{"id":21752,"date":"1997-07-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1997-07-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/1997\/07\/01\/painful-truth\/"},"modified":"1997-07-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"1997-07-01T00:00:00","slug":"painful-truth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/painful-truth\/","title":{"rendered":"The Painful Truth"},"content":{"rendered":"

—The average victim of child sexual abuse is between 8 and 11.<\/p>\n\n

—One of every five girls and one of every eight boys is sexually abused by age 12.<\/p>\n\n

—Some experts estimate that five or six children in a typical classroom of thirty have been affected by sexual abuse, regardless of geographic area, race, or socioeconomic class.<\/p>\n\n

—Men are responsible for from 90 to 97 percent of currently reported abuse cases.<\/p>\n\n

—Between 60 and 90 percent of victims of child sexual abuse are girls.<\/p>\n\n

—Offenders are not usually strangers; 70 to 80 percent of offenders are known to children.<\/p>\n\n

—The average length of an incestuous relationship is three years; it is rarely a one-time occurrence.<\/p>\n\n

—In the U.S., it’s estimated that from 200,000 to 500,000 children are sexually abused each year; only 100,000 of these cases are reported.<\/p>\n\n

—Beth J. Lueders<\/em><\/p>\n

Preventing Sexual Abuse: Activities and Strategies for Those Working with Children and Adolescents by Carol A. Plummer (Learning Publications, 1984); Obstetrics and Gynecology (Vol. 71, No. 4), cited in Hope Health Newsletter; and the National Center on Child Abuse.<\/p>\n

1997 by the author or Christianity Today\/Leadership<\/em> Journal. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or contact us<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

—The average victim of child sexual abuse is between 8 and 11. —One of every five girls and one of every eight boys is sexually abused by age 12. —Some experts estimate that five or six children in a typical classroom of thirty have been affected by sexual abuse, regardless of geographic area, race, or Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_books":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[142],"tax_ctp_field_guide_subcategory":[],"tax_ctp_field_guides":[],"tax_ctp_format":[131],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[653,156,656],"tax_ctp_tags":[3367,3569,3571,3613,3619,4962,5074],"tax_ctp_topics":[],"class_list":["post-21752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tax_publications-1997-leadership-journal","tax_publications-leadership-journal","tax_publications-summer_1997-leadership-journal","tax_ctp_tags-abuse","tax_ctp_tags-children","tax_ctp_tags-childrens-ministry","tax_ctp_tags-church-leadership","tax_ctp_tags-church-staff","tax_ctp_tags-sexuality","tax_ctp_tags-statistics"],"acf":{"scripture_references":null},"yoast_head":"\nThe 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