Since its founding in 1992, Stop It Now! has collaborated with state and national organizations to get communities to make child sexual abuse prevention a priority. Working in seven states and three countries, Stop It Now! and its network have changed the way people think about child sexual abuse and given them actions to take to protect children.
Stop It Now! Network programs
- Stop It Now! Minnesota
- Virginia Department of Health Helpline Collaboration
- Stop It Now! Georgia
- Stop It Now! Philadelphia
International Sister Organizations
Stop It Now!'s Comprehensive Model for Community Based Prevention
Guiding Principles
- Public Health Framework – Now! programs are developed within a public health framework that views child sexual abuse as a preventable social problem.
- Focus on Adults and Communities – Now! programs focus on adults and communities, challenging them to take responsibility for preventing the perpetration of sexual abuse of children.
- Balance Accountability with Understanding – In its work with those who have sexually abused, Now! supports media approaches, programs, and public policies that effectively balance accountability for the crime with an understanding of the need for treatment to prevent further sexual abuse.
- Collaboration – Now! views collaboration as critical to the success of community-based programming. This includes the collaboration between Now! and Sponsoring Organizations, collaboration with the individuals and organizations on the advisory committee, and collaboration with public agencies, community-based organizations, consumers and those directly affected by sexual abuse.
- Research Based Approach – Now! designs interventions and measures effectiveness using research methods. Our social marketing campaigns are based on public opinion surveys, focus groups and other market research techniques.
Comprehensive Model
The success of every Stop It Now! program relies on a comprehensive model which looks at impact on different levels of the social ecological model. Now! programs work with individuals and families through Helpline services. Now! reaches out across communities to involve all sectors, from youth-serving professionals to businesses. Its staff also works to change policies and structures, both governmental and organizational. This fully implemented model requires a multi-year commitment and is best undertaken in stages beginning with a limited scope of work.
Structure
- Sponsoring Organization – The Stop It Now! headquarters office has collaborated with local organizations that sponsor and house Stop It Now! centers. Sponsoring organizations have included treatment providers, statewide child abuse prevention organizations, and social service agencies.
- Steering Committee of Local Stakeholders – Stop It Now! programs harness the support and expertise of local stakeholders to deal with the complexity of preventing the sexual abuse of children. The steering committee is composed of representatives from key sectors, including criminal justice, child protection, victim advocacy, treatment provider, faith communities and local businesses.
Activities
- Community Education – Stop It Now! programs provide a variety of educational services to give community members the information, resources and support to prevent the sexual abuse of children.
- Training – Local programs provide training to professionals who work with families and children (e.g. day care providers and social service workers). They also sponsor local events to educate the broader public including the Stop It Now! Dialogues and other presentations. In addition, member programs distribute Stop It Now! materials to individuals and organizations throughout their service area.
- Distribution Partners – Collaborations with key organizations bring Stop It Now! materials and messages to a broader audience by incorporating this information in their training and public education efforts. Now! also targets education efforts to the media, often in response to local events.
- Stop It Now! Dialogues – Community Dialogues bring together a panel of people affected by childhood sexual abuse, including adult survivors, family members, therapists and recovering offenders. Panelists share their stories and discuss opportunities for prevention.
- Media Education – Stop It Now! works with media outlets to educate them on the facts about child sexual abuse and Stop It Now!’s approach to prevention.
Social Marketing
Stop It Now! utilizes social marketing to educate the adult public about child sexual abuse prevention by urging them to take action. Stop It Now!’s ads encourage adults to step in and take action when they see inappropriate sexualized behavior. These ads drive callers to the Helpline and website to get help to protect children.
Helpline
Stop It Now! community-based programs provide local resources on the Helpline so callers receive referrals for treatment, advice, legal assistance, counseling and education in their own community.
Research
Community-based programs conduct research to understand local knowledge, attitudes and actions around child sexual abuse. This research provides a blueprint for adapting the Stop It Now! model to the local community.
Public Policy
Program agents work to change local and state public policy surrounding child sexual abuse prevention by testifying to legislative bodies, participating in local coalitions and advocating policies that encourage prevention.
Evaluation
Stop It Now! is committed to evaluating its approach. Key evaluation efforts include Vermont’s four year comprehensive evaluation of Stop It Now!. Vermont showed that the program was successful in getting abusers to call for help and in increasing adults’ knowledge and discussion of child sexual abuse.
University of Kansas Community Toolbox Evaluation
With support of a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Stop It Now! Minnesota worked with the University of Kansas Community Toolbox on a participatory research study to examine the effects of Stop It Now! Minnesota's statewide intervention to prevent child sexual abuse. Stop It Now! Minnesota’s efforts yielded changes in the protective environment that were associated with increases in preventative Helpline calls and decreases in cases reported to social services. Their findings suggest that comprehensive statewide preventative efforts can lead to changes in the protective environment and associated improvement in key indicators of child sexual abuse.
Minnesota Findings
Schober, Daniel J. and Stephen B. Fawcett, Ph.D. Jerry A. Schultz, Ph.D.Yvonne Cournoyer, Renee Wright, Collaborative Efforts to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse in Minnesota: An Empirical Case Study, poster, APA Summit on Violence and Abuse in Relationships, Bethesda Maryland, Feb 28-29 2008
Stop It Now! Georgia is also working with the Community Toolbox for evaluation of its work. Their results are forthcoming.
Funding
The Stop It Now! comprehensive model is resource-intensive. Dedicated staff with at least 50% of their time devoted to Stop It Now! is necessary. Programs need a commitment of $100-150,000 a year at a minimum. If your organization has funding prospects for this level of work, please contact us for information on a feasibility study for your community. There are interim steps to take toward the goal of becoming a Stop It Now! affiliate.
- Become a distribution partner
- Conduct a feasibility and needs assessment study
- Introductory online training
- On-site training
Stop It Now! programs were created through the support of many individuals, organizations, foundations, and agencies. We gratefully acknowledge the incredible contributions that have made these programs possible.
