Research Proposal: Teaching Children About Sexual Violence

Background and Rationale

To keep children safe and prevent them from suffering the negative psychological effects of sexual assault, it is essential to teach them about healthy relationships and with whom they can feel protected. It is equally important to encourage children to report anything suspicious involving someone close who wishes to harm them, and not to keep it secret even if that person insists or makes threats. Various reports worldwide have noted that sexual violence toward children most often comes from acquaintances or people the child knows well. Men abuse females more frequently in these cases, while males have been mistreated by both genders equally. Children of all genders and adolescents are therefore the primary subjects of child rape and sexual violence — an issue that demands urgent attention for the social and health welfare of the entire community.

Sexual assault against children can be defined in terms of rape, sexual violence, incest, and commercial sexual exploitation without the victim's consent (Murray, Nguyen, and Cohen 321). Each year, 1 in every 10 children — girl or boy — is forcefully involved in a sexual act ("Sexual Violence"). These are worldwide estimates, and it is widely expected that the actual number of cases is higher, as many go unreported. One hundred twenty million girls have been forced into such acts by people close to them or well known within their families.

Children suffer physical pain during sexual assault or rape, as well as long-term psychological effects that carry serious counseling implications well into adulthood. These psychological effects may manifest as anger, crying, rage, sorrow, social isolation, grief, depression, vulnerability, panic attacks, anxiety, nightmares, or, in extreme cases, suicidal attempts. Research indicates that 33% of women and 18% of men have been victims of child rape, and the trauma has cost them their peace of mind for decades afterward (Hall and Hall). Furthermore, a child who experienced rape may, upon reaching adulthood, become involved in more extreme sexual behaviors — exhibiting the same unequal power dynamic between the powerful and the suppressed, rooted in the original betrayal of trust (Wohab and Akhtar 144).

There can also be severe employment difficulties for adults who suffered sexual violence during childhood. Childhood fears may resurface when something at the workplace feels similar to the original trauma, leading to poor work performance. Additional symptoms can include an inability to concentrate, low attention, loss of motivation, anxiety, stress, vulnerability, and reduced association with work peers, potentially resulting in social isolation at work. Depression may develop at this stage and can lead individuals to be reckless toward themselves or those around them, particularly family members.

The proposed research topic is important because it carries both macro and micro impacts. At the macro level, governments worldwide must revise their economic budgets each year to treat victimized children. Research from 2014 estimated that globally $7 trillion in economic costs have been incurred due to children who have been physically, psychologically, and emotionally assaulted in sexual terms. This demands serious attention from authorities to take strict measures to protect future generations. At the micro level, individual mental impacts are observed in the form of a child's fear about how their parents would react if the matter is disclosed, the societal reaction toward the child and family, and the potential consequences of police involvement. These concerns are among the most common reasons adolescents — particularly those aged 7 to 13 — hesitate to report sexual violence against them within a given month (Murray, Nguyen, and Cohen 323).

Research Questions

Based on the background and significance of the proposed problem, the following research questions are proposed:

1. How important is it to teach children about sexual violence or rape?

2. When is the right time to teach children about sexual violence or rape?

Research Methodology

A mixed-methods approach could be adopted, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative methods. This approach is appropriate because the results from one type of methodology can corroborate those from the other. Since sexual assault relates to the child's physical and mental health, a mixed-methods design is particularly well suited to health research, as it combines the subjective insights of qualitative data with the standardized and generalizable data obtained from quantitative research (Regnault, Willgoss, and Barbic 2).

For the qualitative component, a systematic literature review would be conducted. Studies would be analyzed to extract themes related to the appropriate timing for teaching children about rape and the importance of doing so. For the quantitative component, surveys would be administered to capture participants' responses in real time and gather their opinions regarding the same research questions.