It’s More Than a Matter of Trust: What Parents and Young Children Need to Know to Prevent Intrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse

Abstract

Programs aimed at preventing child sexual abuse typically focus on skilling up young children and, to a lesser extent, parents by imparting a range of protective messages. Many sexual abuse prevention programs include a focus on identifying or vetting “safe” or “trustworthy” people. The authors qualitatively analyzed the content of narratives from individuals with childhood experience of intrafamilial sexual abuse, an under-represented voice in the development of child sexual abuse prevention programs. The analysis of impediments to protection indicated that, within the family context, reductionistic judgments of familiar individuals’ perceived safety or trustworthiness impaired child safety. In addition to adults and children being unable to recognize sexually abusive behavior and warning signs, child-victim survivor narratives highlighted the barriers for prevention in family environments characterized by maltreatment, a lack of child rights or that were unsupported by external authorities. Implications for the content of messages young children and their parents need to prevent child sexual victimization in the context of everyday family life are discussed.