Act 1 – What is Child Sexual Abuse? / Nurturing Healthy Sexual Development Sylvia Kennedy-Godin May 29, 2019

Act 1 – What is Child Sexual Abuse? Participants will: a) discuss child sexual abuse and the grooming process; b) determine how to respond to incidents of potential child sexual abuse. Through talking about child sexual abuse and how it happens, participants will develop skills to recognize abusive behaviors and signs of abuse, respond to concerning situations, and give healthy messages to children as part of prevention. This program is particularly for infant through after school teachers and care givers and those who support them. This training is in partial support of licensed centers meeting Vermont Act 1 requirements. Nurturing Healthy Sexual Development Gain information and skills to develop and maintain open communication with children, identify and respond to normal as well as concerning sexual behaviors in children, answer children’s questions, and give children positive messages. Nurturing healthy sexual development plays an important role in protecting children from sexual abuse and/or developing sexually abusive behaviors. Participants will: a) summarize healthy sexual behaviors of children at different developmental stages; b) give examples of how to nurture healthy sexual development in children. This program is for teachers and care givers of children of all ages, with a particular emphasis on infants through after school.