Project TRUST

Project TRUST, which stands for Teaching Reaching Using Students and Theater, uses a series of plays to raise the issues of sexual abuse and violence prevention with students from elementary school through high school. The play Touch is specifically designed to introduce the concepts of sexual abuse and its prevention to elementary-school-age children.

Trained high school students present the play, which generally lasts about 30 minutes. The play introduces the concepts of the touch continuum (nurturing, confusing, exploitive), the way to say no in uncomfortable situations, and the idea that perpetrators can be strangers or people the children know. An optional pre-play discussion led by the teachers covers terms used in the play, such as the names of various body parts, types of sexual abuse, and adults to whom students can turn for help. There is also a 15-minute question-and-answer session after the play, which is conducted by the facilitator and actors.

The goal of this program is to educate children about sexual abuse.

Although the evaluation did not directly demonstrate a reduction in abuse, the program does show evidence of being an effective way to communicate prevention concepts to elementary school children. The treatment group reported more incidents of first-time maltreatment after receiving the program, all of which were verified by Child Protective Services. Thus, there was no evidence that the intervention encourages misreporting of abuse. Finally, the program did not cause anxiety in the children, which may be a concern with raising children's knowledge about this topic.