A Program of: Prevent Child Abuse Vermont

1. SAFE-T Teacher Training A Program of: Prevent Child Abuse Vermont

2. Act One An Act Relating to Improving Vermont’s Sexual Abuse Response System • Comprised of 53 sections. • Includes mandates and guidelines for schools, Children’s Advocacy Centers, law enforcement , and other systems involved in sexual abuse prevention and intervention. • Sections three and nine have implications for instruction and training in schools.

3. Comprehensive Health Education: Including Sexual Abuse Prevention Section 3 Classroom instruction now needs to include: • Instruction on healthy relationships • Communication with trusted adults • Recognizing sexually offending behaviors • Gaining awareness of school and community resources

4. Faculty and Staff Education Section 9 Instruction on identifying and reporting child sexual abuse, including: • Signs and symptoms of sexual abuse and sexual violence • Grooming processes • Recognizing the dangers of child sexual abuse in and close to home • Other predatory behaviors of sex offenders

5. Including Parents in Prevention Section 9 Act One specifies that parents should be given the opportunity to receive information about child sexual abuse and child sexual abuse prevention.

6. What Child Sexual Abuse Is “Any act or acts by any person involving sexual molestation or exploitation of a child including but not limited to incest, prostitution, rape, sodomy, or any lewd and lascivious conduct involving a child.”1 “Child sexual abuse is defined as (a) any sexual act between an adult and a minor, or between two minors, when one exerts power over the other; and (b) forcing or persuading a child to engage in any type of sexual act.”2 1 Vermont Law (33. V.S.A. § 4912), 2Mitchell, 2010

7. Physical & Non Physical Acts • Physical • Frottage • Fondling genitals • Oral contact with genitals • Penetration with digits • Intercourse • Non Physical • Exposure • Voyeurism • Pornography • Inviting touch in a sexual way • Encouraging a child to masturbate or watch others masturbate

8. Grooming A subtle, gradual, and escalating process of building trust with a child. • Offenders often start by grooming adults to ensure their time is welcomed and encouraged. • Grooming increases the offenders access to the child while decreasing suspicion.

9. Grooming Children

10. Grooming Adolescents

11. Potential Indicators of Child Sexual Abuse Sexual • Sexual knowledge beyond age expectations • Preoccupation with sexual behavior • Unresponsive to adult limits on sexual behavior • Sexual exploration between children with significant differences in age or size • Child seems overly secretive, intense, or ashamed about the behavior Behavioral • Abrupt changes in behavior • Increased guardedness, mistrust, and watchfulness • Acting out, anger problems, fighting, cruelty towards others, delinquency • Withdrawal • Unusual level of modesty or body-shame

12. Responding to Disclosures • Find a private place for this discussion. • Let the child describe what happened in his or her own words • Gather only the minimum amount of information necessary • Maintain a calm demeanor • Believe the child • Reassure the child • Respond

13. History of Child Sexual Abuse Prevention • Programs developed with little basis in research • Stranger danger • No, Run, Tell • Different types of touch • Self-protection • These were shown to be ineffective, because: • They put the onus on children to protect themselves • Strangers only account for 10% of offenders • Concepts were too abstract

14. PCAV’s Approach to Prevention • Emphasizes adult responsibility • Takes a victim, perpetrator, and bystander approach • Engages parents, schools, and communities in prevention • Is trauma informed • Comprehensive and building sequence

15. Sexual Abuse Free Environment for Teens™ Overview

16. Comprehensive Prevention 1AAUW Educational Foundation, 2001 2OJJDP, Dec 2009

17. SAFE-T is Research Based • Based on best practices in sexual abuse and youth violence prevention and in resiliency and asset development • SAFE-T is reflective of a variety of different learning styles by using: • Experiential and creative arts projects • Speaking, listening, and writing assignments • Lots of movement • Videos, workbooks, and visitors in the classroom

18. Comprehensive Prevention:Risk and Protective Factors • The SAFE-T scale • SAFE-T units are constructed around risk and protective factors linked to resiliency and empowerment

19. SAFE-T: Program Components

20. How to Use Curriculum Guide • The Introduction and Preface contain information on: • Program philosophy • Program model and research • SAFE-T units 1-10 • National and Vermont Framework of Standards • Each unit begins with an introduction and unit overview for the teacher • Appendices A-D contain additional information and resources for supporting students, parents, and the community

21. SAFE-T’s Units: 1-5 • Support Systems • Introduce personal/social responsibility • Self Awareness, Self Esteem, & Empathy • Expressing thoughts and feelings • Empathy • Coping skills • Communication Skills • Assertiveness • Saying “no” • Manipulation • Healthy Sexuality & Relationships • Focus is on the whole person • Sexual Harassment • Sex Roles, Stereotypes, & the Media • Respect & equality • Domination, exploitation, and prejudice

22. SAFE-T’s Units: 6-10 • Power and Consent • Healthy use of power vs. abuse of power • Mutual consent vs. manipulation • Sexual Abuse • Facts and realities • Myths and denial • Resources • Survival, Protection & Healing • Self and peer protection • Early intervention • School policy and the legal system • Healing • Risk Factors for Sexual Offending • The role of blaming, excusing, minimizing, justifying and assuming • Teens Taking Action • Personal change • Social change project • Celebration

23. SAFE-T Success: Evaluation Findings • Reduction in risk factors for violence: • substance use • dating violence perpetration • sexual victimization • acceptance of couple violence • Increase in protective factors: • perceived school support • knowledge of sexual risk behaviors • knowledge of areas related to sexual myths and sexual harassment

24. Questions?