Building For A Strong Future

In 1992 STOP IT NOW! presented a simple notion that a public health approach can be used to prevent the sexual abuse of children. Building on the work of child-focused programs, STOP IT NOW! focused our work on adults preventing child sexual abuse by reaching out to abusers, people at risk to abuse, and the friends and family surrounding them.

Today, these ideas of preventing the perpetration of child sexual abuse have taken root and garnered the support of government officials, professionals in the field, and community activists. In this last year alone, STOP IT NOW! has worked closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to integrate these concepts into the Violence Prevention Research Agenda and to incorporate them into a recent grant application for three CDC grants. Our own programs continue to grow and develop in new and exciting ways. Two notable developments from this last quarter are listed in the following program announcements.

STOP IT NOW! UK

On December 5th in the Palace of Westminster (Parliament) in London, STOP IT NOW! UK made the official announcement of their national initiative. Fran Henry, president of STOP IT NOW! in the US joined a number of UK speakers at this groundbreaking event. With programs already launched in Surrey and Derbyshire, Baroness Valerie Howarth, Chair of STOP IT NOW! UK, was able to comment on the immediate successes of these initiatives. “Calls to the (UK) helpline indicate that we are already reaching our target audience, including adults who are worried that they are at risk for sexually abusing children and seeking help.” All STOP IT NOW! UK and Ireland programs are coordinated by The Lucy Faithfull Foundation of Birmingham, England.

As a result of a STOP IT NOW! intervention, one man brought his computer to the police so that he could get help with his problem. He had been viewing child pornography on the Internet.

John Brownlow, STOP IT NOW! UK
Coordinator at the December 5th meeting in London

STOP IT NOW! Minnesota

STOP IT NOW! Minnesota was awarded a $250,000 competitive grant from the CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention for Collaborative Efforts to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse. After over two years of hard work and planning, Project Pathfinder, Inc. in collaboration with key Minnesota organizations were well positioned to apply for, receive, and utilize these new funds. Yvonne Cournoyer, Program Director said, “Funding from the CDC came at a critical point for us and has enabled us to advance quickly from planning to implementation. It also lends tremendous credibility to our unique efforts to engage adults and communities in preventing the perpetration of child sexual abuse.”

Opportunities in our Future

These program developments offer STOP IT NOW! an unprecedented opportunity to leverage what has been learned in the current programs in Vermont and in Philadelphia. They challenge us all to tailor the concepts to each new site, evaluate what works in each environment, and then widely disseminate our successes and what we have learned. Finally, these new initiatives provide the energy and momentum to build a broad and vibrant network of public health based child sexual abuse prevention programs across disciplines and constituencies. Such movement-building work would not be possible without the hundreds of individuals and organizations working together to extend our existing roots into a new and exciting future. We extend a heartfelt “thank you” to each of you.

STOP IT NOW! FEATURED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES

On December 3, the Science section of The New York Times featured an article, “To Prevent Sexual Abuse, Abusers Step Forward” by Linda Villarosa. Linda attended our Expert Panel meeting in Washington, D.C. last April and the discussions there peaked her interest in a public health approach to prevention.

Ms. Villarosa wrote about STOP IT NOW!’s pioneering approach of holding public meetings where recovering sex offenders and family members share their stories to help inform everyone about the impact on families and communities. It is the first article in a major U.S. newspaper that discusses the merits of a prevention approach to reduce the perpetration of child sexual abuse, and ends with a quote from Wayne Bowers, “But I’ve found a way to keep myself in control. There is hope.”

Please take a moment to read the article and let us know what you think! You can find it on The New York Times’ web site at www.nytimes.com/2002/12/03/health/psychology/03ABUS.html.