The backlash that is now occurring in some preschools threatens to deprive children of the nourishment and affection that is so important to healthy development and so rewarding to children as well as teachers. Workshops assisting parents and teachers to explore these issues in a safe environment might help adults to confront some of these very sensitive issues. Optimally, prevention programs should focus as much attention on encouraging affection and healthy physical contact as they do on emphasizing how to identify sexual abuse.

Another prevention goal must be to reduce the systemic abuse that many children endure after an abuse report is made. As resources begin to be channeled into prevention programs, they should also be going toward the improvement of our systemic responses to the abuse. It will not be helpful to generate a significant increase in reports of molestation young children if there are not appropriate agencies and facilities to handle the cases sensitively and effectively.

Ultimately, it is necessary to identify and effectively treat perpetrators order to prevent sexual abuse of young children. Currently, very little is known about the dynamics of those who molest infants and preschool age children, although some professionals believe that they constitute a population that is very different from other sexual abusers. It is necessary for future prevention of abuse to determine how these perpetrators differ from those who molest older, children, in order to develop appropriate and meaningful prevention and treatment programs. The question of whether perpetrators who molest very young children can be treated effectively in ways that will prevent further victimizing behavior is particularly crucial, given the current difficulty in obtaining convictions and the relatively short duration of most prison sentences. Finally, treatment programs for youthful perpetrators is very important, given the cyclical nature of this problem and the research indicating that most victimizing behavior begins at a very early age. Our best hope for preventing sexual abuse may be in stopping it when it first begins, and in better understanding its relationship to prior victimization.

Research is needed to determine what children learn from prevention workshops. Are the children only able to mouth the concepts presented, or are they able to use them effectively to prevent harm? It is also important to determine whether further prevention workshops must be given at different developmental stages. In summary, there are several significant directions to be taken toward the prevention of sexual abuse of young children. (see SEXUALY ABUSED CHILDREN | PREVENTION PART III)

About The Author
David Crawford is the CEO and owner of a company known as Male Enhancement Reviews which is dedicated to researching and comparing male enhancement products in order to determine which male enhancement product is safer and more effective than other products on the market. Copyright 2011 David Crawford of http://www.maleenhancementgroup.com This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.