Sexual abuse includes any sexual activity with a child by an adult, older child, or adolescent. Sexual abuse includes touching as well as non-touching behaviors such as exposure, voyeurism, and child pornography. Some sexual behaviors between children may be age-expected, innocent exploration rather than abuse. Consult a health or mental health care professional if you have concerns regarding healthy and unhealthy sexual behavior in children.
Children and young people are bombarded with information and misinformation every day. Peers, television, music, videos, the internet, school …are all vying for our kid’s attention!
The voices of parents and Gospel values need to be heard above the din! On-going communication in the family, what the Holy Father calls the domestic church, can help to nurture qualities within them that render them less likely to be targets of abuse. Good communication ensures that when something is difficult or something goes wrong, the Church, family, and community are there to help.
Most parents find it difficult to believe that sexual abuse could happen to their child, yet statistics reveal that sexual abuse is very common. Evidence suggests:
We can’t expect children to protect themselves from abuse when most offenders are people they trust. Nevertheless, we can reduce their risk for being targeted as potential victims.
Information concerning child abuse should be reported to the appropriate state authorities pursuant to state law.
The Archdiocese of Baltimore complies with Maryland laws requiring reporting suspected child abuse to civil authorities. Under Maryland law any person who has reason to believe a child has been subjected to abuse must report the suspected abuse to civil authorities, even if the potential victim is now over 18 years old and even in cases where the alleged perpetrator is deceased. If someone associated with the Church, including clergy, employees, or volunteers in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, is suspected of abuse, then the suspected abuse must also be reported to the Archdiocese’s Office of Child and Youth Protection (OCYP) at 410-547-5348 or the Victims Assistance Hotline at 1-866-417-7469.