About Stop It Now! Vermont

Stop It Now! Vermont is a new public health approach to child sexual abuse prevention. The approach is unique because we shift the responsibility of prevention from children to adults and we challenge everyone to go beyond the idea of preventing victimization to also include ways to prevent the perpetration of sexual abuse.

Through innovative public services announcements, posters, and news article and through compelling community events such as our public dialogues between recovering sexual abusers, survivors of child sexual abuse, and family members, Stop It Now! Vermont:

• Challenge sexual abusers and people at risk for abusing to take responsibility for their behaviors;

• Helps family members and friends question inappropriate sexual behaviors; and

• Encourages everyone to educate themselves about the warning signs for sexually abusing behaviors and signs in children who may be abused.

In the first day of operations, Stop It Now! Vermont proved that some people do want help to stop their abusing behaviors. The very first call to Stop It Now! Vermont was from a man who said "Hello, my name is John and I need help." Over the next eight years, Vermont has demonstrated that this innovative approach will work. See evaluation information below for more information.

However, the program could not have been established without the hard work of many individuals and organizations throughout Vermont, including: OUR House, Pre-Sentence Alternative Program, Prevent Child Abuse Vermont, Safer Society Foundation, Inc., STEP program, Vermont Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Sexual Abuse, Vermont Educational Support Associates, and the Vermont Partnership for an Abuse Free State and many others since this initial organizing group.

Does the Program Work?

Stop It Now! has conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the program, evaluating both the effectiveness and efficiency of each program elements. Key findings of the evaluation has shown that:

• Abusers and family members will call for help
• Public awareness of child sexual abuse is high
• But people don't know what to do when faced with a situation where sexual abuse is unclear

Click here for a summary of the four-year evaluation results. If you would like additional information, contact our offices directly at (413) 268-3096.

Program History

Stop It Now! Vermont was begun in 1992 as the first pilot program for Stop It Now!. The program was developed to answer some critical questions such as:

• Will abusers and those at risk to abuse respond to our call to stop and reach out for help?

• Are we willing to look at the warning signs for perpetration in people we love?

• Can we change the social climate enough to allow each of us to talk about child sexual abuse and ultimately, question sexualized behaviors in our own families when we see them?

A group of dedicated professionals and organizations throughout Vermont worked for nearly three years to develop the media messages and the needed services to encourage families to step forward for help. With the generous sponsorship of the Safer Society Foundation, Inc. and funding for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Inc. Stop It Now! Vermont was publicly launched in September of 1995.

For more information on what you can do to prevent child sexual abuse or what to do if you suspect a child is being abused, also visit the National Stop It Now! website at www.stopitnow.org.