In order to be able to prevent child sexual abuse it is critically important that family members as well as our systems are able to develop and maintain a preventive mindset. This means that both family members and systems such as child protective services are able to focus on preventive measures that would minimize risks for children.
Here are a few examples of what a preventive mindset means for family members:
- Get to know the person well before allowing contact with the children
- Perform a thorough background check before allowing interactions with the children
- Supervise the interactions to make sure the children are not being exposed to inappropriate behavior
- Time is of the essence
- Keep in mind that service providers such as Child Protective Services are typically much more responsive if a concern is brought forward by a family member
In the true story I describe in my book “Father Figure – my mission to prevent child sexual abuse”, I felt that Child Protective Services did not react in a timely manner in a preventive situation likely because the concern was brought forward by me, a bystander family friend. I hope that CPS will try to make some changes so such concerns are acted upon with a greater sense of urgency.