Prevalence of Child Sexual Abuse
Stop It Now! Philadelphia
Joseph J. Peters Institute
100 South Broad Street, Suite 1700
Philadelphia, PA 19110
Phone: (215) 701-1560
Fax: (215) 701-1575
E-mail: stopitnow@jjp.org
About Stop It Now! Philadelphia
Stop It Now! Philadelphia uses a public health approach to prevent child sexual abuse. This approach focuses on increasing public awareness of child sexual abuse, by using social marketing elements to challenge adults to be responsible for preventing the perpetration of sexual abuse against children.
Beginning with a mass media campaign, Stop It Now! Philadelphia has generated visibility throughout Philadelphia using posters, billboards, and media events to reach out to abusers, people at risk for abusing, and their friends and families. These messages:
- Increase public awareness that child sexual abuse is a preventable problem and encourages adults to take action to prevent abuse to a child before the child is harmed.
- Challenges people who are sexually abusing children and people ‘at risk’ to sexually abuse children to seek help and be accountable for their behaviors.
- Equips family members and friends with the tools and skills to recognize signs of inappropriate behaviors.
- Encourages the entire city of Philadelphia to become involved in the prevention of child sexual abuse by educating themselves about the warning signs for sexually abusive behaviors and signs in children who may be victims of sexual abuse.
The media campaign is linked to a national toll-free helpline and local community-based programs that help adults understand what options and resources are available to them. Adults can access this information through the helpline, brochures, and community events. Most find these materials extremely helpful, especially in situations where there is no evidence of child sexual abuse, but some behaviors in a child, adolescent or another adult is of concern to them.
Prevalence of Child Sexual Abuse
Based on a statistical random digit dial survey of Philadelphia adults in 2006:
- 1 in 4 adult Philadelphians report being sexually abused as a child.
- 1 in 7 report being concerned that a child they knew was being sexually abused.
- 2 in 3 recognize sexual abuse as physical contact only.
- Almost one-half said they did not think they knew specific characteristics or behaviors that would identify an adult who was sexually abusing, or ‘at risk’ to sexually abuse a child.
Collaborative Partners
Stop It Now! Philadelphia has been recognized as an important and significant contributor for the prevention of child sexual abuse through support from the following agencies and organizations:
- The City of Philadelphia Department of Human Services
- The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, Children’s Trust Fund
- The Ms Foundation for Women
- The US Department of Health and Human Service, Administration on Children, Youth and Families
- 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
- ClearChannel Outdoor Communications
Please contact us for information on prevention training, educational materials, and community outreach workshops by calling Stop It Now! Philadelphia at (215) 701-1570.
For more information on what you can do to prevent child sexual abuse or what to do if you suspect a child is being abused, also visit the National Stop It Now! website www.stopitnow.org.
Joseph J. Peters Institute
Stop It Now! Philadelphia was launched in September 2000 as a site sponsored program of the Joseph J Peters Institute. Established in 1955, the Joseph J Peters Institute (JJPI) has been instrumental in providing state-of-the-art outpatient treatment to victims, offenders and families impacted by sexual abuse. Reaching beyond treatment, JJPI is able to provide a variety of community outreach and education programs that support the capacities of individuals and communities to prevent child sexual abuse before it occurs. Our goal is to join with and facilitate community members and organizations in addressing the problem of child sexual abuse locally. A public health approach that incorporates a variety of community-generated approaches and strategies for prevention and intervention has the greatest potential to stop child sexual abuse before it starts.
The Joseph J Peters Institute is a 501c3 non-profit organization and an affiliate of the Philadelphia Health Management Corporation.
