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Helping children to the other side of silence: A study of the impact of the stay safe programme on Irish children's disclosures of sexual victimisation.
Alternative Title
Stay Safe Disclosure Study
Author(s)
Date Issued
1999-12
Date Available
2014-02-13T10:27:49Z
Abstract
Objective. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a school based safety skills programme - The
Stay Safe Programme - in facilitating the disclosure of sexual abuse among sexually victimized children and
adolescents in Dublin.
Method. A cohort of 145 children who had participated in the Stay Safe Programme prior to their referral to a
sexual abuse assessment unit were compared with a cohort of 443 children who had not participated in the
prevention programme on a range of disclosure related variables abstracted from case notes.
Results. More Stay Safe participants, particularly female adolescents, made disclosures of suspected
sexual abuse than non-participants. A higher rate of initial disclosure to teachers was made by Stay Safe
participants and more teachers in schools participating in the Stay Safe programme initiated referrals for
evaluation of suspected child sexual abuse. Following assessment a higher rate of confirmed abuse
occurred among Stay Safe participants and for these confirmed cases more Stay Safe participants made
purposeful disclosures and in significantly more cases referral was due to the child telling someone about
the abuse. These differences in disclosure between programme participants and non-participants were
unrelated to demographic factors or characteristics of the abuse.
Conclusions. The Stay Safe programme was an effective secondary prevention intervention deserving
widespread implementation.
Type of Material
Journal Article
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect
Volume
23
Issue
12
Start Page
1327
End Page
1340
Copyright (Published Version)
1999 Elsevier
Language
English
Status of Item
Peer reviewed
This item is made available under a Creative Commons License
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