The Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse: ‘Stop it Now! Flanders’ as a Pioneer in Belgium
The large numbers of victims and the extensive harmful effects of child sexual abuse necessitate dedicated attention towards prevention efforts. Since child sexual abuse harms all layers of society, the prevention of child sexual abuse needs to be approached as a public health problem. Recently, a prevention project out of (potential) offenders perspective was established in Flanders, namely Stop it Now!. Stop it Now! aims to prevent child sexual abuse by offering support to anyone who is concerned about their own sexual feelings, thoughts or behavior towards minors, and for those who are concerned about the feelings or behavior of acquaintances, friends, and family members. In this article recommendations for the prevention of child sexual abuse are made, several international prevention projects are presented and the first results of the Stop it Now! project are given along with a few challenges laying ahead.