‘Keep telling until someone listens’ : understanding prevention concepts in children’s picture books dealing with child sexual abuse

Children’s picture books dealing with the topic of child sexual abuse appeared in the 1980s with the aim of addressing the need for age-appropriate texts to teach sexual abuse prevention concepts and to provide support for young children who may be at risk of or have already experienced sexual abuse. Despite the apparent potential of children’s picture books to convey child sexual abuse prevention concepts, very few studies have addressed the topic of child sexual abuse in children’s literature. This article critically examines a selection of 15 picture books (published in the US, Canada and Australia) for children aged 3–8 years dealing with this theme. It makes use of an established set of evaluative criteria to conduct an audit of the books’ content and applies techniques of literary discourse analysis to explain how these picture books satisfy criteria for child sexual abuse prevention. The analysis is used as a way to understand the discourses available to readers, both adults and children, on the topic of child sexual abuse. Key themes in the books include children’s empowerment and agency, and the need for persistence and hope.

School exclusion, drug use and delinquency in adolescence

Fifty-one young people aged 14�15 years considered to be at a high-risk of substance abuse and exhibiting antisocial behavior, primarily because they longer attended mainstream school, participated in this research by completing a questionnaire to measure drug use and delinquent behaviour. The findings suggest that many of them may have already developed a high propensity to drug abuse and antisocial behaviour compared with their peers in mainstream education. As they were all excluded from school, they were not accessing school based prevention programmes delivered to their contemporaries at school suggesting that additional and specialized resources are required to fully meet their needs.

An Evaluation handbook for health education programs in alcohol and substance abuse /

Mode of access: Internet.

Understanding drug prevention.

"May 1992."

Turning awareness into action : what your community can do about drug use in America.

Mode of access: Internet.

Prevention plus II : tools for creating and sustaining drug-free communities.

Mode of access: Internet.

Prevalence of drug use in the DC Metropolitan Area household population, 1990.

Mode of access: Internet.

Primary prevention in mental health : an annotated bibliography /

Mode of access: Internet.

Prevalence of drug use in the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Area homeless and transient population, 1991.

Shipping list no.: 93-0546-P.

Prevalence of drug use in the DC Metropolitan Area institutionalized population, 1991.

Shipping list no.: 94-0324-P.

Community-based AIDS prevention : studies of intravenous drug users and their sex partners : proceedings of the First Annual NADR National Meeting.

Mode of access: Internet.

Idea exchange : helping teens turn down drugs, Action's Drug Prevention Program.

Mode of access: Internet.

A family response to the drug problem : a family program for the prevention of chemical dependence.

Mode of access: Internet.

Teens in action : creating a drug-free future for America's youth /

Mode of access: Internet.