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Merissa Wright

Survivor Advocate

Merissa is a survivor of and advocate of child sexual abuse. She is a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology and an adjunct professor at the University of Hartford. In addition, Merissa is a forensic psychometrist and an early childhood clinician. Merissa has a master’s in educational psychology from the University of Connecticut, where she focused on early intervention for families of children with Autism and high-intensity needs, and a master’s in clinical practice from the University of Hartford. Merissa has extensive experience across early childhood settings. She is passionate about engaging communities in CSA prevention and intervention. This is seen through her sexuality curriculum for preschool-age children called “Boss of My Body.” Merissa’s dissertation focuses on CSA prevention in toddler-aged children through early education and care settings. Lastly, Merissa is a public advocate for sexual violence survivors and runs a monthly Kickboxing Support Group for Survivors of Sexual Violence.

Workshop
Sessions

This workshop explores the overlooked and unspoken realities of child sexual abuse in early childhood. This includes child-on-child sexual abuse, grooming in early childhood, misconceptions about risk and innocence, and the challenges of identifying sexual abuse in young children. Participants will examine their own biases in sexual abuse, sexuality education, and sexual abuse prevention. This includes confronting the reality that sexual abuse most often occurs outside of the traditional “stranger danger” narrative. Using case examples and hands-on activities, participants will rethink CSA in early childhood and how to approach prevention through a shared responsibility rather than a reactive response. Participants will learn to identify developmental and behavioral grey areas as well as social and environmental factors that increase risk. Participants will walk away with practical, prevention-focused strategies that can be utilized across settings (i.e., law enforcement, education, community mental health, family service agencies).