'Bodies Have Boundaries'

Good communication with your child is one of the best ways to prevent sexual abuse. When we help children feel good about their bodies, we give them permission to be open and honest about feelings and acknowledge that children have body rights. They are in charge of themselves and can control who they touch and who touches them.

Model healthy boundaries. Sometimes we unwittingly confuse children by insisting they hug Grandma even when they don’t want to or when we say “Do what the babysitter tells you to do.” Help your children practice setting healthy boundaries. When children tell us they don’t want t hug and kiss everyone at a family gathering when it’s time to leave, support them by helping them find an alternative way to show respect to family members (such as shaking hands, high fives, saying goodbyes.

Use the proper names of body parts. Just as you teach your children that a nose is a nose, they need to know what to call their genitals. This knowledge gives children correct language for understanding their bodies, for asking questions that need to be asked, and for telling about any behavior that could

Be clear with adults and children about the difference between okay touch and touch that is not okay. For younger children, teach more concrete rules such as, “talk with me if anyone—family, friend, or anyone else—touches your private parts.” Also teach kids that it is not okay to use manipulation or control to touch someone else’s body.

Explain to the adults and children you know about the difference between a secret and a surprise and show them how secrets may make kids unsafe. Surprises are joyful and generate excitement in anticipation of being revealed after a short period of time. Secrets exclude others, often because the information will create upset or anger. When keeping secrets with just one person becomes routine, children are more vulnerable to being abused.

Make it clear that children will be supported when they request privacy or say “no” to an activity or a kind of touch that makes them uncomfortable.

Give kids permission to tell anyone they trust if they feel scared, uncomfortable or confused by someone’s behavior toward them.Learn more about how to protect children in your care from sexual abuse by attending a Darkness to Light Stewards of Children training.

One in four girls and one in six boys

KIDS Center ran a two-year campaign from 2006-2008 publicizing the national numbers on child sexual abuse. We ran ads in local print, on billboards, on the radio in both English and Spanish, and on multiple local and cable TV channels, all of which stated that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused by their 18th birthday. The campaign's effectiveness was tracked through focus groups and phone/online surveys, and it was found to be widely effective in bringing child sexual abuse awareness to Central Oregon. The success of the awareness campaign prompted a new campaign focusing on concrete steps adults can take to prevent child sexual abuse, titled Child Abuse: Become Part of the Solution.

Blue Ribbon

Each April we pull all other media campaigns out of print and off the air in order to make space for our Blue Ribbon awareness campaign. All ad space is by donation.

KIDS Center's It's My Body Workbook A fun body-safety workbook for parents and  their children aged 4-7 to work on together is an excellent resource to help families teach their children about how to keep their bodies safe.