The Underpants Rule: Teaching Deaf Children to be Safe from Abuse

Making a Difficult Topic Easy to Discuss: Deaf children everywhere are at higher risk for sexual abuse than hearing children. This captioned video in British Sign Language uses Deaf-friendly storylines to teach Deaf children the important concepts of body privacy and not keeping secrets if someone asks to look at or touch the inside of their underpants. The video demonstrates to parents and counselors how to share the Underpants Rule with Deaf children, as well as how to have a conversation about a topic that many adults feel uncomfortable raising with children. We like the fact that the video features a Black mother and son in one story. We also appreciate seeing a female character who makes an inappropriate request of a Deaf child, breaking the stereotype that all sexual abuse perpetrators are male.