Current News
from Stop It Now! Minnesota
Full Page News Article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press
This past spring the St. Paul Pioneer press featured a full page article, written by Yvonne Cournoyer, in their Viewpoints Section. The article titled "ABUSE INTERRUPTED," explains the principles that guide Stop It Now!® Minnesota and also features three stories: from an offender; from a survivor; and from a relative. Read the entire article
New Resources Available
Our most popular booklet, Do Children Sexually Abuse Other Children?, has been revised and expanded. It now differentiates between developmentally expected sexual behaviors in pre-pubescent and post-pubescent school-age children and includes information on sexually harmful behaviors, child pornography, why children often don't tell, and more details on how to protect children. To download a copy, click here. To request a printed copy, send an e-mail to kweber@projectpathfinder.org.
We have added a self-assessment to our website, 12 Questions Only You Can Answer: A private questionnaire for adults wondering about their own thoughts or behaviors. To download this, click here.
New Fact Sheet Available
The Building Blocks of a Family Safety Plan is our newest Fact Sheet. This fact sheet introduces protective factors to help prevent child sexual abuse and is written for parents, families, and professionals. To download a copy, click here.
Hitting the Radio Airwaves
Last fall, Stop It Now! Minnesota launched two new radio ads. These were paid for by the
Minnesota Department of Health through our state's Rape Prevention and Education grant from the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Rape Prevention and Education grant is part of the federal Violence Against Women Act that was reauthorized in 2005.
The first ad targets adults concerned about their own sexual thoughts or feelings towards children. This ad was used in the Twin Cities, Duluth, and St. Cloud. The second ad targets adults concerned a'); "> second ad targets adults concerned about someone else's behavior towards children. This ad will be used in the Twin Cities, Rochester, Mankato, and Duluth. Both ads encourage listeners to visit this website or to call our Helpline. We are seeking support to keep the ads on the airwaves. Please ask your local radio station to use these ads as public service announcements or donate to help pay for additional ads.
On Line Training for Child Care Providers
Through a partnership with the Minnesota Child Care Resource and Referral Network's Eager to Learn program, Judy Lindman and Leah Sweet recently taught an on-line version of our How Understanding and Responding to Children's Sexual Behaviors Can Prevent Child Sexual Abuse workshop. Watch for future on-line training opportunities!
Statewide Expansion of Billboards Targeting Adults Concerned About Their Own Behavior
With funding from the Minnesota Department of Health, through our state's Rape Prevention and Education grant from the CDC, Stop It Now! Minnesota added six new billboards, one each near Brainerd, Duluth, Little Falls, Mankato, Rochester, and St. Cloud. The billboards will stay up through March 2007.
Our Ad Campaign, One Year Later
On Friday, November 10, Minnesota Public Radio featured an interview with Program Director Yvonne Cournoyer talking about the results of our advertising campaign targeting adults concerned about their own sexual feelings or behaviors towards children. Highlights include that 5,315 people visited our website, calls to our Helpline were up 33%, and 11 people called seeking help for their own feelings or behaviors.
National Conference Presentations
Stop It Now! Minnesota's staff were invited to share the results of our research with adults at-risk to sexually abuse children at two recent national conferences. In September 2006, we presented at the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers and in July 2006 we presented at the International Family Violence and Child Victimization Research Conference.
Regional Meetings
Since August 2006, Stop It Now! Minnesota has held or participated in regional meetings in St. Cloud, Marshall, Brainerd, Duluth, Mankato, and Rochester. During these meetings we introduced our approach to prevention and shared information on our billboard campaign targeting adults concerned about their own behaviors.
Ad Campaign Targeting At-Risk Adults
In keeping with Stop It Now! Minnesota's commitment to call on adults who are being sexual with children or who are having sexual thoughts about a child, in 2005 we completed a research study to better understand how to persuade adults at risk of sexually abusing children to voluntarily come forward, seek treatment, be accountable for their actions and refrain from future abuse.
We used these findings to craft prevention marketing messages and adjust our programs, especially to encourage adults who have sexually abused a child and those contemplating abuse to call the Stop It Now! Helpline or visit this web site. These messages were tested both with our target audience (adults who have contemplated sexually abusing children and adults who have) and with key partners, including adult survivors of child sexual abuse, victim advocates and treatment providers, and law enforcement and corrections officials.
You can support this ad campaign in several ways.
- If your company or organization publishes a newsletter, you can download the ads and print them in your newsletter or include a link to them in your e-newsletter. (Download ads below.)
- You can print a poster version of the ads and post them on your bulletin board or in any public space. (Download posters below or cntact Stop It Now! Minnesota for color copies to post.)
- You can provide financial support to ensure that these ads are widely disseminated in the media.
To talk with someone about this campaign and how you can help, please call 651-644-8515 and ask to speak to Stop It Now! Minnesota's Program Director at extension 121.
Download Ad Campaign Informational Materials
You can view or download our ad materials, both information about the ad campaign and the ads themselves.
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