P012 - Child sexual abuse prevention: What Portuguese people know and believe?

• In Event: Poster Session & Ice Cream Social

Abstract

According to the Human Rights Channel - Council of Europe, about one in five children in Europe are victims of some sexual violence, which includes sexual touching, rape, sexual harassment, grooming, exhibitionism, exploitation in prostitution and pornography, and online sexual extortion and coercion, among others. In Portugal, the Portuguese National Annual Safety Report, based on official numbers from 2022, concluded that child sexual abuse (CSA) was the crime in the category of crimes against liberty and sexual self-determination more prevalent. In the same year, according to the Portuguese Association for Victim Support, 1356 sexual crimes against children and youth were supported.
Worldwide, there are increasing voices from well-known organizations (e.g., World Health Organization) and academia requesting a change in the paradigm of child sexual abuse prevention, namely addressing CSA as a preventable phenomenon, i.e., that efforts should be made to decrease the probability that CSA will occur in the first place. This paradigm shift, inspired by the public health approach - has clear implications for decision-makers, demanding changes in allocating human and economic resources. Despite emerging scientific evidence to support this paradigm shift, this kind of change requires the involvement and acceptance of public opinion. Currently, very few international studies have addressed this issue. In particular, studies have yet to be conducted in Portugal to accurately and deeply understand public knowledge and perceptions of CSA prevention. In this poster, we will present an exploratory project on this topic, describing its aims, method, and expected outcomes.

Authors

• Vanessa Mourão Ferreira Sampaio Azevedo, Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade do Porto

• Mariana Magalhães, Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade do Porto

• Ana Isabel Sani, University Fernando Pessoa (UFP); OPVC-UFP; CIEC-UM