TPC Journal-Vol 9 Issue 3-FULL

204 The Professional Counselor | Volume 9, Issue 3 Parents and teachers. Many participants identified a significant need for parents and teachers to become educated on how to talk with children about these issues. One participant discussed how many parents do not know how to educate their children or how to appropriately respond if a child discloses sexual abuse. She stated, “Parents need to not just be talking about this big, bad rapist” and discussed how parents need to educate their children beyond “stranger danger.” A participant also touched on the importance of educating parents: “I do think we need to be more aggressive with the adult education piece . . . it’s an adult problem, it needs an adult solution.” Another participant shared similar thoughts and discussed how parents should be providing this type of education to their children at home. He stated, “As parents, as people in authority positions, we should be the ones answering those questions versus them hearing it from their classmate, or in the streets, or in the locker room.” Another participant discussed how some parents might be averse to having their child participate in CSA prevention education at school. He discussed how these parents might be concerned about discussing CSA with children who have not previously been exposed to sex and how perhaps this type of discussion could pique their curiosity. This participant countered this by stating, “What better way to do it in a controlled environment and you can answer the questions that they may have.” Another participant also discussed how some parents do not believe their children should learn about CSA prevention at school, but that many of these children are simply not being educated at home. He stated, “What those parents don’t understand is that while they may be proactive in what they’re doing in educating their children about these types of things, 90% of the kids in schools today are not getting this education at home.” Another participant went on to discuss how teachers also do not get enough training on this topic. He stated, “That’s something that’s got to change. They got to get the training that surrounds this issue to be able to understand the issue and wrap their head around what’s happening in their classrooms.” Theme 2: Program Impact Within a School Setting Many of the participants discussed how CSA prevention programs within the schools can provide children with the courage to speak up and learn how to protect themselves from potentially dangerous situations. One participant discussed the appreciation he has for how this particular CSA prevention program creates a support system so that children may feel comfortable coming forward and disclosing sexual abuse. He highlighted how law enforcement officers, social services, and school administrators are present throughout the performance “so you have a support system that is right there that says . . . you can have the courage to share if something like that has happened .” Another participant shared similar thoughts and discussed how this particular CSA prevention program is “different” because of the safety net of professionals they have available throughout the production. Two participants shared their personal experiences with witnessing CSA disclosures as a result of the program. One participant discussed her personal experience of watching children come forward and disclose sexual abuse after participating in the program. She stated, “I really believe the program works. In 25 years, I have seen kids come forward, you know . . . and kids learn how to prevent it from happening.” Another participant described how he had witnessed children disclose prior and current sexual abuse after participating. He stated that when children come forward and tell a teacher, “if we can . . . save one child from the horror of being sexually abused by an adult, then this program is worth its weight in gold.” Numerous perpetrators have been prosecuted because of disclosures that occurred after children participated in this program. One participant stated, “Having 158 perpetrators prosecuted comes from when she [the director of the program] was in all the elementary schools here in the city.”