In recent years, an increasing amount of attention has been given to the problem of child sexual abuse in church communities. Most attention has focused on sexual abuse by priests, ministers, and members of religious groups. These people are representatives of the churches. Sexual abuse is perceived as a particularly shocking crime if committed by clergy because of the trust involved. Case after case has emerged in the press of clergy and members of church being charged with sex offences against children. In the Roman Catholic Church there have been over 800 priests that have been removed from ministry as a result of allegations against them. There are 1,400 known insurance claims on record and the Church has paid out over 1 billion dollars in liability with an estimated 500 million dollars pending (Sipe 28) This is not a new trend, some of these cases go back years or even decades. In most cases the offenders have been charged with multiple offences.
Churches are very vulnerable to the problem of child sexual abuse since they have a large involvement in work with children and young people. There are Sunday Schools, youth groups, church affiliated boys and girls associations, holiday clubs, and church camps. Churches are the la
Other factors in church life may lead to greater opportunities for abuse than in other parts of the community. Although there is no exact profiling for why clergy and religious groups sexually abuse children there have been several possibilities examined. In order to better understand the problem it is important to understand and educate society on the influence clergy and religious groups have over youth. Church communities provide an environment which is not only a source of strength and support for many people, but also a trusting environment which a small minority of people may exploit for the purposes of abusing children.
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