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Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse: Pros and cons of Prevent It Program according to the Voices of Portuguese Criminal Police
Sat, September 14, 9:30 to 10:45am, Faculty of Law, University of Bucharest, Floor: Basement, Constantin Dissescu Room (0.01)Abstract
In Portugal, data from official crime statistics showed that child sexual abuse and consumption of child sexual abuse material are the most common crimes in the category of crimes against liberty and sexual self-determination (RASI, 2023). Based on Portugal Justice Statistics, in 2022, 964 crimes of sexual abuse of minors were registered by police authorities. Currently, the criminal justice system addresses child sexual abuse (CSA) based on the investigation of allegations, protection of victims, punishment of people who offend, and prevention of recidivism. However, there are increasing efforts to decrease the probability of CSA occurring in the first place. Criminal police play a central role in the criminal justice system, being the first justice professionals to encounter people who (potentially) sexually abuse children. We aimed to understand their perceptions and beliefs about preventing CSA by implementing an online program called Prevent It. Therefore, we implemented two focus groups with the Portuguese criminal police, involving 9 participants (5 female, mean age = 51.6 years old) who work in the field of CSA. The focus group session includes a presentation of the program and a time for Q&A, followed by a discussion of the program. After transcription, the focus groups were analyzed according to thematic analysis, and under the major theme Prevent It’ advantages, participants stressed its characteristics (e.g., well-structured and theoretically grounded, innovative), the provision of help for people who offend, and the improvement in awareness and knowledge. Our findings suggest that Portuguese Criminal Police seem to be aware of the value of the Prevent It program and the relevance of the prevention of CSA, being available to collaborate in those efforts.