Outside the Home:

Reduce the Risk of Your Child
Being Sexually Assaulted

Ask Questions and Trust Your Instincts

More than 80% of sexual assaults occur during one-on-one time with another adult.  Think carefully about the one-on-one time your child spends with other adults.  It could be Sunday school, daycare, school, sports, or music lessons.  Consider group activities/situations versus individual contact.  Always -- 1) ask the following questions, 2) take the following precautions, and 3) trust your instincts. 

  • Does the organization conduct background checks on all adults working there?
  • Does the organization have policies about recognizing signs and reporting sexual abuse?
  • Are all adults trained to recognize and report abuse and on organizational policies?
  • Do they have policies about adults having exclusive, one-on-one time with a child? 
  • If the answer is yes, ensure that you get a copy of policies.  Ask how compliance with the rules is monitored and ensured.  If the answer is no, ask why not.  And if the answer is no, consider whether or not this is a safe place to leave your child.
  • Note if one-on-one activities are open and observable. 
  • Inform staff that you are vigilant about your child’s safety and that sexual abuse is a concern of yours.
  • Inform staff that you will be making unannounced visits off and on when your child is in attendance to see how the rules are being followed in the caring for children.
  • Stay and observe practice or lessons.
  • Talk to your child.  Check in every day to see how the day went.  The more open the communication, the more likely you will get a clear picture of how things are going.
  • Pay attention.  If your child is uncomfortable being around a certain adult, ask why.
  • Trust your instincts.  If you feel that the issue of sexual abuse is not taken seriously, trust your instincts and act on them.

This is far from a comprehensive list of prevention tips.  For more information about how to protect your child from sexual abuse, please contact Ralston House child advocacy center at 720-898-6741.  We would be happy to speak to your civic group, church, school or business about ways to reduce the risks.  Ralston House provides services for children and teens who have been sexually assaulted or physically abused. In 2010, 806 child victims and their families from this community received help at Ralston House. 

Your child is counting on you!
Child Sexual Abuse Prevention
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             Important Tips to Teach Your Children

Sexual abusers manipulate children and work hard to make sure children do not “tell” or even understand that what is happening to them is wrong. Parents and caretakers can fight back.

Teach Your Children:
  • The proper names of body parts
  • The difference between secrets and surprises
  • Who is in charge of your child’s body (your child is)
  • What your family’s rules and boundaries are
  • Bathing suit areas - no one should touch you in those areas or
  take pictures of those areas and you shouldn’t touch anyone
         else in those areas or take pictures
  • OK/Not OK touch
  • How to say No
  • It’s OK to withdraw consent at any time
  • No matter what happened - it is not your child’s fault if an adult
         or older child or teen did something to them
  • No matter how important someone is or how much everyone
         likes that special someone, your child can always let you know
         if that person violated any of your family rules or made your
         child feel uncomfortable
  • To keep telling until somebody listens and somebody makes it stop

For more information about child abuse or to have Ralston House present to your church, PTA, MOPS, or other group about ways to prevent child sexual assault and how to make your organization safer for childre call Ralston House at 720-898-6741.

One in every five girls and one in every ten boys will be sexually assaulted before their 18th birthday.  Ninety percent of child victims are assaulted by someone they and their families know and trusted . . . perhaps even by a family member. Understanding that most children do know their abuser, Ralston House shares just a few of many ways you can help protect your child. You can help reduce their risk by being proactive with the adults with whom your child interacts.
Tips to Teach Children
Your Child
Outside the Home
Your Child
in Youth Sports
Your Child in Youth Sports:

Keeping Youth Safe from Sexual Abuse in Sports Programs

“A coach’s greatest asset is his sense of responsibility - the reliance placed on him by his players.”
-Knute Rockne, legendary Notre Dame football coach

Recent revelations about sexual abuse at high profile sports programs such as Penn State, Syracuse and The Citadel, are a strong reminder that sexual assault perpetrators often use positions of trust and authority to gain access to children in order to abuse them.

According to the National Council of Youth Sports, “any program where adults supervise children represents an obvious opportunity for sexual predators, and youth sports programs are known targets for perpetrators of these crimes.”

It is not that youth sports breed perpetrators, as may be commonly concluded; it is that perpetrators actively seek out places where there are children to molest.

What can you do as a parent to help keep your child safe? If your child is involved in a sports program, ask the program if they provide the following. If not, demand that they start.

1.In-depth screening policies for both staff and volunteers, including background checks and reference checks.

2.Education to staff and volunteers about child sexual abuse and perpetrator patterns.

3.Training and policies for staff and volunteers about how to report suspected abuse.

4.Policies covering boundaries between coaches and players, including:
•One-on-one time
•Physical contact
•Transporting players
•Open practices
•Sleepovers
•Phone calls / texts / email / Facebook

5.Education for parents about the organization’s sexual abuse prevention and reporting policies.

This is far from a complete list, but contains some of the basics that should be a part of any youth sports program.

Ralston House provides free training for sports organizations on how to protect the children they coach from sexual abuse.
For more information, contact Don Moseley, Executive Director, Ralston House, 720-898-6745.

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