Prevention Advocacy

Through Prevention Advocacy, we promote addressing child sexual abuse as a national and international public health priority by sharing our research and experience-based information with the media, legislators, other policymakers and advocacy groups.

• We collaborate with leading groups and networks in the U.S. and around the world to encourage increased investment in a full range of child sexual abuse prevention strategies. We advocate that these investments be made according to the best scientific research and program experience currently available.
• We educate policy makers in government agencies and elected officials on the incidence of child sexual abuse, relevant research including our own, promising strategies, and our first-hand experiences from talking with individuals utilizing our Help Services. 
• We recommend effective policies and practices that can reduce the likelihood that children will be harmed by sexual abuse. 

Our future depends on our ability to foster the health and well-being of all children.  At Stop It Now!, we know the harm caused by sexual abuse and are committed to playing an important role in preventing children from experiencing sexual abuse. 

Read more about our:

• Latest Advocacy News
• Approach and Guiding Principles
• Movement Building
• Leadership in Prevention
• Prevention Advocacy Resources
  

Latest Advocacy News

• Federal Testimony: Subcommittee Hearing On Breaking the Silence on Child Sexual Abuse: Protection, Prevention, Intervention, and
  Deterrence, December 13, 2011
• Penn State--Sandusky case
  • From Outrage to Action: Commentary on the Penn State Case
  • Penn State: Prevention = No More Victims (media on Penn State case)
• Reshaping Sex Offender Policy for Prevention (2011)
• Partnership with Darkness to Light (2011)
• Tell Feds to Require Abuse Prevention for Youth Programs (petition, 2011)
• National Sex Offender Registry Highlights Prevention (2010)
• Federal Grant to Boost Help Services (2010)

Movement Building

We’re currently involved in the following collaborative activities to advance the child sexual abuse prevention movement:

• Partnership with Darkness to Light on outreach to federal agencies to increase the integration of child sexual abuse prevention policies and practices into their programs. Learn more.
• Participation in the Policy, Structure and Public Awareness committees of the National Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation
• Support and exchange with grantees from the Ms. Foundation's program to strengthen the child sexual abuse prevention movement
• Membership in the North American Association for Child Helplines (NAACH) and Child Helpline International (CHI).

Leadership in Prevention

Stop It Now! contributed expertise and viewpoints through meetings or interviews in the following policy documents:

• From
 Penn 
State 
to
 Prevention, National 
Coalition 
to 
Prevent
 Child 
Sexual
 Abuse
 &
 Exploitation
• Transforming Communities to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation: A Primary Preventionⁱ Approach, The Prevention Institute (2009).
• The National Plan to Prevent the Sexual Exploitation of Children, National Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation,(2008).
• Preventing Child Sexual Abuse Within Youth-serving Organizations: Getting Started on Policies and Procedures,U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2007).
• Sexual Violence and the Spectrum of Prevention: Towards a Community Solution, Prevention Institute and National Sexual Violence Resource Center (2006).
• Megan's Law: Does it protect children?, Kate Fitch, NSPCC (2006)
• Beyond Surviving: Toward a Movement to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse, Ms. Foundation (2002).

Public Advocacy Resources

Policy Updates

• Policy Update: Sex Offender Management Policy  (2007)
• Policy Update: Adam Walsh Act  (2006)

Prevention Advocacy Articles and Speeches

• Community Re-entry Recast as Primary Prevention, Sex Offenderⁱ Law Report, Vol. 7, No. 5 (2006)
• Working Upstream: A Public Health Approach to Preventing the Sexual Abuse of Children, Meeting of the Stop It Now! Expert Panel (2002)

Key Policy Speeches

• "Where is Will Shakespeare When We Need Him?  Preventing the Sexual Abuse of Children," San Diego Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment (2002).
• "A Prescription for Change on Child Sexual Abuse," National Advisory Council on Violence and Abuse, American Medical Association (2001).
• "The Impact of Sexual Abuse and its Implications for Our Work," U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Promoting Public Safety through Sexual Assault Prevention and Sex Offenderⁱ Management (2000).