TPC Journal-Vol 9 Issue 3-FULL

The Professional Counselor | Volume 9, Issue 3 205 However, this may be underestimated, as disclosures and prosecutions as a result of the program were difficult to track because of confidentiality and the sensitive nature of the information. Another participant also discussed prosecutions as a result of this program. He stated, “We’re seeing the prosecutions go up because there’s been more exposure of what has taken place in the dark, and so either way, it is a great success.” Theme 3: Barriers to Implementation Within School Systems This theme includes the participants’ perspectives on the barriers and obstacles toward implementing this CSA prevention program. The following sub-themes are included in this section: (1) funding issues, (2) a taboo topic and negative attitudes, (3) intervention is stressed, and (4) community support. Funding issues. Funding was identified by all participants as a major barrier to implementing CSA prevention programs, as many school systems do not have funding allocated to support this effort. One participant stated, “I’m researching grants that we can apply for and there is plenty of grant money out there for treatment, but not prevention.” Another participant believed that perhaps fundraising for this cause is difficult because the topic makes many people “feel very uncomfortable.” She further stated, “Everybody’s opening up their wallets for ALS, everybody’s opening up their wallets for autism, and those are all great causes . . . but CSA prevention is removed from them.” A third participant discussed how important it is to “champion legislative funding” and discussed how this is “key” to the implementation of CSA prevention programs within the schools in the future. A taboo topic and negative attitudes. Participants also discussed how sexual abuse is a “taboo” topic that is often viewed very negatively and, therefore, is often not discussed. In return, this leads to barriers to implementing CSA prevention programs. One participant discussed how many individuals seem to be in denial about the prevalence of CSA. She discussed how people need to “just open up the communication on this really disgusting tabooed subject. People don’t want to talk about it, people don’t want to hear about it. It’s so uncomfortable.” She went on to state, “Someone coined the phrase, ‘Not in My Backyard.’ It’s in every backyard.” Another participant shared similar thoughts. He discussed how some are opposed to CSA prevention programs as they believe these programs are similar to sexual education or that the topic is not “age appropriate.” However, he suggested that these individuals “would be amazed at what children already know and would be amazed at what they’re being exposed to already.” Participants noted that attitudes about CSA prevention tend to be negative and this hinders efforts in implementing these types of programs. For instance, when one participant was asked what she would like to see changed regarding CSA prevention programs, she stated, “What would I see changed? Just people’s attitudes towards it.” Another participant explained how people working within the school systems often negatively view CSA prevention programs. He discussed how difficult it can be to get “buy-in from school administrators when school administrators know they have kids in their school who are being sexually abused and they know that if they see this program that they are going to possibly come forward.” He went on to discuss how CSA disclosures often result in a “tremendous amount of paperwork for them [school administrators], it creates huge logistical issues like dealing with parents and dealing with CPS and the police” and how this could potentially fuel resistance to implementing these programs. Another participant discussed how their senator supports CSA prevention education, but only in middle and high schools. He stated, “There is a reason for that . . . whether they believe that the elementary school students would not be an appropriate age demographic or whether they thought they would get some resistance, maybe from parents.”