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Background
In 1994, the Mallee Sexual Assault Unit
Co-ordinator – Joanne Sheehan, requested a then, new staff member, research all
available protective behaviours literature, at the time, for the purpose of
designing age appropriate programs for the children of the Mallee.
This was a direct response to the
recognition that sexual abuse was occurring to our communities children and of
the preventative work needed to occur.
A pre-school program evolved after
consultation and is currently available to all pre-school staff.
A primary school program was drafted to
the consultation stage but struck difficulties with the Education Departmental
system and only one local primary school adapted the concepts into curriculum.
Recent mandatory reporting requirements
have again brought the issues to the surface within our local primary schools.
An updated protective behaviours
program is now available for the consultation denied earlier.
It is hoped that the Year 2001 will be
the year Mallee Sexual Assault Unit staff and our primary school communities
respond to the need to keep our children safe by together piloting the draft to
refine the product to acceptance within our schools.
Recently, school driven requests for
the primary school program have renewed enthusiasm to revamp our 1994 program
and individual schools have welcomed Mallee Sexual Assault Unit staff during
1999 which has helped with the upgrade.
The Personal Safety Success Training
(P.S.S.T) Program is a recipient of the 1994 Australian Violence Prevention
Award.
Introduction
The P.S.S.T for primary school
children is a resource offered for use with children between the ages of 7 – 12
years as a preventative measure against abuse.
Sexual abuse is ultimately an abuse of
power. Children are vulnerable to sexual abuse because of their trust in and
dependency on adults and their lack of information regarding the dangers of
abuse. Parents are not able to supervise children 24 hours a day. Well
intentioned parents caution children about stranger danger, yet are often at a
loss when it comes to protecting them from people they know and trust.
Abusers are commonly known to the
child, trusted family members, relatives, friends and authority figures.
Children often feel a sense of confusion and are afraid to tell, fearful they
will be punished. Abusers use this fear to manipulate children into keeping the
abuse secret. It becomes crucial then, to educate children, teach them the
skills and confidence to resist abusive situations or stop abuse by telling.
Protective Behaviour Philosophy
Children own their bodies and minds.
Children have the right to set their own boundaries and decide WHO, WHEN and
WHERE their body is touched.
Children have the right to say “NO”
to any unwanted or unsafe touching.
Children must be informed of
potential dangers including abuse and taught protective measures to ensure
their personal safety.
Sexual abuse is never the child’s
fault.
Protective behaviours education
primarily focuses on prevention and is required because:
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We cannot be with our children
every minute of the day.
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Teaches children to trust their
intuitions, acknowledge their feelings and act on them.
-
Raises the child’s awareness of
potentially dangerous situations.
-
Teaches coping skills to deal with
all forms of difficult situations including abuse.
-
Gives children and adults
permission to talk.
The P.S.S.T program is based on the
fundamental rights:
“We all have the right to feel safe all the time”
and
“Nothing is so awful we can’t tell someone about it”
The P.S.S.T program covers a discussion
on general safety, including problem solving exercises followed by concepts:
* EARLY WARNING SIGNS * PERSONAL
SPACE / BOUNDARIES
* BODY OWNERSHIP * SAFE / UNSAFE
TOUCHES
* SEXUAL ABUSE * SAFETY STRATEGIES
* SAFE / UNSAFE SECRETS * TRICKS,
THREATS AND BRIBES
* ASSERTIVE TRAINING * SAFETY ON THE
INTERNET
* FRIENDSHIPS * NETWORKS
Even the best educated child cannot always
avoid abusive situations, however children who are well prepared are more likely
to tell you if abuse has occurred. This is the child’s best defence. The P.S.S.T
program teaches children skills coupled with actions they can take to ensure
their personal safety.
Strategies for teaching protective
behaviours education
Next to parents, teachers spend more
time with children than any other adult. Young children place a great deal of
trust in their teacher and look to them when they feel unsafe. The importance of
teachers in the prevention, detection and reporting of child abuse is
recognised. Teachers are trained to observe changes in the appearance and
progress of individual children. LAW REQUIRES
THAT TEACHERS REPORT SUSPECTED CASES OF CHILD ABUSE.
Teachers need to be sensitive to the
fact that students in their class may have experienced abusive situations,
directly or indirectly.
When discussing situations in the
classroom that deal with child abuse, it is important that teachers use
fictitious examples such as (What if…?) and pose questions such as (Suppose…..)
thus taking one step removed from threatening situations or issues, removing
students from confrontation or personal involvement.
Protective Interrupting
Teachers should be ready to protect
children from making statements of a personal nature while in a group or
classroom. A child may not realise that sexual abuse is wrong and reveal that
they have been sexually abused.
Unaware of the serious implications,
they then expose themselves to embarrassment and blame from other children.
Reports of abuse may increase in number
when children are involved in protective behaviours training. It is important
these disclosures are handled with utmost sensitivity and confidentiality.
Adults who respond with disbelief, shock or outrage show no regard for the
child’s feelings add to the trauma of the abuse.
When it becomes apparent that a child
is about to disclose a personal matter, the teacher must interrupt with the
assurance that “I’d like to hear all about that, but can it wait until you and I
can talk without being interrupted”, whilst referring the class back to the
original story or question. Ensuring that time is set aside whilst another
teacher/adult takes responsibility for the class while he or she talks to the
child in a quiet safe place, free from possible interruptions.
Teachers should avoid asking questions
that require “yes” or “no” answers. In general, questions beginning with:
WHO…….. WHAT…….. SHOW ME WHERE………..
WHERE WERE YOU WHEN…….
When abuse is revealed, the recipients
of the information must hide their own feelings and place the child’s needs
first.
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the child needs to be believed and validated -
-
the child should be praised for telling -
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assure the child you want to hear and help -
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tell the child it has happened to other children -
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give assurance that children are never to blame for what
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grown-ups or bigger people do to them -
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acknowledge how difficult it is to talk about, that you want to help to make
them safe again -
Suspicions of sexual abuse should
always be reported to a professional who has specialist skills in investigating
abuse cases. Both Victorian and New South Wales Police have specialist units to
initially handle reported cases of child sexual abuse. In Victoria, the unit is
called SOCA (Sexual Offences and Child Abuse), New South Wales have JIRT (Joint
Investigation Response Team). If in doubt contact your local Police and
request to speak to a specialist trained in matters pertaining to child sexual
assault.
Debriefing
It is important that teachers monitor
the impact of child protection activities on students. Each session should be
finished in a positive way.
Debriefing of students may be necessary
after activities which could provoke strong emotions, such as discussion of
values, personal experiences and scenarios.
Teachers must ensure time is allowed
for sensitive discussion to be completed before the end of each lesson.
Re-focussing on relaxation exercises can help release any tensions that may
result from discussing sensitive issues or an active game can help release
energy, dispel feelings of discomfort and reinforce positive relationships
within the class.
How to utilise the program
The P.S.S.T program aims to inform and
enlighten rather than frighten children. This program must be conducted in a
positive learning environment. Therefore an atmosphere of safety and trust must
be established with teacher and child/ren. Prior to commencing the program rules
need to be established and upheld throughout each lesson.
It is strongly advised that parents /
guardians are informed of plans to conduct the protective behaviours P.S.S.T
program. For student(s) to participate in the P.S.S.T program parental /
guardian consent may be required prior to commencing the program. This
information can be delivered in letter form, detailing background information
discussing the importance of protective behaviours education and introducing the
P.S.S.T program.
P.S.S.T. PROGRAM FOR
PEOPLE WITH AN
INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY
The Personal Safety Success Training
program is a resource for use with people with an intellectual disability of any
age. The materials contained within the program have been adapted from the
concept developed in the personal safety success training pre-school program.
The following considerations should be
made when using this resource:
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the main themes and messages
should always be included or reviewed with participants in any
program which is presented.
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period the scenarios included
should be individualized to ensure they are relevant to the participants.
-
the pro-forma which accompanies the scenarios be
used consistently to ensure participants develop an awareness of the need
to:
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consider possible scenarios
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identify individual feelings which may be a elicited in
such scenarios
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consider their personal needs for assistance
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problem solve and develop their own safety plan
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that this proforma be utilized
and adapted to ensure individualization throughout the program
For "People With An Intellectual
Disability"
A day tour of research into the
prevalence of sexual assault of people coping with disabilities has bought to
our attention the fact that people with disabilities are more vulnerable to
abuse.
The P. S. S. T. personal safety success
training kit for people with an intellectual disability addresses this statistic
by providing protective strategies in a concrete way, that helps to address
parties signs of feeling unsafe; ways to say and no, developing a network of
people to go to when you feel unsafe and the prices of telling someone to keep
safe . The training if offered to people with an intellectual disability
of any age. The materials contained within the program have been adapted
from the concept of ballot in the personal safety success P. S. S. T. training
preschool program
The program builds on knowledge of safety issues
regarding :
- Feelings
- Home safety
- Personal safety
- Privacy
- Out and about
- Relationships
- Friendship
- Tricks and brides
The protective behaviour
philosophy is:
"We all have the right to feel safe all
of the time"
and
"Nothing is so awful that we can't talk
about it with someone else"
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