Women’s Safety & Security: Child Sexual Abuse & Sexual Assault

In this episode, we take a closer look at two key topics—child sexual abuse and sexual assault—from the newly released white paper “Women’s Safety & Security 2025: Utahns’ Awareness, Understanding, and Attitudes.”

Based on an 83-item survey conducted in October and November of 2025, this study collected data from more than 5,200 Utahns across both representative and convenience samples. This marks the third consecutive year of data collection, allowing us to examine how perceptions and experiences have shifted since the 2023 and 2024 surveys. We walk through key findings from the two sections mentioned to better understand the challenges, trends, and opportunities shaping the lives of Utah women and girls today.

Dr. Susan Madsen, an Extension Professor of Leadership at Utah State University and the Founding Director of the UWLP and A Bolder Way Forward, is joined by two Bolder Way Forward advisors. First, Matthew Hartvigsen is the Executive Director of Saprea. He oversees initiatives that work to liberate individuals and societies from child sexual abuse and its lasting impacts. He serves as a spoke advisor in BWF for the Child Sexual Abuse spoke. Also joining is Dr. Julie L. Valentine who joined the University of Utah College of Nursing in October 2023 as a Professor and was at BYU for many years prior. She serves as a BWF advisor for the Sexual Assault Spoke. Her ultimate professional objective is to significantly reduce instances of sexual and gender-based violence in Utah and beyond.