Sandy K. Wurtele, Ph.D.

Sandy K. Wurtele, Ph.D., is a psychologist and Professor Emerita in the Department of Psychology at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs where she specialized in the prevention of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Dr. Wurtele is the author of educational and scholarly materials for professionals, parents, and children on preventing CSA. Thoroughly evaluated, her Body Safety Training workbook is available in different teaching formats and languages. Dr. Wurtele has provided training and consultation to a number of national and international organizations and researchers on this topic. She served on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's Education Standards Task Force for developing Guidelines for Programs to Reduce Child Victimization and served as the Child Protection Consultant for the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington (DE) along with the USA Swimming Safe Sport Committee. Dr. Wurtele served as expert reviewer for Australia's Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and for U.S. Centers of Disease Control.

She has conducted over 25 workshops/presentations to professionals in youth-serving organizations, authored or co-authored 90 articles in scholarly journals, 18 chapters in edited books, published 3 books for parents on CSA prevention, 2 books for professionals, and is currently writing a textbook on sex crimes against minors. Dr. Wurtele has also received $250,000 in funding for research on CSA prevention, including a FIRST Award from the National Institute of Mental Health. She is the recipient of the 2009 William Friedrich Memorial Child Sexual Abuse Award, given in recognition of her work in preventing CSA.

SKW Consulting conducts forensic evaluations and provides expert testimony on civil cases of CSA occuring in youth-serving organizations.

Books

Safe Connections

Safe Connections: A Parent's Guide to Protecting Young Teens from Sexual Exploitation

 All Books

Safe Connections

Off Limits: A Parent's Guide to Keeping Kids Safe from Sexual Abuse Written primarily for parents and other caretakers and secondarily for professionals who work with youth.

Recent Publications

Wurtele, S. K. (2021). "They're not monsters!" Changing university students' perceptions of child sex offenders through education and contact. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 1-15.