Understanding and Preventing Child Sexual Grooming
The primary audience for this webinar is professionals who work closely with children and families, such as social workers, counselors, psychologists, educators, and law enforcement personnel. However, it is also highly beneficial for parents and caregivers who seek to enhance their understanding and ability to protect children from potential harm.
The sexual grooming of children has emerged as a focal point of renewed public interest and prevention research. Child sexual grooming is a deliberate and deceptive process that paves the way to child sexual abuse. It involves behaviors that provide predators with access to children while reducing the likelihood that the abuse will be detected. Grooming tactics target not only the child but their caregivers and other influential adults as well.
This webinar features Drs. Doyle Pruitt and Emily Wolf, who discuss what professionals need to know about child sexual grooming. In their new book Child Sexual Grooming, Pruitt and Wolf dispel common misconceptions and provide evidence-based information to help protect children from sexual abuse. During this webinar, they share key insights on the topic, including:
- Understanding child sexual grooming: An overview of the grooming process and its impacts on families
- Identifying warning signs: Practical guidance on recognizing grooming behaviors and abuse indicators
- Support and education: Strategies for supporting affected families and educating stakeholders to create a safer environment
By providing professionals with knowledge and practical tools to identify and prevent child sexual grooming, Pruitt and Wolf aim to enhance our capacity to identify and prevent child sexual abuse. The insights shared during this webinar contribute to a broader understanding of this critical issue, empowering individuals and organizations to take proactive measures in safeguarding children from potential abuse.
Who's Presenting
Doyle K. Pruitt, LCSW-R
DR. DOYLE PRUITT is an Associate Professor of Social Work and psychotherapist in private practice with over 20 years of practice experience. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and social work from Nazareth University, a master of social work from Syracuse University, and PhD in social welfare from the University at Buffalo. Her clinical practice has included a specialized focus on children, youth, and families; interpersonal trauma; and juvenile delinquency in both community-based and residential settings. Dr. Pruitt serves as a forensic evaluator for victims and perpetrators of sexual abuse, a consultant on trauma-informed care and intervention practices to child welfare organizations and adult treatment facilities, and an educator in communities and academia. Dr. Pruitt’s research focuses on sexual grooming and the differential impact trauma has on individuals. She has presented at state, national, and international conferences and has authored peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters related to trauma and sexual aggression.
Molly R. Wolf, LCSW, PhD
DR. MOLLY WOLF is a tenured Professor in the Social Work Department at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She has spent many years studying trauma and child sexual abuse as a researcher and Professor, and trauma therapist. She earned her BA from Rutgers University in 1995, her MSW in 2007, and PhD in Social Welfare at the University of Buffalo in 2014. Her groundbreaking research concerning the effects of grooming during child sexual abuse on trauma symptoms of adult survivors has made her an international expert on this matter. Dr. Wolf has published extensively in the areas of dissociative amnesia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and the psychometric analysis of perpetrator grooming behaviors. Her latest research includes the development of assessment tools, including the Sex Offender Grooming Assessment (SOGA), a psychometrically validated instrument that aids forensic interviewers in evaluating grooming behaviors.