Evaluation report
Parent engagement in education for children and young people’s online, relationship, and sexual safety : A rapid evidence assessment and implications for child sexual abuse prevention education
Sebastian Trew, Daryl John Higgins, Douglas Russell, Kerryann Walsh, Maria Cristina Battaglia ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This rapid evidence assessment examines how parents can be better engaged in child sexual abuse prevention education. The review identifies that while child-focused prevention programs exist, they could be strengthened by improving parent involvement. The research distinguishes between two types of parent engagement: parents participating in their own CSA prevention education, and parents supporting school-based programs targeting children. Evidence suggests that including parents is essential for prevention efforts to succeed.
Key points
- A previous rapid evidence review found that child-focused CSA prevention education could be enhanced by improving parent engagement and involvement
- Parents' views about CSA prevention education are important and influence program effectiveness
- Prominent researchers in CSA prevention emphasize that including parents is imperative for prevention efforts to be successful
- The research examines two complementary aspects: parent participation in parent-focused CSA prevention programs and parent participation in school-based child-focused programs
- Further evidence is needed to develop concrete strategies for strengthening parent engagement in appropriate and effective ways
Limitations
The document is an excerpt from a larger report that presents the rationale for a rapid evidence assessment rather than complete findings or recommendations. No specific intervention outcomes, study designs, or evidence about effectiveness are detailed in this excerpt.
Abstract
[Excerpt] We recently conducted a rapid evidence review on educational programs that focus on child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention (Trew et al., 2021). In that review, we learned that child-focused CSA prevention education could be enhanced by looking at how to improve the parent engagement or involvement. We know from a previous review (Hunt & Walsh, 2011), that parents’ views about CSA prevention education are important. But further evidence is needed to develop concrete strategies for strengthening parent engagement in appropriate and effective ways. As identified in the above-mentioned review (Trew et al., 2021), prominent researchers in the CSA prevention field have noted that if prevention efforts are to be successful, it is imperative to include parents (Hunter, 2011; Mendelson & Letourneau, 2015; J. Rudolph & M.J. Zimmer-Gembeck, 2018; Wurtele & Kenny, 2012). This research focuses on two complementary aspects of parent engagement in CSA prevention: (i) parent participation in parent-focused CSA prevention (ii) parent participation in school-based or child-focused CSA prevention.