“Public Relations Isn’t All Rainbows and Butterflies”: Student Experiences in Developing a Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Campaign

Editorial Record: Submitted May 27, 2023. Revised November 12, 2023. Accepted
December 14, 2023.

Authors

Stephanie Madden
Associate Professor
Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications
Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania, USA
Email: szm962@psu.edu

Kate Guastaferro
Assistant Professor
School of Global Public Health
New York University
New York, USA
Email: kate.guastaferro@nyu.edu

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the experiences of one public relations capstone course to understand students’ experiences in developing a child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention campaign. Findings from this research indicated positive changes related to issue salience, efficacy, and knowledge. Furthermore, the sensitive nature of this issue was a motivator for students, although there were concerns about not offending target audiences or triggering survivors. This article provides ways to integrate trauma informed practices into a public relations campaigns course for instructors engaging with stigmatized issues.

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