School-Based Child Sexual Abuse Prevention: Implications for Professional School Counselors

The purpose of this qualitative collective case study was to explore the experiences of four key internal stakeholders who are involved with a school-based child sexual abuse prevention program in a southeastern state in the United States. In order to explore the experiences of participants, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted. After the data were collected, transcribed, and coded by a qualified research team, three main themes emerged from this study. These themes highlighted the importance of school-based child sexual abuse prevention education, various program impacts resulting from child sexual abuse prevention and intervention within a school setting, and barriers to implementation of child sexual abuse prevention programs in school settings. Implications for professional school counselors, including how they can assist with the implementation of child sexual abuse prevention education, are discussed. Finally, inherent limitations to the research design and implications for future studies are addressed.