The Faith Community’s Response to Child Sexual Abuse

More Protestant members have sexually abused children than in the Catholic Church. There is less in the clergy, but more among the members - teachers, Boy Scout leaders, Disney workers, pornographers, foster families, and yes, church leaders. Adults attending ACU who were sexually abused as children is equal to or exceeds nationwide levels. One in six men and one in four women report a history of sexual abuse. The incidence rate is only that of reported cases. If you google “child sexual abuse and the church” there are over 18,400,000 results. Googling “sex” yields more results than Jesus, 38,000,000. Many perpetrators will not abuse their children, but will abuse other children. The numbers of false allegations are less than 4% and usually revolve around a disputed custody case.

Sexual abuse includes: fondling, oral genital contact, vaginal/anal intercourse, forcible rape, exhibitionism, forcing to watch pornography or sex acts, obscene phone calls, and verbal comments. Most child sexual abuse is not discovered until at least a year after it first occurred. Normally if a child reports abuse at a young age and nothing is done, they will never report again. A child may be physically abused and neglected before the age of three is unable to retrieve the information. The typical impact of sexual abuse is post traumatic stress disorder, sexualized response – they lose their sexual innocence and may act out sexually with other children, or they may be behavioral problems and negative affectivity. If you do not report suspected child abuse, you have committed a crime, no matter who you are. Because of the increase in molestation, sexual abuse is covered widely by the media.

There are no prevention methods because the abuser is usually someone that the child trusts, and there is no psychological profile for perpetrator abuse. There are, currently, no recognized symptoms or diagnostics for child molestation. The church response was to often sweep it under the rug, don’t talk about it, and return child to their abuser. Furthermore, asking a child what happened does not work; it does no good and is actually a bit voyeuristic. Some church leaders will place the child in a meeting with the abuse, so the child, most often, will recant because of intimidation. One could easily speculate that perpetrators say they are sorry only because they have been caught, but most cannot be rehabilitated. If a child is removed from their home and put in a foster home, the child is being punished, not the perpetrator. Treatment takes years before the family should even consider reunification.

The Church’s attitude is usually tied to the word of Jesus, “forgive,” or “turn the other cheek,” “God’s will,” or “Honor your father and mother.” The church’s attitude to child sexual abuse must be changed. Presently, because of the way molestation cases are being handled by the church and the community, the child feels as if they are the perpetrator, and the abuser is the victim.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (NIV Matthew 19:14)