‘Think Global Act Local’: a place-based approach to sexual abuse prevention

Abstract

Child sexual abuse is a global concern and its prevention warrants international attention. However the prevalence of child sexual abuse is not evenly distributed amongst the world’s population, with observed rates in some countries, neighbourhoods or local contexts, much higher than in others. Abuse dimensions and dynamics, as well as underlying causal structures and processes, are also likely to differ from location to location within countries. Whilst clinical (individual-level) and epidemiological (whole-population) approaches dominate current research and prevention efforts, given these variations we advocate here for a local place-based approach to sexual abuse prevention that targets specific locations and contexts where these problems become concentrated. Pinpointing key problem contexts (hotspots), opportunity structures and precipitating conditions provides an opportunity to respond at a local neighbourhood or organisational level and target key underlying mechanisms, positioning prevention and intervention resources and efforts where they are most needed. Despite its local focus, this nuanced approach to prevention has the potential to be transferred to a range of locations and contexts around the world, facilitating a more efficient response to sexual abuse.