Effectiveness of pupils’ perceptions of teacher communication strategies for addressing child sexual abuse and harassment in Israel: a six-month prospective study

Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) and harassment have profound implications not only for survivors but also for family members and educators involved in supporting affected pupils. This study validated the construct validity of the CSA and harassment mediation questionnaire through a cross-validation process involving 908 Israeli pupils aged 11–18 years. The questionnaire demonstrated robust construct validity, with convergence validity indicating that increased pupil-reported mediation of CSA and harassment content correlated positively with perceived teacher support and open teacher–pupil communication. Additionally, longitudinal changes in perceived mediation strategies and predictors of these changes were examined among 63 Israeli teachers aged 25–55 and their corresponding 63 pupils aged 11–18. Findings revealed that pupils who reported higher-quality communication with teachers perceived increased active mediation strategies by their teachers over time. Teachers also reported that higher-quality communication with pupils predicted an increase in their active positive mediation strategies. These results highlight the critical role of effective communication and mediation approaches utilized by teachers in addressing CSA and harassment within the school community.