SEXUAL ABUSE
CHILD SEXUAL
ABUSE
IN MINISTRY CONTEXTS
Understanding the risk
By Gregory Love & Kimberlee
Child sexual abuse risk in ministry contexts cannot be ignored . This statement implies child protection has been ignored by some ministries in the past .
For most ministries , however , the challenge is ignorance of the problem . Most ministries are doing something , but not doing the right thing .
Church Executive and MinistrySafe have teamed up to provide ministry leaders with analysis and guidance such that they can understand the risk , properly prepare to meet the risk , and effectively address the risk with preventive protocols . As sexual abuse attorneys , and the founders and directors of MinistrySafe , we have more than 50 years combined legal experience addressing child sexual abuse issues impacting ministries and secular organizations across North America .
Prevention starts with understanding : how does child sexual abuse risk unfold in ministry contexts ?
We cannot reduce a risk we do not understand Prevention starts with understanding . What does your church do to protect children from sexual abuse ? This question jump-starts any discussion about child sexual abuse risk and preparation .
The majority of ministry leaders typically reference these practices or efforts :
• Criminal background checks
• Child check-in system
• Policies
• Two adult rule
• Six-month member rule
• Video cameras
• Police officer on site ( uniformed or plain clothes )
This list , however , is minimally helpful in protecting children from the dozens of abusers featured in media reports across the nation within the past five years . Yet the Church continues to double down on the ‘ list ’ as if it were the solution to the problem . Doing so will result in negative headlines for the next 25 years . As civil trial attorneys who deal with standards of care , we stand over scores of ‘ train wrecks ’ in Christ-based
environments . In nearly all cases , the ministry in the media cross-hairs employed a variation of the practices listed previously ; the problem is that these do not address the real risk .
Building the right fence In any discussion related to child sexual abuse prevention , the concept of a fence is a good starting point .
The type of fence built is driven by what it is meant to be kept out . To protect a garden from your neighbor ’ s livestock , for example , the fence might involve metal stakes and barbed wire .
While a barbed wire fence effectively addresses one risk ( livestock ), it’ s absolutely worthless related to another ( rabbits ).
In general , churches are building the wrong fence . Ministries are building perfectly functional barbed wire fences , and the rabbits are destroying our gardens . Compounding the problem , churches construct the wrong fence and believe the problem is solved .
To effectively address the risk of child sexual abuse , church leaders must understand offender behavior , then build the right fence .
Understanding the risk
A church ’ s efforts must correspond to actual risk . To properly protect children in ministry programs , church leaders must understand how the risk unfolds .
Livestock vs . rabbits
To better understand this risk , ministry leaders must be aware of two types of sexual abusers , the abduction offender ( livestock ) and preferential offender ( rabbit ).
Abduction offender
The abduction offender often has little or no relationship to the child or the child ’ s family ; this person simply sees an opportunity to snatch a child and does so . The public sees the story on the news , and the outcome is generally awful . Considering the broad waterfront of child sexual abuse risk , the abduction offender only represents 4-5 % of the problem .
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