April 15, 2025
Testing approaches to child sexual abuse prevention through a new board game
A research project between the University of Washington and Universidad San Francisco de Quito is evaluating an innovative approach to child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention: a family board game.
CSA is a prominent global health issue, with 1 in 5 women and 1 in 13 men reporting CSA experiences. Low- and middle-income countries often face challenges in implementing actionable steps to prevent CSA due to limited funding and surveillance, and scarce research and interventions.
The Kit Mi Escudo, a family board game developed Fundación Azulado, shifts difficult protection concepts into an engaging family activity. The study, which is funded by the University of Washington Population Health Initiative, aims to examine the effectiveness of the board game in equipping children with CSA prevention knowledge.
Fundación Azulado, an Ecuadorian non-profit with over a decade of experience in child protection developed Kit Mi Escudo, initially introduced the game as part of a school-based program. The new approach expands on that effort by distributing the game to families across Ecuador, allowing them to use the game independently, teaching children key concepts such as bodily autonomy and how to identify trusted adults.
“What is really cool about this board game, this little box, is that it really distills all the basic concepts of the big program and puts them into a single box that families can use,” explains Dr. Gabriela Bustamante Callejas, a professor at Universidad San Francisco de Quito’s School of Public Health. “As far as we know, we have not found in the world another tool that does that.”
Dr. Bustamante met project co-lead, Dr. N. Jeanie Santaularia, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the UW’s School of Public Health, during their PhD program at the University of Minnesota. Together, they are leading the 12-month pilot project across three distinct regions of Ecuador: the coast, highlands and Amazon.
“Ecuador is a small country, but it is very diverse in terms of both cultural environments and also geographic environments,” notes Dr. Bustamante. The study aims to track the efficacy of the intervention across the different geographic and cultural zones of Ecuador. The research team also sees potential for implementation in Washington’s Latine immigrant communities.
Dr. Santaularia notes that Washington Latine organizations have expressed excitement about the program. “The work that Fundación Azulado has been doing is amazing. … I think it’s really beautiful that we can help to elevate that.”
Kit Mi Escudo can also serve as a broader tool to facilitate discussions about body safety. “One thing that I think this board game has the capacity to do is teach people about body safety in a way that is healthy, that promotes wellbeing for everyone playing the game,” says Dr. Santaularia. “It can hopefully start to talk about norms around what body safety is and that it is okay to say no to grownups.”
While recognizing that children should not bear the responsibility of CSA prevention, the research team understands the immediate need for protective tools. “We acknowledge that this weight of protecting themselves shouldn’t have to exist,” Dr. Bustamante emphasized. “But given the reality, we want to do as much as we can… to give as many resources and skill sets to children.”
The project brings together an interdisciplinary coalition of researchers in epidemiology, psychology, and communications. Through this study, the researchers hope to establish evidence for Kit Mi Escudo’s effectiveness, aiming to pave the way for broader implementation both within Ecuador and internationally, posing a new tool for international CSA prevention efforts.
Early indicators are promising, with strong community engagement and thoughtful feedback from participating families. As Dr. Santaularia notes, “The community in and of itself is like, ‘this is good, but let’s help make it better.’”