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One Word Initiative
Where can you add One Word?
5WAVES is teaming up with SSTA Aware to create and promote #One Word, a worldwide campaign promoting awareness and inclusion of sibling sexual trauma and abuse within spaces that already exist, simply by adding One Word -- Sibling.
Research consistently shows that sibling sexual abuse is one of the most common forms of childhood sexual abuse. It is estimated to affect 1 in 25 children (5waves.org/whatdoweknow). Despite this, it is largely invisible in the policy, training, data, and prevention systems that exist to protect children.
This is not because the organizations working in child protection don't care. It is because the word has simply never been added. Curricula that teach child sexual abuse prevention don't say "sibling." Policies that govern response to intra-familial abuse don't say "sibling." Data collection systems that track CSA don't say "sibling." And so the cases go unrecognized, unreported, and unaddressed.
The #OneWord Initiative does not ask organizations to build new systems, create new programs, or divert resources from their core mission. It asks them to do one thing — add the word Sibling to what they already do. In doing so, become part of the an international framework that makes sibling sexual trauma and abuse visible across every system that serves children.
"One missing word — Sibling — has allowed countless cases of abuse to remain unspoken, uncounted, and unaddressed. By adding that one word to the language of child protection, we can transform understanding, response, and prevention for generations to come.
We are not asking you to do more. We are asking you to include one more word in what you already do."
— Colleen Mullowney, Founder of SSTA AWARE, Creator of #OneWord campaign
The #OneWord Initiative uses a collective impact model — aligning existing infrastructures rather than creating parallel systems. By focusing on integration, not duplication, this initiative ensures that the recognition of SSTA becomes a built-in feature of child safety programs, not an optional add-on.
Here are some example ideas.
Public Messaging
"90% of child sexual abuse is committed by someone the child knows--a coach, a grandparent, a sibling."
Research, Data Collection, Policing, Reporting, Child Protection
Simply add a checkbox that says "sibling."
Body Safety Education, Parenting
"No one should touch you in a way that feels yucky or uncomfortable. Not your teachers, not your friends, not your Nana, not your sister!"
Medical, Mental Health
Add it to your screening protocol:
"Do you/Did you ever feel unsafe around any of your family members--parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings?"
More information now:
SSTA AWARE/One Word
Our Voices Blog/One Word
