Sexual Abuses Issues in the Church; Raising the Bar
by Gregory Love and Kimberlee Norris
posted 4/04/2008
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In recent years, our society has begun to better understand the widespread problem of child sexual abuse. Conservative studies indicate that one out of three girls and one out of seven boys will be sexually abused before reaching 18 years of age, regardless of religious or socio-economic demographic.
Law enforcement sources estimate nearly 60 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse are living in America today.
Sexual abuse is not limited to any racial, ethnic, or socio-economic class. It is no respecter of any religious denomination or creed. Sexual abuse can happen anywhere.
Parents allow their children to participate in ministry programs for the positive experience of Christian growth, fellowship, and spiritual mentoring. Obviously, this positive experience is shattered if a child is sexually abused while participating. Sexual abuse should never happen in ministry, but the church and Christian ministries have experienced its devastating impact. Families and lives have been devastated, churches of all denominations have been sued, ministries destroyed.
Unfortunately, the problem is growing.
In the last three years, an average of 23 new articles each day have appeared in secular media sources revealing sexual abuse allegations arising in Protestant churches in the United States. Protestant denominations have been tempted to call sexual abuse a "Catholic problem"; this is simply not true. Within the past eight years, verdicts, judgments, or settlements exceeding hundreds of millions of dollars have been levied against Protestant churches for sexual abuse allegations arising from children participating in ministry programs.
The church and its children are increasingly endangered by sexual predators whose opportunity to ensnare children elsewhere is growing smaller, while the church opens its doors to anyone. Sexual abusers looking for access to children will gravitate to activities and organizations where there are fewer protective measures in place. Secular organizations have responded to this inevitable truth by implementing policies and training to reduce risk. Many churches, however, have done little, because ministries fail to recognize the risks or are laboring under the misconception "it won't happen here."
Standards of care embraced by public entities with children's programming have risen dramatically in the past 10 years. Secular organizations such as the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Boy's and Girl's Clubs, theme parks, swimming pools, and children's clubs have grown far more sophisticated in screening employees and volunteers, creating policies and procedures that protect children from abuse, and implementing effective oversight and program accountability. These measures protect staff members and volunteers from false allegations, while safeguarding children involved in programming.
As public awareness and secular standards of care rise, sexual predators are looking for access to children in places where protections are few: the church.
While volunteers often undergo less scrutiny than paid staff, a 1996 study in Hammar's Church Law and Tax Report found that half of all sexual misconduct offences in churches were committed by volunteer workers. Paid staff constituted 30 percent of the cases, and the remaining 20 percent were committed by other children in the congregation (peer-to-peer abuse).
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