Evaluation of good touch-bad touch awareness in school-going children of Rangareddy district

Abstract Background: In our country, only 19% of female children have knowledge of different forms of child sex abuse (CSA), according to a study conducted in India. CSA encompasses a variety of issues, but the simple awareness of good touch–bad touch could prevent sexual assaults on children in the future. Hence, we wanted to identify the prevalence of awareness about good touch–bad touch in school-going children so that future education programs can be implemented effectively. Objectives: The objective of the study was to assess knowledge and attitudes about child sexual abuse among school-going children and the factors affecting it. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 108 female school-going students aged 10–14 years of age, residing in rural areas of Telangana. The stratified random sampling method is used to gather data from the required sample. The data were collected using a modified pre-tested questionnaire on CSA awareness, and their attitudes using face to face-to-face interview method. Results: The study observed that out of 108 students, lower knowledge scores were seen in 26 female students (24.07%), and lower attitude scores were seen in 31 female students (28.7%). The lower scores were associated with lower education levels of the mother ( P = 0.001). Lack of CSA awareness is also associated with the age of the child and the father’s occupation in our study. Conclusion: Despite having CSA awareness education activities in the rural areas, there is a high prevalence of unawareness among school-going children. Intense educational programs need to be planned out to prevent child sexual assaults in our country.