Dr Jennifer Sanderson and Professor Paul Mazerolle

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This evaluation would not have been possible without the help and support of several people. We would like to acknowledge, and thank Holly Brennan from Family Planning Queensland who worked closely with the research team throughout the project and provided feedback during survey development. We are also grateful to other staff from Family Planning Queensland who offered comments on early versions of the survey draft, and also to those who prepared the surveys for distribution. And lastly, we would like to thank all the purchasers of the book, Everyone's got a bottom, who gave their time to respond to our survey. Without their assistance, this evaluation would not have been possible. Currently there are numerous sexual abuse educational resources available, but very few if any, have been evaluated. Without evaluation, it is impossible to know if these resources actually benefit children, or instead provide no increase in protective knowledge, or may in fact, make children more vulnerable to victimisation. Evaluation provides information on the effectiveness of materials and also identifies ways to further enhance the benefits that can be gained from prevention education. This report presents the findings of an initial evaluation of the book, Everyone's got a bottom. The book has been designed as a resource to assist parents, carers, and teachers to help young children develop effective personal safety skills. As a resource it provides a story to be read to young children and additional advice for parents and carers on child sexual abuse and how to handle any disclosures of victimisation. The evaluation surveyed a random sample of 1,000 purchasers of the book about their use, and its perceived effectiveness in helping to educate children and carers about child safety skills. Twenty-nine per cent of the sample (n=280) returned completed surveys. Respondents answered a series of questions relating to their use of the book, subsequent changes in their own behaviour, their willingness to discuss the book and its content with the child and other adults, the helpfulness of the book as an education tool, and possible consequences of using the book, including changes in children's behaviour. Respondents were most likely to be female and more likely to be parents. The book was most likely to have been purchased for children between one to eight years of age (97% of the sample) with a mean age of approximately 4 years. It was also more likely to have …