Groundbreaking research will strengthen child sexual abuse prevention strategies
The latest data show that the majority of self-reported child sexual abuse is committed not by adults but by other youth.
The Center for Violence Prevention Research partnered with Stop It Now! on a first-of-its-kind prevention website and helpline, WhatsOK.
Findings from this groundbreaking study will be used to strengthen WhatsOK’s services and shared broadly to help keep youth everywhere safe from sexual violence.
The Center for Violence Prevention Research is again partnering with Stop It Now! — experts in child sexual abuse prevention — to advance science that will keep more youth safe from sexual harm. Once thought to be perpetrated primarily by adults, the latest data show more than 70% of self-reported child sexual abuse is committed by other juveniles. Still, on-the-ground support for youth at risk of harming other youth — and the corresponding research — has fallen short.
To fill this void, Stop It Now! launched WhatsOK in 2021 as the first and only U.S.-based website and confidential helpline for youth concerned about their sexual interests and actions. Stop it Now! created WhatsOK as a one-stop shop to provide at-risk youth with accurate, stigma-free information and answers to questions they may otherwise be too ashamed to ask. Importantly, WhatsOK was also designed to help youth learn where they can ask for sustained, professional help.
But would this novel approach work? The Center led an evaluation throughout 2022 and 2023 to measure whether youth would visit WhatsOK to ask about their sexual interests and find help. The answer was a resounding “Yes.” To date, WhatsOK has received more than 235,000 page views, generated more than 7.8 million social media impressions, and fielded more than 750 inquiries via call, text, email, or chat.
Examining the impact of WhatsOK
With data confirming the considerable need for the support provided by WhatsOK, the Center is again working with Stop It Now! to take the science one step further. In September 2023, the Center began enrolling users of WhatsOK in a voluntary study that checks in with them four times over a year to understand how their experience with the helpline may have altered their trajectory and prevented potential instances of sexual harm.
This study is part of the larger Global Perpetration Prevention Project, an Oak Foundation-funded collaboration led by the Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse in partnership with the Royal Ottawa Healthcare Group.
As with all research conducted by the Center, this work will not remain in a silo. The Center will take what we learn from this research to strengthen the in-demand services provided by WhatsOK. We will also share our findings from working with this high-risk, difficult-to-reach population broadly to help keep as many young people as possible safe from sexual harm.
Partners and funders
Stop It Now!, World Childhood Foundation, Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse, Royal Ottawa Healthcare Group, Oak Foundation
Using science to prevent sexual violence
Nearly 1 in 10 young people report some type of sexual violence perpetration. To prevent this type of violence, the Center is putting research directly into the hands of the practitioners working to end it.
To do this work, we need your help.
See the latest stats from the WhatsOK team.
Read our latest papers on the topic:
Bright, Bodi C, Gordon B, Ortega D, Coleman J. Early Findings of Helpline Inquiries from Youth and Young Adults with Concerns About Their Sexual Thoughts, Behaviors, and Experiences. Journal of Interpersonal Violence.
Bright MA, Gordon B, Bodi C, Ortega D, Coleman J. 2023. Development and Implementation of a Preventive Intervention for Youth with Concerns About Their Sexual Thoughts and Behaviors: A Practitioner Narrative. Journal of Prevention
Can’t access the papers? Contact us and we’re happy to share.