preventing child sexual abuse 171
Preventing sexual abuse
How we are treated by others affects our
self-esteem. When children are treated as
helpless, and hopeless, they see
themselves as helpless, and hopeless.
So we must teach children to feel
good about themselves so they will be
confident and better able to protect
themselves.
To keep children safe, we must
give them the knowledge, skills,
and confidence to reject sexual
misbehavior — even from bigger,
stronger, and more powerful people.
Leave me
alone!
Help your child understand and communicate about
sexual abuse
Deaf children learn most easily when they see things. Signs, body
movements, and expressions on the face, along with picture cards,
puppet shows, and role plays, can all help you teach a deaf child how
to be safe from sexual abuse. Help her understand that:
• some kinds of touches are not okay (a handshake is okay, a hug
may be okay, but touching genitals is not okay, and putting a penis
in a child’s mouth is not okay).
• she should tell you if something she does not like happens to her.
• she can refuse if someone tries to touch her sexually.
Ideas like ‘private’, ‘secret’, ‘trust’, ‘safe’, and signs for them, are hard to
explain to young children, especially if they are
deaf. Remember that you will have to explain
these ideas over and over.
This man is touching
the little girl in a
Use different signs, gestures, pictures,
and words until you feel sure your
child understands. Act
bad way. If this ever
happens to you, you
come tell mama!
out situations with
your child, or use dolls
or pictures to try as
many ways of showing
Tell
mama.
these ideas as you can.
Helping Children Who Are Deaf (2004)