The Teachers' Role in Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Programs: Implications for Teacher Education

In response to the diverse number of child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention programs currently implemented in school contexts, this paper examines key considerations for selecting such initiatives and the multiplicity of understandings required to inform facilitation of contextually relevant prevention curriculum. First, the paper examines concerns about the lack of explicit professional development for educators concerning child protection, and the need to develop understandings about prevention program best practices within pre-service and in-service training. Second, drawing on a systematic review of literature, the paper identifies five key considerations to inform teachers' selection and facilitation of CSA prevention curriculum in school contexts. Third, the paper advances calls by Wurtele (2009) and presents CSA prevention "best practices" overview and "model programs" list for professionals such as teachers. (Contains 1 table.)