SEXUAL ABUSE
PEER-TO-PEER CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE RISK :
Protecting Children from Other Children
By Gregory Love & Kimberlee
Where child sexual abuse is concerned , peerto-peer abuse provides the curveball of sexual abuse risk .
To recognize and address it properly , a ministry must be watching for it .
Common fact patterns Peer-to-peer sexual abuse — children molesting or abusing other children — unfolds in predictable patterns . Some years ago , we were asked to assist a church in correctly responding to a child sexual abuse scenario . This ministry served very young children in a horseshoe-shaped building with a fence across the top of the horseshoe , creating a courtyard . The fenced area contained a playground for children surrounded by windows looking into the play area . In the center of the playground was a play structure with panels near the base , creating a box-like cube . One Sunday , while two staff members sat 20 feet away , a 7-year-old boy enticed a 4-year-old girl into the cubed play structure and sexually molested her there . Later that day , the little girl shared with her parents — in a vague and inarticulate manner — what she had experienced that morning in the play structure . The girl ’ s parents believed her ( which doesn ’ t always occur ) and contacted a ministry supervisor . Ministry leaders , in turn , contacted our firm . In assessing the situation , we interviewed the two staff members who supervised the playground , who were present on the day in question . During the interview , these staff members were courteous and concerned but became defensive when asked about the possibility of sexual abuse occurring on the playground several days before , saying , “ That ’ s not possible .” When asked why they were convinced that sexual abuse couldn ’ t occur on the playground , they replied , “ We have a fence .” In this circumstance , these conscientious ministry workers believed sexual abuse could only originate from outside the fence . What these ministry workers did not grasp is that the majority of sexual abuse risk arising in a ministry context occurs inside the fence . These staff members had received minimal sexual abuse training : from
“ US Department of Justice reports indicate that one out of three reported cases of child sexual abuse are peer-to-peer abuse allegations .”
their standpoint the risk of abuse , to the extent it existed at all , came from outside the church . They had no training or understanding regarding the preferential offender ( see prior article at www . churchexecutive . com / archives / stop-sexual-abuse-2 ) or peer-to-peer sexual abuse : sexual abuse occurring at the hands of other children . Where child sexual abuse is concerned , we cannot reduce a risk we do not understand . This truism is particularly apt in addressing and preventing peer-to-peer sexual abuse . In our experience , peer sexual abuse is the least understood and expected risk likely to be encountered in ministry contexts : the curveball . Peer sexual abuse is not prevented by a background check , child checkin system or six-month member rule . What about the two-adult rule ? In the fact pattern above , two adult staff members supervised the playground — the church was following the two-adult rule . Unfortunately , these two adults had no real understanding of the risk of peer sexual abuse , much less how to prevent it . Peer sexual abuse is shockingly prevalent : offender studies indicate that convicted male abusers begin their predatory behavior , on average , at 13 or 14 years of age . The majority of convicted male abusers admit their first offense occurred before reaching 18 years of age . US Department of Justice reports indicate that one out of three reported cases of child sexual abuse are peer-to-peer abuse allegations .
34 CHURCH EXECUTIVE • STOP CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE churchexecutive . com