Our personal knowledge of the horrors of child sexual abuse does not necessarily mean that we are any better equipped to teach our children about child safety or to identify the warning signs of sexual abuse in children. In fact, many of us are so worried about “history repeating itself” that our anxiety gets in the way, and we either avoid the subject altogether and keep our fingers crossed – or we become very overprotective and try to wrap our children in so much cotton wool that they are not given the skills to protect themselves. Unfortunately, our laws are failing them and, consequently, ignoring opportunities to prevent child abuse. This article is intended to give you some ideas about how to protect your children from sexual abuse or paedophiles. And also to Acknowledge that pedophiles have a mental disorder, and removing the obstacles to their coming forward and seeking help, is not only the right thing to do, but it would also advance efforts to protect children from harm.

Keywords: Childsexual Abuse; Perpetrators; Pedophiles.