Teaching Teens to Help Prevent Child Sexual Abuse

Source: Photo by MChe Lee on Unsplash

Coauthored by Amanda Ruzicka, MA, and Elizabeth Letourneau, Ph.D.

Here’s something that may surprise you: Child sexual abuse is largely committed by other children. That’s right, in the U.S., somewhere between 50 percent and 70 percent of sexual abuse against kids is committed by other kids—often slightly older friends and relatives who don’t know about consent or are unaware of the difference between appropriate and inappropriate sexual behaviors.

Given that about 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 13 boys in the United States experience sexual abuse, and the impact of this abuse can be severe and long-lasting, it’s clear that we can’t wait until kids get hurt—or cause harm—to respond.

Ignorance is one of the main risk factors for a teen to engage a younger child in problem sexual behavior. We tell teens not to kick, punch, or tease younger children, but we don’t give them the same clear guidance that sexual behaviors with younger children are harmful and illegal. Even the programs we use to teach kids how to recognize, resist, and report sexual abuse, while worthwhile, don’t include lessons about sexual consent—and why younger children can never give sexual consent.

We’re hopeful that a new school-based prevention program we and our colleagues developed can help. Responsible Behavior With Younger Children focuses on teaching middle-schoolers to engage responsibly with younger children and avoid behaviors associated with child sexual abuse. The program, developed by the Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse, was designed for sixth- and seventh-graders who, at ages 11-13, are younger than 14, which is the peak age among adolescents for engaging in problem sexual behaviors against younger children, but old enough to be contemplating or engaging in early sexual behaviors.

Parents and educators have been enthusiastic about Responsible Behavior With Younger Children. The feedback we received through focus groups and interviews showed these adults want information and guidance about child sexual abuse to help keep their children and other kids and classrooms safe.

Students are also enthusiastic about the program. During the program, they learn about developmental differences between teens and younger children, discuss healthy and unhealthy teen-younger child relationships, including a definition of child sexual abuse and an explanation of its harmfulness, and talk about facts and misconceptions about child sexual abuse and legal ramifications. They also discuss responsible behaviors for keeping themselves and others safe, including learning how to identify, avoid, and address problem sexual behaviors and how to safely get help when they have concerns that a younger child or peer has been harmed. Responsible Behavior with Younger Children also includes activities to help parents or guardians discuss the program, family values, and safety plans with their teens.

Early results are promising. A recent pilot study analyzing responses from sixth- and seventh-graders in four urban Maryland schools found that students who participated in Responsible Behavior With Younger Children demonstrated increased accuracy in their knowledge about child sexual abuse norms and laws and sexual consent. Study participants also reported increased intention to avoid or prevent child sexual abuse with younger children and peers. We’re seeking funding for a larger study of the program with at least 30 schools.

In addition, with funding from the World Childhood Foundation, we are adapting the program for teens with mild to moderate intellectual and developmental disabilities. Here, too, we are finding broad acceptance among educators, parents, and students. We’re optimistic that Responsible Behavior With Younger Children can help teens better understand how to keep themselves and others safe from engaging in harmful or illegal sexual behavior. Child sexual abuse is preventable, not inevitable. We can’t wait until kids are harmed to respond.