Six hundred police officers from across Scotland have been trained to help prevent children being sexually abused.

The project Stop it Now! Scotland has worked with all eight police forces to help tackle the problem.

It is designed to give police, and others who work with families and children, the information they need about sex abuse to pass on to the public, including what child sex abuse is, behaviour by either adults or children that might give cause for concern and what action they can take to help prevent abuse.

The organisation now plans to educate religious groups, parents' organisations, community theatres and sports groups, using its Upstream Project.

William Manson, Stop it Now! Scotland project manager, said an estimated one in six youngsters in Scotland are sexually abused before the age of 16.

But around 75% of victims of childhood sexual abuse do not tell anyone about their ordeal, according to the organisation.

For this reason it is vital that more adults recognise the signs a youngster may be being abused, Mr Manson said.

"We need to get real about child sexual abuse and dispel some of the myths that are out there. We know that most abuse is committed by people who the children know in the home, not by strangers. So much of this goes unreported and that's why adults need to know the signs to look out for and what to do about it.

"We cannot leave the child to be the one to take action.

"By working with the police we have been able to spread vital sexual abuse prevention messages at a local level within communities."

The work is backed by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland.

Assistant Chief Constable Graham Sinclair said: "A large part of the work of the police service is protecting the vulnerable in our communities.

"We work closely with organisations such as Stop it Now! Scotland and welcome the development of the Upstream Project and the opportunities it presents for officers working in the community to learn more about the threats to children and how they can share important information with the people who need to know it."