What Minnesotas Think, Believe, and Do about Child Sexual Abuse
During 2007, Stop It Now! Minnesota commissioned a follow-up random telephone survey of 500 residents in the seven county metropolitan area to measure our program impact since 2003 and to guide future programming.
The 2007 survey, when compared to the 2003 survey, includes both good and bad news. Residents tell us the safety and well being of children is a priority. More residents tell us they are able to recognize and willing to take action when they know an adult whose behavior towards children concerns them. Still, more than one in six residents reported taking no action to protect children even when they were concerned an adult may be sexually abusing a child. Residents tell us their fears, of being wrong, of making things worse, for their own safety, prevent them from taking action to protect children. This climate of fear means even when abuse might have been prevented, children are being harmed, because the adults who are supposed to protect them don’t act.
To address these concerns, Stop It Now! Minnesota is conducting research with adults where children were sexually abused by someone within the household (adult or youth) to learn what makes it harder to recognize and respond as well as what might make it easier to take protective action earlier. We will use what we learn to modify our own programming and propose policy and practice change in other organizations and institutions, including the media.
Residents tell us they want to learn how to prevent the sexual abuse of children. They want information on warning signs of an adult at risk to sexually abuse children and what to do when they see those signs. They want this information to be accessible throughout the community—in health care settings, schools, libraries, community centers, religious sites, even retail stores. Residents want the tools to move from concern to taking action but limited resources mean Stop It Now! Minnesota has only reached a small subset of adults.
Stop It Now! Minnesota will continue to create partnerships at the community level to distribute our prevention tools. In addition, because of their important role as community resources, we will focus attention on improving organizational policies and practices in youth- and child-serving organizations.
We learned more residents are familiar with Stop It Now! Minnesota. And, when they are, they are also are more knowledgeable about how to prevent child sexual abuse. When our messages reach people, they report more action to prevent sexual abuse.
To reach more people, we need more resources. We are working to increase our financial sustainability through grants, individual donations, and consulting and training fees.
Finally, when asked about their own experiences, residents who disclosed experiencing sexual abuse confirmed that the vast majority of child sexual abuse is not reported to authorities. Only 8 of the 101 residents who disclosed, recalled that their abuse was reported to authorities. We will continue to educate the media and Minnesotans about the silent nature of this epidemic.
To view a full summary of these results, click here.
Precinct Caucuses February 5th
This week Minnesotans have the opportunity to stand up for the candidates and issues they support. Please use this opportunity to speak up for children. To find out where you caucus, please click here.
As the article above shows, people who are familiar with Stop It Now! Minnesota report more action to prevent child sexual abuse. To reach more people, we need more resources. If Minnesota invested even .01% of what sexual violence costs us each and every year, programs like Stop It Now! Minnestoa would have $8 million, less than $1 per resident, that could be used to prevent the long and short term effects of sexual violence on the children and families in our state.
To download a Sample Resolution to Support Prevention, created by the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault, click here.
Who Called the Helpline in 2007?
We are often asked who calls the Helpline? The answer is anyone who has any concerns about their own, or someone else's behavior towards children. More specifically, in 2007, 10% of Minnesota Helpline calls were from callers concerned about their own thoughts and behaviors towards children. 43% were from people who knew both the person they are concerned may harm a child and the child they were concerned may be harmed.
Some callers call for general information or to request materials. When callers called about a specific situation, 38% called about concerning situations within the family, 17% about situations within the extended family, 35% about situations with acquaintances, 6% about situations where the person who may be harming is unknown to them, and 4% about Internet situations. Helpline calls reflect what we know about child sexual abuse. About 90% of the time children are sexually abused by someone they know and about 40 to 60% of abuse happens within families.
Helpline staff categorize calls based on levels of prevention. 52% of calls were about situations where, from the description, Helpline staff believe that sexual abuse had already happened, 38% were about situations where there was the possibility of acting to prevent a child from being harmed, and 10% were calls about situations where there was little risk of sexual abuse.
When asked how they learned about the Helpline, 32% said from the Internet and 23% were referred by a professional.To get Helpline brochures, you can download them (in English or Spanish) or contact us at stopitnowmn@projectpathfinder.org or 651-204-2878 to order them.
The Building Blocks of a Family Safety Plan available to download.
Our newest fact sheet, focuses on how to build protective factors that keep our families safe. It focuses on five simple things adults can do and would be a perfect handout for parent support groups, at community notification meetings, in welcome packets for families, etc. To download this fact sheet, click here. |
