Awareness to Action: Strengthening Prevention Through Purpose and Partnership

Preventing child sexual abuse before it ever occurs is at the core of Awareness to Action, a program at Children’s Wisconsin focused on prevention and adult responsibility. As part of the Community Health and Education Department, the program supports the vision of Children’s Wisconsin to have the healthiest kids in the nation by addressing factors that affect children’s health beyond clinical settings.

“Much of a child’s health is influenced by what happens outside the walls of a hospital or clinic,” said Laura Staats, Program Manager for Awareness to Action. “While Children’s Wisconsin provides critical services for response, treatment and recovery, we know kids are safest when abuse never happens in the first place.”

Approximately one in 10 children will experience sexual abuse before age 18, making prevention a critical public health priority. Awareness to Action focuses its efforts on adults, not children, recognizing that the responsibility for prevention lies with those who lead the systems that care for children. The program works primarily with youth-serving organizations, providing education and technical support to help leaders develop and implement policies that promote safe environments.

Through education, training and practical resources, Awareness to Action supports a systems-based approach to child sexual abuse prevention. Its training helps organizations assess, update and implement best-practice policies that establish clear boundaries, reduce opportunities for abuse and model safe, healthy adult behavior. The program also offers resources for providers and families on boundary-crossing behaviors, the grooming process and healthy sexual development, helping extend prevention into everyday conversations.

Health care providers play an important role in this prevention framework. While providers are most familiar with responding to abuse after it occurs, Awareness to Action encourages health care professionals to think beyond standards of care for sensitive exams by modeling healthy boundaries, following communication best practices and providing anticipatory guidance on topics such as child sexual development.

At its core, Awareness to Action delivers a clear message: Child sexual abuse is preventable, and prevention is possible when adults work together to create safer communities for children.