Psychological Impacts of Child Sexual Abuse News on Parents in Pakistan

Abstract

World Health Organization has identified violence against children as a growing public-health issue with a global magnitude.
Media has the power to transfer information and influence people at a massive scale. The aim of the current study is to examine
the psychological effects of media content on child sexual abuse among parents of Pakistan. Cultivation theory was employed as
theoretical foundations. Survey conducted from the sample of 1000 respondents residing in four largest populated cities of
Pakistan. This research was laid out through cross sectional survey and analyzed through using SPSS version 22. Purposive
sampling technique was used and survey questionnaire was developed after conducting the pilot study. The results of this study
indicated that Pakistani media is helpful in creating awareness about child sexual abuse; moreover 51% of the participant are
strongly agreed with the point that Pakistani media content on child sexual abuse affects the mindset of parents. By watching news
about CSA, 65%of the parents become more concerned about their children’s protection and the feeling of aggression and fear
also develops. They started monitoring the daily activities and behavioral changes of their child and indent to teaching them how
to protect themselves after watching media content on CSA.