ABSTRACT
In the 1980s there was a growing understanding that children were at risk for sexual abuse. In response, many programs that had previously been developed to teach children self-protection began to focus more heavily on sexual abuse (Wurtele and Miller-Perrin, 1992). It took many years to devise effective programs. As content was being written some program developers asked the sex offenders directly about their modus operandi and how they felt they could have been prevented from offending children (Elliot et al., 1995; Budin and Johnson, 1989). Almost all programs were provided in school settings. Initially there was not much research on the effectiveness of these programs but recent research indicates that children do learn concepts which are helpful in preventing victimization (Wurtele et al., 1992; Finkelhor et al., 1995; Finkelhor and Dziuba-Leatherman, 1995). Evaluation of prevention programs indicates that more should be included about bullies, as this is very salient and useful information and therefore catches children’s attention (Finkelhor et al., 1995). Additionally, it has been found that parents are very effective teachers and that parental participation in programs increases the child’s learning and follow through (Finkelhor et al., 1995).
