ABSTRACT
This chapter describes what child sexual abuse prevention does or might look like. In 1984, David Finkelhor published Child Sexual Abuse: New Theory and Research concerning the process of child sexual abuse, and ever since, sex offender assessment and treatment has benefited enormously from his insights. Problematic sexual outcomes have been linked to individual impulsivity, poor problem solving and family adversity, including domestic violence and parental substance misuse. Some clinic residents also described their past struggles to manage deviant sexual thoughts. Broadly cognitive-behavioural in approach, with an emphasis on relapse prevention and new life development, the programme helped residents to accept responsibility for their abusive behaviour and to build on strengths to create an offence-free or 'good life'. In their seminal work combining a wealth of theoretical perspectives, Smallbone, Marshall and Wortley have both articulated and illustrated a comprehensive framework for the prevention of child sexual abuse.
