Sexual Violence Prevention

Sexual violence is a sex act completed or attempted against a person's will or against a person unable to consent because of age-appropriate cognitive ability, illness, disability, or the influence of alcohol or other drugs.  Pediatricians and other healthcare professionals are in a prime position to play a much expanded role in the primary prevention of sexual violence.

Since sexual violence occurs within a complex framework of family factors, peer interactions, adult-child relationships, and child characteristics, effective primary prevention in a practice must involve the parent, the healthcare professional and the child in different ways at different times during childhood and adolescence. In September 2005, the AAP received a cooperative agreement grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support the pediatrician and other healthcare professionals in this role.  As a result, the AAP has developed an educational toolkit to provide information, guidance and tools to prevent sexual violence in the office and the community.  The CD-ROM version features 4 practical video case vignettes showing healthcare professionals how to talk to patients and parents about sexual violence assessment and prevention.  The AAP also designates the CD-ROM version as an educational activity  earning AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsT and it can be purchased by visiting the AAP Bookstore. The Web version contains the majority of the content, including the written scripts for the videos, and can be viewed by clicking here.

Another activity of the grant was to conduct a needs assessment, which was done via an AAP Periodic Survey of Fellows. PS #68 was fielded March through July 2007 and is summarized here.