Boys Aged 10 15 Most Likely to Be Targets of Clergy Sex Abuse, George Conger, Religious Intelligence, June 24, 2009

Boys Aged 10-15 Most Likely to Be Targets of Clergy Sex Abuse

By George Conger
Religious Intelligence
June 24, 2009

http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/news/?NewsID=4601

Boys aged between 10 and 15 years of age are the most frequently targeted victims of clergy sexual abuse, a report presented on June 13 to the Standing Committee of the Anglican Church of Australia’s General Synod has found.

Prepared by Professor Patrick Parkinson and Professor Kim Oates of the University of Sydney the “Study of Reported Child Sexual Abuse in the Anglican Church” examined 191 cases of abuse reported to diocesan officials between 1990 and 2008 from 17 of the church’s 23 dioceses --- three rural dioceses declined to participate in the study while three others reported no incidents of abuse. The study was commissioned by the 2004 General Synod and sought to identify the “characteristics of accused persons” and their victims and the circumstances of the offence, as well as “ascertain patterns of abuse in relation to similarities or differences in gender and age of the child complainants,” in order to “inform the Church on what steps could be taken towards better prevention of sexual abuse within church communities.”

Archbishop Philip Aspinall of Brisbane stated, that “while this report is aimed at strengthening our child protection protocols as we look to the future, it also reminds us of the tragic events of the past and of the pain which still exists. We reiterate our apology, our sorrow and our deep regret for abuse which has occurred.”

“The Australian Church has been developing processes which include screening of those working with children and young people, a code of conduct and safe ministry training. The General Synod commissioned this report to ensure the Church continues to be proactive in the important matter of child protection.” The study found that, unlike patterns of abuse in the general population but closely akin to patterns of abuse documented in studies of Roman Catholic clergy in the United States who had committed child abuse, three-quarters of the victims were boys aged 10 to 15 at the time of the abuse. Boys were also less likely to speak out promptly about the abuse than girls, with the average delay between the abuse and the complaint being 23 years, the study found.

The study also found that most of the accused were either clergy or were involved in some form of voluntary or paid youth work. Of those accused of abuse, 27 men accounted for 43 per cent of all cases --- a total of 135 clergy and church workers were accused of abuse: 133 men and two women.

Over half of those accused were adjudged guilty of the crime, while a third were acquitted due to insufficient evidence. The remainder either died before the investigations were carried out, while only two per cent of the accusations were deemed false.

In explaining the disproportionately high rate of abused boys to girls, the study speculated that child abuse was often a crime of opportunity, and that boys were more likely to be in situations where they were alone with their abusers as compared to girls.

“The report contains a series of recommendations, ranging from a review of the education measures in place in dioceses through to a more coordinated national and uniform approach for the selection and accreditation of leaders of youth groups,” Dr Aspinall said.

“While the Anglican Church has made very real progress over recent years in the area of child protection, the recommendations in this report will provide an important focus and impetus to our continued efforts in this area. It may well be that they are of assistance to other churches as well,” he said.