Child abuse is a widespread phenomenon in Europe. 18 million children are estimated to be affected by sexual abuse, according to the current European report on Child maltreatment (World Health Organization 2013, as well as the European status report on Child maltreatment World Health Organization 2018). An important and current source for this project is the 2017 European Parliament study: «Combating sexual abuse of children”. The first key finding of this study is the following: «Development of a ‘culture of prevention’ around child sexual abuse is missing at EU level, and Member States’ practices vary considerably in this field. In addition, there is no consensus on how to prevent child sexual abuse and what are the consequences of recidivism. Through European cooperation and the development of an easily accessible prevention tool, the STOP! Sexual child abuse prevention: New methods, topics and approaches in European context (Nº Proy. 2019-1-DE02-KA204-006166) Project wants to contribute to counteracting this desideratum.

In this context, the project has two target groups:

Target group 1 of the project are people who work professional or as volunteers with children and adolescents. They should be sensitized to the topic of prevention and sexualised violence, learn to behave properly,  to recognize victims and to deal adequately with risks in their environment. These are, for example, volunteers who organize a tent camp or a youth club. This includes also parents who want to know how prevention should work and what they and their children should look for when they go to a new school. Educational staff should also be made aware of this topic. They should learn to control and review their own behavior – but also critically assess the institution they work for and, if necessary, intervene.

Target group 2 includes specialized personnel and prevention trainers in the field of prevention. The project will support them to improve their professional work and provide new and innovative teaching material.