stophand_group_wave_suits_mixed_races.jpg

Stop It Now! Philadelphia

Brief History

Stop It Now! Philadelphia was launched in September 2000 with a mass media campaign that included pro-bono billboards and posters.  It was sponsored by the Joseph J. Peters Institute, a treatment provider and affiliate of the Philadelphia Health Management Corporations.   Initially, Stop It Now! Philadelphia focused on three neighborhoods where intensive work was done with community leaders.   In 2006 this focus was expanded to include all of Philadelphia and focused on training and community education with a variety of audiences. 

JJPI created JJPI Prevention Services which continued the prevention efforts of the Stop  It Now! program.  They continue to provide training and materials that educate adults about how to recognize sexual behaviors directed towards children, and how to act to stop it before children are harmed. 

Past Advisory Board/Collaborative Partners

  • The City of Philadelphia Department of Human Services
  • The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, Children’s Trust Fund
  • SCAN – Stop Child Abuse Now
  • Women Organized Against Rape
  • The Philadelphia Support Center for Child Advocates
  • The Philadelphia Children’s Alliance
  • The Family Support Line of Delaware County, PA
  • The Children’s Crisis Treatment Center
  • The North Philadelphia Human Services Corporation
  • Harmelin Media

Funding Partners

  • ClearChannel Outdoor Communications
  • The Ms Foundation for Women
  • The US Department of Health and Human Service, Administration on Children, Youth and Families

Market Research

Social Marketing

Stop It Now! Philadelphia developed a mass media campaign with the theme of child's play.  For example, the billboard for this campaign included the text: "When Hide & Seek is about fear and abuse, it's no game." This campaign, which also included billboards, radio, tv and transit posters, won a National Addy award. 

Community Education & Training

Stop It Now! Philadelphia did extensive training of professionals and community members on child sexual abuse prevention, healthy sexual development of children and adolescents. Since 2002, they have been training frontline professionals for the City of Philadelphia on how to recognize and prevent child sexual abuse.  They have also held workshops for foster parents, neighborhood groups and other community members. 

Public Policy

Based on data from the 2001 survey of Frontline Workers, Stop  It Now! Philadelphia collaborated with the city's Department of Human Services to provide needed training and support on child sexual abuse prevention for frontline workers.  In just the year July 2005- June 2006, Stop It Now! Philadelphia provided 6 hours of training to 51 DHS Family Service Provider agencies and 623 mandated reporters.