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As a parent, keeping your child safe is always top of mind. Whether it’s teaching them to look both ways before crossing the street or to wear a helmet while riding their bike, you’re constantly helping them navigate the world with caution. But one of the most critical—and often overlooked—areas of safety is protecting your child from sexual abuse.
At the Center for Child Protection, we believe education and open, ongoing communication are the most powerful tools in preventing child sexual abuse (CSA). This article will teach you the facts about CSA and offer practical tips to empower your child, reduce their vulnerability, and create an environment where they feel safe, supported, and prepared—even when you’re not around.
Know the Facts: Dispelling Common Myths About CSA
Understanding the realities of child sexual abuse is the first step in prevention. Here are some common myths—and the facts that dispel them:
MYTH: CSA doesn’t happen very often.
FACT: 1 in 10 children will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday.1
MYTH: Children will tell someone if CSA occurs.
FACT: 3 out of 5 children never disclose their abuse.2
MYTH: Most CSA is committed by strangers.
FACT: 90 percent of children are sexually abused by someone they know and trust.1
MYTH: Only adults perpetrate CSA.
FACT: About one-third of abuse is committed by another child or youth.2
MYTH: CSA is impulsive and immediate.
FACT: 99 percent of CSA involves an element of grooming—the deliberate process of building trust with the child AND parents to gain access and sexually abuse the child without detection.3, 5
MYTH: CSA only happens face-to-face.
FACT: Abusers use the internet to exploit and manipulate children into sharing nude photos, engaging in sexual conversations, or meeting in-person for sexual purposes.1
What You Can Do: 5 Ways to Protect Your Child
1. Empower Your Child with Knowledge
It’s never too early to begin teaching your child the proper names for their body parts. Using accurate language helps normalize conversations about their bodies, making it easier for them to speak up if something happens. It also reduces the shame or embarrassment that abusers rely on to keep children silent. Start with these foundational lessons:
• Teach your child the proper names for all body parts.
• Explain that private parts are private.
• Talk about puberty’s bodily and emotional changes early and openly.
• Children who can speak confidently about their bodies are better equipped to report inappropriate behavior and are less attractive targets to abusers.5
2. Create Safe Environments: In Person and Online
Most abuse happens in isolated, one-on-one situations.1 Implementing open-door policies and regular check-ins can make it harder for abuse to occur. You can also reduce risk by asking any organization you child attends about their safety policies and how they screen staff. Risks exist online, as well. Abusers can now contact your child directly, so it’s also important to know what apps they use and who they’re talking to. In short, you should:
• Make one-on-one time observable and interruptible.
• Carefully vet caregivers, schools, and programs for safety.
• Monitor your child’s online activity and app use.
• As a parent, it’s your responsibility to create environments—physically and digitally—that leave no place for abuse to hide.
3. Build a Strong Relationship
Your relationship with your child sets the foundation for their safety.5 Normalize having educational conversations about sex, consent, and relationships with your child. Over time, this consistent, open communication will build trust, encourage questions, and show your child that you’re a safe person to talk to—about anything. Foster your relationship by:
• Having honest, ongoing conversations where no topic is off-limits.
• Staying actively involved in your child’s activities.
• Using everyday situations to talk about body safety.
• Start early and talk often. Even if it feels awkward at first, these conversations help build a strong relationship with your child and play a vital role in protecting them from sexual abuse.
4. Teach Body Boundaries
Children who feel confident setting boundaries are less likely to be targeted by abusers.5 That confidence starts with knowing that they have the right to say “no” to unwanted touch. No one—even friends and family—should be allowed to force physical affection on your child. You can make sure your child feels in control of who touches them and how by:
• Setting examples for safe boundaries in everyday life.
• Teaching your child how to say “no” clearly and confidently.
• Respecting and supporting their right to establish body boundaries.
• Encouraging bodily autonomy reduces your child’s vulnerability to abuse by strengthening their confidence, sense of self-worth, and ability to assert themselves.5
5. Establish a “No Secrets” Policy
Secrecy is a powerful tool abusers use to maintain control. Abusers often convince children that speaking out will lead to punishment, disbelief, or blame. Online, abusers may take this further by using threats or blackmail to sexually exploit children and keep them silent.4 To counter these tactics, you can:
• Establish a “no secrets” rule in your home.
• Remind your child that it’s never their fault and you will always believe them.
• Reassure your child they will never get in trouble for telling the truth.
• One convicted abuser put it bluntly: “Secrecy and blame were my best weapons.”3 You can take those weapons away by building a culture of openness and trust with your child.
Keep the Conversation Going
We know conversations about sexual abuse can be difficult—but avoiding them won’t make the risks disappear. The more you know and the more you communicate with your child, the safer they’ll be.
Stay informed by attending the Center for Child Protection’s free Monthly Webinar Series or scheduling a Group Parent Workshop—where we cover topics like online safety, grooming, and how to talk to your child about body safety. We also offer a Corporate Education Series for companies and professional organizations.
Visit protectaustinkids.org to view our upcoming webinars and education offerings.
ENDNOTES
1 Darkness to Light. Child Sexual Abuse: All Statistics. Darkness to Light, Feb. 2025, https://www.d2l.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Child-Sexual-Abuse-All-Statistics.pdf. PDF file.
2 “Ending Child Sexual Abuse.” Children’s Advocacy Centers of Texas, 2024. https://cactx.org/ending-child-sexual-abuse/.
3 Jeglic, Elizabeth L., Georgia M. Winters, and Benjamin N. Johnson. “Identification of Red Flag Child Sexual Grooming Behaviors.” Child Abuse & Neglect, vol. 136, 2023, article no. 105998, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0145213422005324.
4 “Sextortion.” National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 2025. https://www.missingkids.org/theissues/sextortion.
5 Jeglic, Elizabeth, and Cynthia Calkins. Protecting Your Child from Sexual Abuse. Skyhorse Publishing, 2022.