Prevention

How can you protect children and adolescents from sexualised violence? Read more about prevention approaches and where to find more help.

How can you protect children through educational prevention?

As a caregiver for a child, or if you work with children and adolescents, you can make significant improvements to ensure the protection of the children and adolescents in your care by adopting a preventive educational attitude.

As a caregiver for a child, or if you work with children and adolescents, you can make significant improvements to ensure the protection of the children and adolescents in your care by adopting a preventive educational attitude.

This attitude is based on children's rights and aims to instil independence and self-determination. Educational prevention also includes educating children and adolescents about sexualised violence in an age-appropriate way. Talk about it with the children and adolescents! It breaks the taboo and makes it easier for young people to confide in someone.

Through prevention projects and materials you can help children and adolescents gain more knowledge, which in turn enables them to better protect themselves. Such projects and materials include workshops, stage plays, exhibitions, teaching sessions as well as apps and books. This is especially useful for children and adolescents who have been told something in confidence by one of their peers. It also teaches them how important and helpful it is to involve adults.

Where do you find the right prevention projects?

Specialised advice and counselling centres offer prevention projects as well as other preventive services, and there are also centres that solely specialise in prevention.

Specialised advice and counselling centres offer prevention projects as well as other preventive services, and there are also centres that solely specialise in prevention.

These centres can also recommend projects and services. You can also find them on this portal under „Finding help“. Materials for your own prevention work can also be found in the clearly organised media of the "Förderverein Kinderschutzportal e. V." support association.

As sexualised violence is also increasingly taking place with and in digital media, this aspect should particularly be paid attention to. Other helpful materials on this topic are available on the "Wissen hilft schützen" (Knowledge helps to protect) portal of the Independent Commissioner for Child Sexual Abuse Issues.

The guiding principle of educational prevention is: "No child can protect itself alone". This means that prevention work with children and adolescents only works if adults have understood their responsibility, implement the prevention measures in everyday life and deliver on their prevention promise.

How do protection concepts help in institutions?

Protection concepts in institutions and organisations are of great help when it comes to preventing sexualised violence.

Protection concepts in institutions and organisations are of great help when it comes to preventing sexualised violence.

Its aim is to prevent sexual assaults in institutions and to offer help to children and adolescents who have experienced sexual violence there or elsewhere. The protection concepts involve analysis, structural changes, agreements as well as the organisations' attitude and culture. The specialised advice and counselling centres can help you develop a protection concept for your institution. You can find an advice and counselling centre near you under „Finding help.“ There is also a separate training database for protection concept consultants and other aspects of sexualised violence.

Protection concepts have several components, such as personnel responsibility, further training and codes of conduct. Regular educational prevention services for employees, parents and children are a central element of these concepts. On the "protection concepts" website of the Independent Commissioner for Child Sexual Abuse Issues, you can find information and materials on this topic and various related fields of action. Since schools are so important as a field of action when it comes to child protection, there is a separate specialist portal, that shows you how to develop protection concepts in schools.

How can perpetrator prevention help prevent sexual abuse?

Perpetrator prevention comprises all approaches designed to prevent a person from committing sexualised violence against children and adolescents, either for the first time or repeatedly.

Perpetrator prevention comprises all approaches designed to prevent a person from committing sexualised violence against children and adolescents, either for the first time or repeatedly.

In addition to police work and criminal and labour law measures, therapy work with male, and a few female, offenders plays a central role.

Who can find help where?

Stories that inspire courage

Interview | Sport

The reactions from members of the public showed me that I am not alone. There are a lot of people who feel the same way. Today I am happy. My life goes on. I have a good relationship with my body and my sexuality.

Lisa-Marie Kreutz

Survivor

To the Interview

Interview | Society

I would have liked the people around me to ask me how I am and if everything is okay at home. There were so many times in my life when it was clear that something was wrong with me.

Lisa Fahrig

Member of the Council of Victims and Survivors

To the Interview
[Translate to Englisch:] Porträtfoto Lisa Fahrig

Interview | Therapy

Being sexually abused by a woman was extremely damaging to my masculinity. I felt very conflicted for many years. It was really tough for me. It took me a long time to reconcile these two sides.

Nicolas Haaf

Member of the Council of Victims and Survivors

To the interview

Interview | Counselling

Such a sensitive and personal topic always needs courage. But I do believe that making a call helps. It is a first step, a first "mustering up the courage". And that alone often makes all subsequent steps much easier.

Tanja von Bodelschwingh

Counsellor at the Sexual Abuse Help Line

To the interview
[Translate to Englisch:] Porträtfoto Tanja von Bodelschwingh

Interview | Dealing with Child Sexual Abuse

We want to learn from these stories. That is the central element of coming to terms with what happened: Looking back should form the basis of learning for the sake of today and for the future.

Barbara Kavemann

Member of the Independent Commission for Dealing with Child Sexual Abuse

To the interview
[Translate to Englisch:] Porträtfoto Barbara Kavemann

Interview | Self-help

In our self-help group, men can show their weaknesses and are not laughed at, but are respected. That alone is an experience: I don't have to play the tough guy, I can be seen to be vulnerable.

Max Ciolek

Member of the Council of Victims and Survivors

To the interview
[Translate to Englisch:] Porträtfoto Max Ciolek

Interview | Law

The developments I observe in many of the victims and survivors are very encouraging and motivating. Often they can find their old self again during this long process.

Petra Ladenburger
Lawyer

To the interview
[Translate to Englisch:] Porträtfoto Petra Ladenburger

Interview | People with disabilities

In acute crisis situations in particular, it greatly helps to seek advice from outside and not just stay in your own circle. We look at everything from an independent viewpoint and can help people view the situation neutrally.

Pia Witthöft

Head of the "Mutstelle" Counselling Centre

To the interview
[Translate to Englisch:] Porträtfoto Pia Witthöft

    Give us a call – even if you're unsure

    Talk to the advisors of the Sexual Abuse Help Line. Your call is anonymous and free of charge.

    0800 22 55 530

    Telephone hours:

    Mon, Wed, Fri: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
    Tues, Thurs: 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

    Send us a message

    – securely and confidentially

    The Sexual Abuse Help Line also offers advice by email. By registering, the advice service remains confidential.