172 preventing child sexual abuse
Some examples of signs that may help you explain sexual abuse
These signs are in American Sign Language. Remember, the signs in your
own country’s sign language may be different.
body
private
touch
secret
help
hurt / violate
good
bad
vagina
penis
sex
rape
Help children name and describe abusers
Give your children sign names for people in their lives. Practice noticing
details about people and places and communicate about them with your
child. Teach your child describing words, like tall, short, hairy, fat, thin,
and others. When a child can describe a person, she can describe an
abuser.
Give everyone a sign name
One of our little girls, a 6-year-old deaf girl, was raped. The
police asked us to question her about who had done this
to her. She was not able to give an answer. One reason is
that she does not have sign names for everyone around her.
We are now encouraging parents to give everyone who comes into
their lives a sign name. In this way, anyone who hurt the child
could be named and brought to justice.
— Nzeve Deaf Children’s Center, Zimbabwe, Africa
Helping Children Who Are Deaf (2004)