The Safe Strategy Child Protection Plan
The Safe Strategy Child Protection Plan establishes direct and indirect defense measures to combat the very nature of abusers, and the tactics used to infiltrate youth organizations and victimize children. Ultimately, the CPP is designed to:
- Prevent potential molesters from gaining isolated access to minors
- Detect behavior patterns and early-stage abuse tactics, and resolve prior to an inappropriate occurrence.
- Respond promptly and effectively to suspicions or allegations of child sexual abuse
The Threat
In order to focus prevention efforts and resources, it is essential to clearly identify the perpetrator in terms of profile, characteristics, types and methods.
- Adult abusers are typically male in 85 – 90% of sexual abuse cases. (DOJ)
- Someone known and trusted by the child or child’s family members, perpetrates 91% of child sexual abuse. (CDC, 2023)
- ONE in 9 girls and ONE in 20 boys under the age of 18 experience sexual abuse or assault. (DOJ, 2009)
- 1%-2% of the male population will be convicted of a sexual crime (Ca. Office of AG, 2009)
- 86% of youth sexual assaults goes unreported. (Department of Juvenile Justice, 2003)
- 70% of child sex offenders have between one and 9 victims; 20% have 10 to 40 victims (Finklehor, 2009)
- The prevalence of pedophilia may be between 3% and 5% in the general population. (Dombert, 2016)
- 10.4% of adult males express a sexual interest in prepubescent children (Ahlers, 2011)
- 19% of adults state they would engage in sexual contact with a minor if they were certain they would not be caught (Wurtele & Klebe, 1995)
- A book entitled How to Practice Child Love has been published and teaches abusers the art of grooming and molesting
- In 2021, there was a three-fold increase in imagery showing 7–10-year-olds who have been targeted and groomed by internet predators. (Internet Watch Foundation, 2022)
- Former FBI Special Agent working in crimes against children states in his research publications, “Without specialized training or experience and an objective perspective, he [abusers} cannot easily be distinguished from others.” (Lanning, 2011)
The Safe Strategy Child Protection Plan Elements
The Solution
Youth serving organizations should develop abuse strategies based on the conclusion that child abusers are prevalent in our society and often target youth serving organizations as a means to access potential victims. Developing and implementing comprehensive employee standards of conduct, reporting mechanisms and awareness training are critical elements of a preventative effort in reducing the risk of abuse.