Who Do You Tell?™

Children from kindergarten to grade 6

The “Who Do You Tell?”™ child sexual abuse education program is designed for children from kindergarten to grade 6, with three different versions tailored to reflect the developmental level of the children being taught. It is delivered to Kindergarteners and those in grades 3-6 in two 45-minute sessions, those in grade 1 have nine sessions and those in grade 2 have eight on separate days in order to enhance retention by the students. Typically, “Who Do You Tell?”™ is taught in a classroom setting, but can easily be adapted to other child-oriented settings (e.g., community centers, boys and girls clubs, etc.).

A one-hour session with teachers outlining what will be taught, how to recognize sexual abuse in children, and how to respond to disclosures is an additional part of the program. A parent night which prepares parents for their children’s participation in the program and provides them with information about child sexual abuse and responding to disclosures is also included.

Danielle Aubry, BSW, MSW

• Agency/Affiliation: Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse
• Website: https://calgarycasa.com/education-training/education-and-outreach/
• Email: wdyt@calgarycasa.com
• Phone: (403) 237-6905 x228

Homework

This program does not include a homework component.

Languages

Who Do You Tell?™ has materials available in the following languages other than English:

For information on which materials are available in this language, please check on the program's website or contact the program representative (contact information is listed in this page).

Publicly available information indicates there is some training available for this program. See contact info.

Manual Information

There is a manual that describes how to deliver this program.

Training Information

There is training available for this program.

Pre-Implementation Materials

There are no pre-implementation materials to measure organizational or provider readiness for Who Do You Tell?™.

Formal Support for Implementation

There is no formal support available for implementation of Who Do You Tell?™.

Fidelity Measures

There are no fidelity measures for Who Do You Tell?™.

Established Psychometrics

There are no established psychometrics for Who Do You Tell?™.

Fidelity Measures Required

No fidelity measures are required for Who Do You Tell?™.

Implementation Guides or Manuals

There are no implementation guides or manuals for Who Do You Tell?™.

Implementation Cost

There are no studies of the costs of Who Do You Tell?™.

Research on How to Implement the Program

Research has not been conducted on how to implement Who Do You Tell?™.

“What is included in the Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research section?”

• Tutty, L. (1997). Child sexual abuse prevention programs: Evaluating Who Do You Tell. Child Abuse & Neglect, 21(9), 869–881. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0145-2134(97)00048-3

  Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial

  Number of participants: 231

  Population:

  • Age — Not specified. Participants were in Grades 1–6
  • Race/Ethnicity — 88% Caucasian
  • Gender — Not specified
  • Status — Participants were children attending two elementary separate (Catholic) schools.

  Location/Institution: Calgary, Canada

  Summary:

  The purpose of the study was to examine the efficacy of the “Who Do You Tell?” sexual abuse prevention program for elementary school-aged children. Participants were randomly assigned to participate in the program or in a waitlist control condition. Measures utilized include the Children’s Knowledge of Abuse Questionnaire – Revised (CKAQ-R). Results indicate that children who received the “Who Do You Tell?” program increased their knowledge levels of both inappropriate touch and appropriate touch to a significantly greater degree than children in the control group. Age also significantly differentiated the knowledge levels regarding inappropriate touch, with younger children knowing fewer concepts both at pretest and posttest. Limitations include the small effect sizes, different results by age group, and lack of effect on actual abuse outcomes.

  Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

• Tutty, L. (2000). What children learn from sexual abuse prevention programs: Difficult concepts and developmental issues. Research on Social Work Practice, 10(3), 275–300. https://doi.org/10.1177/104973150001000301

  Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial

  Number of participants: 231

  Population:

  • Age — Not specified. Participants were in Grades 1–6
  • Race/Ethnicity — 88% Caucasian
  • Gender — Not specified
  • Status — Participants were children attending two elementary separate (Catholic) schools.

  Location/Institution: Calgary, Canada

  Summary:

  The study used the same sample as Tutty (1997). The purpose of the study was to examine children’s prior knowledge of abuse prevention concepts and what changes after they received the “Who Do You Tell?” intervention. Participants were randomly assigned to participate in the program or in a waitlist control condition. Measures utilized include the Children’s Knowledge of Abuse Questionnaire Revised (CKAQ-R). Results indicate that three items significantly improved for children in the “Who Do You Tell?” program as compared to the control condition across ages; dealing with telling others when uncomfortable with touch, children’s rights with respect to grown-ups, and secrets. In each of these, and an additional 15 items, scores were significantly lower for younger than older children, suggesting that these concepts may need to be taught differently. Limitations include that children in the control condition also improved on some items and the largely Caucasian, two parent household sample, which may limit generalizability.

  Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

• Note: The following study was not included in rating Who Do You Tell?™ on the Scientific Rating Scale.

  Tutty, L. M., Aubry, D., & Velasquez, L. (2020). The “Who Do You Tell?”™ child sexual abuse education program: Eight years of monitoring. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 29(1), 2–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2019.1663969

  Summary:

  The purpose of the study was to subsequently monitor the program outcomes of the Who Do You Tell?™ program over an eight-year period (2010–2017), examining knowledge/attitudes. Measures utilized include the shortened version of the Children’s Knowledge of Abuse Questionnaire (CKAQ-33). Results indicate that students who participated in the Who Do You Tell?™ education program eight-year monitoring significantly increased their knowledge of core child sexual abuse (CSA) education/prevention concepts. Limitations include the lack of a control group, low alphas for the revised measure for the younger children, and lack of follow-up. Note: This article was not used in the rating process due to the lack of a control group.

• Tutty, L. M. (2014). Listen to the children: Kids' impressions of the "Who Do You Tell?™ child sexual abuse education program: Eight years of monitoring, Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 23(1), 17–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2013.841790