Awareness Regarding Child Sexual Abuse among Mothers of School-going Children in an Urban Area of Odisha, India: A cross sectional study

Abstract Introduction: Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a serious public health issue. Hence, this study aimed to assess the awareness of mothers regarding CSA and to find out the association between awareness of mothers and socio-demographic variables. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2024 and February 2025 among 296 mothers selected through simple random sampling in an urban area of Bhubaneswar. The child sexual abuse awareness scale for parents (CSAASP) was used to measure the awareness of mothers. Results: The median CSAASP score was 68 (interquartile range = 53–82), with 67.6% of mothers demonstrating good awareness. Higher awareness was significantly associated with maternal education ( P = 0.000), employment status ( P = 0.020), having daughters or both genders ( P = 0.001) and prior exposure to CSA information ( P = <0.001). Television (91.7%) and social media (81.8%) were the predominant sources of prior CSA information, whereas family discussions were rare (8%). Conclusions: Although most mothers had good awareness regarding CSA, gaps remain in recognising its signs and addressing common myths.