pubic health initiative."

The coalition has been focusing recently on teaching both professionals and families about dealing with various aspects of child sexual abuse.

"We are trying to get out to present these trainings to community groups," St. Pierre said. "We are moving along, and looking for opportunities to train parents and staff." Some sessions have already been provided to local service and child care providers. The coalition is also working with the School Department to provide appropriate training on prevention awareness for school personnel.

Training topics include becoming aware of the signs and symptoms of sexual abuse, the "grooming" tactics of child abusers and learning to use the correct terminology when referring to parts of the body and sexuality.

"Using accurate language is very important to deterring abuse," says Lisa Schott, coalition coordinator. She added that some parents are uncomfortable when they hear their children say certain words, but using the actual terms enhances a child's feeling of ownership of his or her body and decreases shame about healthy sexuality.

"The training also targets each specific age group and reveals what is expected at each stage of development — what's normal and expected and what is a red flag."

Other training focuses on "red flag" behavior demonstrated by adult abusers both inside and outside the family.

"Those not known to the family, Schott said, "will develop a relationship with the family and the child, which paves the way for (the situation) to become more serious."

Abusers within a family may display intrusive or age-inappropriate behaviors around children, such as bathing a 12-year-old, for example.

The training "will let people know how sexual abuse progresses, and how inappropriate sexual comments can lead to touching and then even bribery and threats," Schott said, adding that many perpetrators threaten to harm a child and the child's family members if the young person tells anyone about the abuse.

Disclosing this type of behavior is essential, however, since "sexual abuse is perpetrated because of silence," she said. "We help parents and professionals talk about this kind of behavior."

Talking openly about abuse and identifying risk factors is the first step to formulating a plan that can address this issue.

"Sexualized behavior and sexual abuse are mostly learned behaviors," said St. Pierre. "Children are not born as sexual predators."

The coalition is focusing on the controllable risk factors that can leave children vulnerable to abuse, such as parental loss or neglect. To create "a better balance for these kids and a positive influence in their lives," the coalition fosters mentoring relationships between children and trusted adults, St. Pierre said.

There is also good news regarding the treatment of sexual offenders. St. Pierre said coalition members have "learned that up to 30 percent of sexual abuse cases are perpetrated by juvenile offenders." While this is shocking to many people, the bright side is that these youthful offenders are the most responsive to treatment and are not destined to offend in the future if they receive assistance and are successful with their programs.

"We can make inroads in terms of reducing the number of juveniles who are offending," St. Pierre said. "They are still impressionable," she added. "Treatment has proven that changes can be made in their behavior. If the problem can be recognized, it can be prevented."

For more information on preventing child sexual abuse or to request a prevention awareness training or resource guide, call the Gloucester Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Partnership at (978) 281-2477 or check out www.enoughabuse.org

Posted by Nealus at October 26, 2004 11:38 AM

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