Check Your Beliefs
These are parental beliefs that make a child more vulnerable to sex crimes.
Check the boxes next to the items you agree with. Push the Submit button for feedback on your
replies, or read the explanation of the items below.
These are parental beliefs that make a child more vulnerable to sex crimes.
Check the boxes next to the items you agree with. Push the Submit button for feedback on your
replies, or read the explanation of the items below.
- Even though I've seen news stories about sex crimes, they're still pretty rare and
they haven't happened to anybody I know. - I believe that my child has complete faith in me and would tell me if somebody
molested him. - The greatest risk to kids is from strangers who abduct and assault kids.
- Planning for sex abuse is too pessimistic.
- I can't do anything unless my child discloses sexual exploitation.
- There are adults in my child's life who are absolutely trustworthy.
- Children need explicit sexual information to recognize and report abuse.
- Children will tell their parents if they trust them.
- There's not much point in scaring kids by talking to them about criminals.
- Children as young as three can report sex crimes.
- It's okay for kids to have secrets as long as nobody's feelings get hurt.
- Teenagers are the best people to babysit because there's no risk of abuse.
- Good touch/bad touch programs protect kids from sex crimes.
- Schools are generally safe places for kids.
- Once I've figured out how to protect my kids, then I can relax.
- I don't have to worry about sex crimes because I live in a safe area.
1. Even though I've seen news stories about sex crimes, they're still pretty rare and
they haven't happened to anybody I know.
Most sex crimes against kids aren’t reported to anybody, and only a small fraction of them are
reported to police when parents learn of them. Because of this, sexual predators are often
silently recycled through various locales and social circles, becoming more proficient with
each experience.
2. I believe that my child has complete faith in me and would tell me if somebody
molested him.
Children rarely tell their parents when they have been victimized, but they are less likely to tell
if the molester is a person to whom the parent is emotionally attached, a person in a position
of authority, or if the exploitation is not life-threatening.
3. The greatest risk to kids is from strangers who abduct and assault kids.
Familiar adults in the family or the social circle perpetrate almost 90% of sex crimes against
kids. Abduction, rape and murder are ghastly crimes, and the odds are one in three million
that a child will be a victim of such an attack. Sexual assault by a known adult, on the other
hand, will happen to approximately one child in four.
4. Planning for sex abuse is too pessimistic.
The FBI estimates that one in three girls and one in five boys will be sexually exploited in their
youth. If parents take this projection seriously, they may be able to reduce the potential for
harm to kids.
5. I can't do anything unless my child discloses advances to him.
Children rarely disclose sexual victimization, but when they do, it is important for a parent to
seek the advice of a mandated reporter, which is a licensed professional trained to recognize
and report sexual victimization of children. Children can be protected without such reports,
however, by careful scrutiny of risks to a child and actions to create a safe life context.
6. There are adults in my child's life who are absolutely trustworthy.
This is possible only if there is only one adult in a child’s life. For all other circumstances,
there is no way to tell if all adults are trustworthy, and holding such a belief can blind a parent
to the sexual exploitation of a child. Far better to assume that children are always at risk, and
to create a context in which there is a greater likelihood of safety. Like flies at a picnic, where
there are children, there are likely to be sexual predators.
7. Children need explicit sexual information to recognize and report abuse.
Information about sexual organs, sexual acts and criminal evidence do little to protect kids,
because even with such information, most sexual predators are well prepared to confuse and
seduce children. Human sexuality and its accompanying understanding require decades to
develop, and giving children information prematurely cannot speed up the process.
8. Children will tell their parents if they trust them.
Research consistently finds that children very rarely report sexual abuse to parents, and
when they do, the average length of time between the episode and the report is fifteen years.
About one third of all incidents are divulged, and for a substantial portion of people, the
sexual victimization is never divulged to anyone, except a researcher in a formal study.
9. There's not much point in scaring kids by talking to them about criminals.
Parents frequently share information about the dangers kids encounter in the world, bullies,
pedestrian risks, health vulnerabilities etc. It is wise to give kids sufficient information to help
them protect themselves, and the information needs to be geared to the child’s age and
developmental level.
10. Children as young as three can report sex crimes.
Small children may sometimes unintentionally divulge information about sexual activity with an
adult, but this is part of a small child’s stream-of-consciousness commentary, rather than the
formal report of a crime. Little kids are not cognitively capable of making the precise
behavioral differentiations required to identify criminal behavior.
11. It's okay for kids to have secrets as long as nobody's feelings get hurt.
Children, particularly little girls, love secrets, but rarely are able to keep them. It’s good
parental policy to forgive kids in advance for sharing secrets, and to let them know you’d
prefer if they avoid secrets. Secrets with adults or older kids are always forbidden, for these
train a child to withhold information from parents.
12. Teenagers are the best people to baby-sit because there's no risk of abuse.
Other kids, usually older kids, commit forty percent of sex crimes against kids. Although a
teenager may be good with children, friends, acquaintances or others who gain access to kids
through her may be risky.
13. Good touch/bad touch programs protect kids from sex crimes.
Although this is widely assumed, there is no research evidence to support this belief. The
belief that a protective mechanism is effective in shielding kids from crime probably puts them
at greater risk.
14. Schools are generally safe places for kids.
Although there are fewer sex crimes in educational settings than other places, this does not
make schools safe. The tight scheduling, trained permanent faculty, group character of
programs, and majority of female adults are generally protective factors. But sexual assaults
on kids can occur on school grounds, among children spending time together, or during
school related activities.
15. Once I've figured out how to protect my kids, then I can relax.
At the same time that loving adults try to protect kids, sexual predators figure out how to
target kids without getting caught. Every time there is a change in technology or crime
detection method, clever criminals figure out how to avoid being caught. This means that
protection is never complete, and adults will always have to protect children.
16. I don't have to worry about sex crimes because I live in a safe neighborhood.
Sex crimes don’t occur in bad or good neighborhoods, but instead they happen in places of
opportunity. These are places where a predator can target a child, get him alone, and
escape detection. Since friends, acquaintances or family members perpetrate the vast
majority of forced sex with children, any place where children spend time is a risk area.
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they haven't happened to anybody I know.
Most sex crimes against kids aren’t reported to anybody, and only a small fraction of them are
reported to police when parents learn of them. Because of this, sexual predators are often
silently recycled through various locales and social circles, becoming more proficient with
each experience.
2. I believe that my child has complete faith in me and would tell me if somebody
molested him.
Children rarely tell their parents when they have been victimized, but they are less likely to tell
if the molester is a person to whom the parent is emotionally attached, a person in a position
of authority, or if the exploitation is not life-threatening.
3. The greatest risk to kids is from strangers who abduct and assault kids.
Familiar adults in the family or the social circle perpetrate almost 90% of sex crimes against
kids. Abduction, rape and murder are ghastly crimes, and the odds are one in three million
that a child will be a victim of such an attack. Sexual assault by a known adult, on the other
hand, will happen to approximately one child in four.
4. Planning for sex abuse is too pessimistic.
The FBI estimates that one in three girls and one in five boys will be sexually exploited in their
youth. If parents take this projection seriously, they may be able to reduce the potential for
harm to kids.
5. I can't do anything unless my child discloses advances to him.
Children rarely disclose sexual victimization, but when they do, it is important for a parent to
seek the advice of a mandated reporter, which is a licensed professional trained to recognize
and report sexual victimization of children. Children can be protected without such reports,
however, by careful scrutiny of risks to a child and actions to create a safe life context.
6. There are adults in my child's life who are absolutely trustworthy.
This is possible only if there is only one adult in a child’s life. For all other circumstances,
there is no way to tell if all adults are trustworthy, and holding such a belief can blind a parent
to the sexual exploitation of a child. Far better to assume that children are always at risk, and
to create a context in which there is a greater likelihood of safety. Like flies at a picnic, where
there are children, there are likely to be sexual predators.
7. Children need explicit sexual information to recognize and report abuse.
Information about sexual organs, sexual acts and criminal evidence do little to protect kids,
because even with such information, most sexual predators are well prepared to confuse and
seduce children. Human sexuality and its accompanying understanding require decades to
develop, and giving children information prematurely cannot speed up the process.
8. Children will tell their parents if they trust them.
Research consistently finds that children very rarely report sexual abuse to parents, and
when they do, the average length of time between the episode and the report is fifteen years.
About one third of all incidents are divulged, and for a substantial portion of people, the
sexual victimization is never divulged to anyone, except a researcher in a formal study.
9. There's not much point in scaring kids by talking to them about criminals.
Parents frequently share information about the dangers kids encounter in the world, bullies,
pedestrian risks, health vulnerabilities etc. It is wise to give kids sufficient information to help
them protect themselves, and the information needs to be geared to the child’s age and
developmental level.
10. Children as young as three can report sex crimes.
Small children may sometimes unintentionally divulge information about sexual activity with an
adult, but this is part of a small child’s stream-of-consciousness commentary, rather than the
formal report of a crime. Little kids are not cognitively capable of making the precise
behavioral differentiations required to identify criminal behavior.
11. It's okay for kids to have secrets as long as nobody's feelings get hurt.
Children, particularly little girls, love secrets, but rarely are able to keep them. It’s good
parental policy to forgive kids in advance for sharing secrets, and to let them know you’d
prefer if they avoid secrets. Secrets with adults or older kids are always forbidden, for these
train a child to withhold information from parents.
12. Teenagers are the best people to baby-sit because there's no risk of abuse.
Other kids, usually older kids, commit forty percent of sex crimes against kids. Although a
teenager may be good with children, friends, acquaintances or others who gain access to kids
through her may be risky.
13. Good touch/bad touch programs protect kids from sex crimes.
Although this is widely assumed, there is no research evidence to support this belief. The
belief that a protective mechanism is effective in shielding kids from crime probably puts them
at greater risk.
14. Schools are generally safe places for kids.
Although there are fewer sex crimes in educational settings than other places, this does not
make schools safe. The tight scheduling, trained permanent faculty, group character of
programs, and majority of female adults are generally protective factors. But sexual assaults
on kids can occur on school grounds, among children spending time together, or during
school related activities.
15. Once I've figured out how to protect my kids, then I can relax.
At the same time that loving adults try to protect kids, sexual predators figure out how to
target kids without getting caught. Every time there is a change in technology or crime
detection method, clever criminals figure out how to avoid being caught. This means that
protection is never complete, and adults will always have to protect children.
16. I don't have to worry about sex crimes because I live in a safe neighborhood.
Sex crimes don’t occur in bad or good neighborhoods, but instead they happen in places of
opportunity. These are places where a predator can target a child, get him alone, and
escape detection. Since friends, acquaintances or family members perpetrate the vast
majority of forced sex with children, any place where children spend time is a risk area.
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Protect
Kids from
Child
Molesters:
Safe Kids
Have
Informed
Parents
Kids from
Child
Molesters:
Safe Kids
Have
Informed
Parents