Your work with parents is invaluable to the healing of child and teen survivors, families, and communities. Many programs have contacted WCSAP to inquire about resources and curricula for facilitating psychoeducational support groups for nonoffending parents and caregivers of children who have been sexually abused.
This documentary is an adaptation of Jessica Valenti's 2009 bestselling book "The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women." The documentary, which Valenti co-wrote the documentary with director Jeremy Earp, brings to life her argument by allowing the audience to see the pop-culture examples of the American media's problematical portrayal of women's sexuality.
The book and documentary both build upon Valenti's concept of the "purity myth," which she…
Including siblings in treatment permits families to realize the maximum benefits of therapy for the victim as well as each family member.
—Baker, Tanis, & Rice, 2001
Nonabused children whose siblings have been abused may have to deal with:
This issue of the Digest focuses on research about children and teens that have come into contact with the criminal justice system because they are victims of crime. We know that one in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before the age of 18. When these crimes are reported, those individuals typically become involved with the criminal justice system.
As advocates, we recognize that the justice system can be complex, confusing, and often unpredictable. These concerns…
This presentation is designed for sexual assault advocates who work with caregivers of children with a history of sexual abuse and who may be exhibiting sexual behavior problems. The presentation will include information regarding typical sexual development, as well as how to distinguish typical sexual behavior from problematic sexual behavior for children ages 12 and younger. Common misconceptions about children with sexual behavior problems will be dispelled. This presentation will…
Service providers from all disciplines — medical and mental health, law enforcement, the courts, education, child welfare, and advocacy — can offer trauma-informed services to those they serve. Trauma-informed services approach people from the standpoint of the question "What has happened to you?" rather than "What is wrong with you?" It is important to note that providing trauma-informed services does not mean service providers must determine exactly what has happened to an individual.…
Inside parents can find out about healthy sexual development for children, why it is important to talk to children about sexuality, and tips for having these conversations. It's a great way to get the conversation started!
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Providing advocacy services for children and teens who have been sexually abused often requires specialized knowledge and skills. Ensuring that your young clients and their parents are fully informed and supported means having specific information about things such as:
In this issue of "Partners in Social Change" we examine what it looks like to engage men in sexual violence prevention. Much of the work we do focuses on how communities can prevent sexual violence; therefore this issue seeks to examine men as a community that has the potential to help create social change. The notion that men need to be involved in ending gender-based violence is not new by any means, but we want to take a look at how we can genuinely involve men as part of a movement that…
Relationship-building with youth who have been commercially sexually exploited is no small task. In many cases, abuse, abandonment and betrayal have characterized their relationships with adults and created mistrust. Additionally, they may not see themselves as victims of exploitation or know how they want to move forward.
As advocates, you already have many of the skills you need to support youth who have been commercially sexually exploited. Building rapport with this population is…
Children who have been sexually abused have often experienced an entire series of traumatic events, from multiple victimizations to seriously disrupted relationships with their parents. These children's experiences can't be described with the traditional posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) label; their fundamental ways of interacting with the world and sometimes even their biological functions are changed because of the chronic, pervasive stress to which they have been exposed at this…
In cases of child sexual abuse, some prosecutors discourage parents or others from placing a child in therapy until after the trial. The fear is that therapy will create memory and suggestibility issues which may be used by defense counsel to attack the child's credibility. Therapists confronting this issue can make the following points.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, is a therapeutic technique that helps clients to deal with trauma and disturbing memories. Developed by Francine Shapiro, Ph.D., in the 1980s, EMDR has been extensively researched and found to be an effective method of treating posttraumatic stress. The theory behind EMDR is that trauma memories must be disrupted not only cognitively but also neurologically, allowing the brain to handle past trauma in a different manner. EMDR is…
No matter what your formal position, you can be a leader in advocating for services to address Intimate Partner Sexual Violence (IPSV). Often, it takes just one dedicated individual to initiate these much-needed services.
Even if you are a very experienced advocate, it is crucial to educate yourself thoroughly on Intimate Partner Sexual Violence. Two great starting places: the book…
This webinar will provide an overview of crisis intervention in cases of child sexual abuse. It is intended to build upon and enhance the content presented in the related section of the From Hurt to Hope Child Advocacy Guide. The guide and each complementary webinar aim to support sexual assault advocates in their work with children and families.
The information gathered from this survey highlighted those areas that require further attention and additional resources. It also identified that programs have been adaptive and innovative in responding to this problem despite existing resource and knowledge gaps. Some of the practices that are already being implemented, such as system coordination, have proven to be quite valuable in this context but we must also continue to expand our thinking and relationship-building efforts beyond…
Sometimes we are so busy walking the path of our daily lives that we don't have the time to go exploring for resources. We hope this resource guide will support you in your journey working with children and teens who have been sexually assaulted and their nonoffending family members. The resources in this guide were supplied by therapists across the state doing this work.
Some of the resources are designed to help therapists expand their own knowledge, while others are intended to be…
Working with child sexual abuse/assault (CSA) victims and their nonoffending parents/caregivers/families can present a unique dynamic for Community Sexual Assault Programs (CSAPs) and advocates. What does confidentiality look like for a 10-year-old or a 15-year-old? What decisions can children or teens make for themselves? Who is my client, the child or the parent? Why is the child going through a medical assessment when the last abuse was three months ago? Why does the parent act like this…
This Guide is a supplement to the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs' (WCSAP) general guide to psychoeducational support groups, Circle of Hope. Circle of Hope provides excellent information about the nature of psychoeducational groups and how they differ from self-help and therapy groups. In addition, there is information about how to select participants, work with a co-facilitator, establish a curriculum, handle the inevitable concerns that arise in the course of running…
Intimate Partner Sexual Violence (IPSV) is a comprehensive term that includes not only marital rape, but all other forms of sexual assault that take place within a current or former intimate relationship, whether the partners are married or not. Sometimes referred to as "sexual assault within the context of domestic violence," IPSV is a complicated, heart-wrenching form of abuse that has often been overlooked by the general public, law enforcement, and human service providers. IPSV is at the…
I am a person, so treat me like you.
Don't hurt me, abuse me,
or embarrass me too.
I think and I feel and I will speak out-
If someone does hurt me,
I'll stand up and shout!
This poem is a nice summary of this issue of Partners in Social Change, where we turn our attention to disabilities and sexual violence prevention.
To craft this issue, we asked ourselves a few questions.
The research presented here has several implications for service providers. Our first aims are always to support the safety and self-determination of child sexual abuse survivors in foster care and their foster and adoptive parents. Since many of our interactions are likely to be with the parents, it is important that we explain the dynamics and effects of sexual abuse and situate problematic behavior as a normal response to trauma.
Service providers can explain the importance…
A systematic response to intimate partner sexual violence is one that involves all levels of advocacy, legal, and political realms. The articles within this issue illustrate the complexities of IPSV, while painting a picture of that systematic response.
By capturing the voices of survivors, advocates and legal leaders in this movement to end violence against women, this "Connections" will inspire you to look beyond traditional paths of service delivery, dig deeper into the root…
This "Research and Advocacy Digest" explores sibling incest dynamics and victimization effects. It features an enlightening expert interview by John Caffaro, who provides a quality overview of sibling incest trauma and shares considerations for advocates and clinicians providing services to sibling incest survivors and their families.
Historically sibling incest has been scarcely studied. It has been unrecognized, overshadowed by parent-child incest research, or dismissed as normal…
The articles and featured interview in this issue explore long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) to adult survivor wellbeing and functionality.
Upon filtering through the research and critically thinking about reported effects to survivor well-being and functionality, three challenges become quite apparent. These include,
