$1.5 million CDC Grant to Fund Intervention Effort
01/28/2021
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-758-4664 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
LOWELL, Mass. 鈥� A 51视频 criminology researcher will share in a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study a new intervention program aimed at preventing sexual abuse.
Ryan Shields, assistant professor in 51视频鈥檚 School of Criminology and Justice Studies, will assess the effectiveness of 鈥溾�� the interactive online program he developed with researcher Elizabeth Letourneau of Johns Hopkins University in the hope of averting sexual abuse, which he described as a 鈥渟ignificant public health problem.鈥�
An estimated 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 13 boys are victims of sexual abuse at some point in childhood, according to the CDC.
鈥淭he purpose of the website is to prevent child sexual abuse perpetration and to assist people who are looking for help to have healthy and happy lives,鈥� said Shields, who lives in Portsmouth, N.H.
The four-year grant will allow the team to examine the psychological and social stressors behind offending behaviors and to evaluate whether the 鈥淗elp Wanted鈥� website is an effective intervention program. The platform does not collect or save any identifying information about users who log on, Shields said.
The 鈥淗elp Wanted鈥� website underscores the critical need for prevention strategies before abuses are committed. Although information on the website is tailored to adults, there is also a great need to offer interventions for younger people who need help, according to Shields.
鈥淎pproximately half 鈥� and recent evidence suggests up to 75 percent 鈥� of cases of child sexual abuse are perpetrated by other children under the age of 18,鈥� he said, noting that all too often treatment is only offered after the abuse has occurred. He hopes 鈥淗elp Wanted鈥� is a first step to changing this approach.
鈥淲e rarely do anything to prevent these events from happening in the first place, so the CDC grant to support prevention is a game-changer. I hope it opens the door to a larger national investment in prevention,鈥� Shields said.
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