Effectiveness of Planned Teaching Program on Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse in Terms of Knowledge Amongst Mothers in Selected Rural Area of Mizoram

Abstract

Background: Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a serious public health, social, and human rights issue that affects millions of children worldwide. Child sexual abuse remains a global concern despite increasing awareness and legal protections. According to estimates from the World Health Organization, approximately 1 in 5 women and 1 in 13 men report experiencing sexual abuse during childhood. In India, child sexual abuse is recognized as a significant yet underreported problem. Findings from national surveys and governmental reports indicate that a substantial proportion of children experience some form of sexual abuse before the age of 18 years. The purpose of the study is to assess the effectiveness of planned teaching program on prevention of sexual abuse in terms of knowledge amongst selected mothers in selected rural area of Mizoram Materials and Method: Quantitative research approach, Pre Experimental One Group Pre Test Post Test Research Design was used. The study was conducted at Muallungthu, Mizoram among 30 mothers by purposive sampling technique. The tools used for data collection include demographic proforma and self structured knowledge questionnare on Child Sexual Abuse. Validity was ensured through consultation with experts. Results: The findings of the study revealed that majority of the mothers (56%) belong to the age group 21 - 30 years of age, 57% studied till Middle School. The total percentage if the pre - test score is 45.5% and post - test score is 90.8%. Chi square test shows a significant association between educational status and knowledge on child sexual abuse.

Introduction

The study examines the effectiveness of a planned teaching programme in improving mothers' knowledge about the prevention of child sexual abuse (CSA) in a selected rural area of Mizoram. Child sexual abuse is presented as a serious but often hidden social and public-health problem that can cause long-term physical, psychological, emotional, behavioural, and social consequences. Fear, stigma, cultural taboos, and inadequate awareness often prevent cases from being reported or addressed.

The study used a quantitative, pre-experimental one-group pre-test/post-test design. A total of 30 mothers from Muallungthu Village were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire covering demographic information and knowledge regarding prevention of child sexual abuse. The tool was validated by experts and tested for reliability.

Major Findings

• 56% of mothers were aged 21–30 years, making this the largest age group.
• About 90% were married.
• 80% had 1–3 children.
• 63% belonged to families with 5–7 members.
• The average knowledge score increased substantially from 11.36 in the pre-test to 21.1 in the post-test.
• The paired t-test value was 12.4 with 29 degrees of freedom and p = 0.001, indicating a statistically significant improvement in knowledge following the teaching programme.
• The findings therefore support H1, which proposed a significant difference between pre-test and post-test knowledge scores.
• Educational qualification showed a statistically significant association with post-test knowledge scores (χ² = 26.2608, df = 9).
• Age did not show a statistically significant association with post-test knowledge (χ² = 3.2115, df = 9).

Conclusion

The pre - test and post - test scores highlight a significant effectiveness on the Planned Teaching Program on Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse among mothers at Muallungthu Village. Therefore the findings of the study can be used for future reference .

References

[1] Giardino P. Review on Child Sexual Abuse and its prevalence. Baylor College of Medicines; 2006. [2] https://www.northeasttoday.in/mizoram [3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4311357/ [4] Korn L. Ten years research update. Literature review on school child sexual abuse. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2004. [5] Sharmila K. Experience abuse among children, nature, magnitude and practice: Implications for research and policy. Family and Community Health. 2008. [6] Rathore P, Barber J. Gender, types and intensity of abuse in street children. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse. 2009.

Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Lalramengi Kaipeng. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.