ESTIMATES OF ABUSE WITHINSPECIFIC SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS
to present high estimates concerning the prevalence

CATHOLIC CHURCH

of abuse, which affected public opinion of the
BERRY, J . (1992) . LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION:

Catholic Church. Professional interest groups have

CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN.

played a part in shaping the image of Catholic

NEW YORK, NY: IMAGE BOOKS .

clergy abuse as a problem, most notably legal andmental health professionals . Lawyers have encour-This popular press book written by a journalist provides a detailed account of the "scandal" surround-

aged victims to pursue civil suits . This has created a

ing the sexual abuse of children in Louisianacome forward to stake their claim . The Catholic

between 1984 and 1992 . Berry claims there are 400

Church is an appealing target because it is a lucra-

priests and brothers who have molested minors andtive institution . Thus, it would be more beneficial toestimates that the Church has spent $400 million insue the Catholic Church, which has a strong eco-legal, medical, and psychological expenses . The booknomic enterprise, as opposed to a smaller church .

is divided into three parts . Part one explores the issue

Mental health professionals have promoted nega-of child sexual abuse by clergy in Louisiana and its

tive views concerning clergy abuse . The expert wit-

impact ; part two examines the issue of celibacy andness and victim's self-help groups have increased thehetero/homosexual tension in cleric culture ; and thenotoriety concerning the Catholic Church, which

third section illustrates the responses of the Church

has lead to the creation of stereotypes and expecta-

and the victim rights movement .

tions . These stereotypes influence juries and make itsnowball effect in which past victims have now

more likely that they will be prepared to find
JENKINS, P. (1995) . CLERGY SEXUAL ABUSE : THE SYM-

against the Church . Jenkins asserted that special

BOLIC POLITICS OF A SOCIAL PROBLEM . I N J . BESTinterest groups such as gay rights and feminists(ED .), IMAGES OF ISSUES (PP. 105-130, SECOND EDITION) . NEW YORK, NY: ALDINE DE GRUYTER .

have targeted the Catholic Church because of its
doctrine . While social ideas concerning women's
rights have changed, the Catholic Church has

This book attempts to examine the reasons why

remained adamant in its views concerning divorce,clergy sexual abuse within the Catholic Church has

abortion, contraception, women's ordination,

become such a major issue in recent years .

homosexuality, and celibacy. These special interest

However, the author does not provide any empiri-groups shifted the attention from the individual

cal data to support his opinion . Jenkins contends

priests to the hypocrisy of the Church and its hier-that even though this issue has existed for years, itarchy. Thus, the Catholic Church provided thesewas not until the mid-1980's that it received public

groups with a platform from which they can voiceattention . This is a result of a shift in the nature of

their opinions .

media coverage . An emphasis on "tabloid" reporting and true-crime stories has drawn greater atten-

SIPE, A .WR . (1990) . A SECRET WORLD : SEXUALITY

tion to sexual abuse . While the media portrays thisAND THE SEARCH FOR CELIBACY, 8, 159-187, NEW"crisis" as being centered on the Catholic Church,
Jenkins offered evidence through the citation of lia-

YORK, NY: BRUNNERJMAZEL, INC .

bility insurance, which illustrated that there were

Chapter 8 of this book, entitled "Priests andseveral hundred cases of sexual abuse involving

Children," discusses pedophilia in the Church

non-Catholic clergy. He claimed that the view ofbased upon the author's experiences as a clinician .

this issue as a crisis was a result of the publicity

In a study, the author found that 2% of Catholic

allotted to the sensational cases of Gilbert Gauthe

priests could be considered pedophiles, which sup-and the Mount Cashel orphanage . In conjunction

ports earlier research findings . In addition to thatwith other highly publicized cases, the media began

figure, 4% of priests are sexually preoccupied with216

and the clergy. The abuse also raises the question as
to how these institutions will view the victim . This
chapter also provides a brief overview of the various therapeutic measures used to treat sexually
offending clerics including psychotherapy, behavioral therapy, surgery, and medication . In discussing
the reasons why the Church has not openly discussed the issue of sexually abusive priests, Sipecontends that it is because there is a lack of information on pedophilia . This lack of information isintertwined with the Church's system of secrecy
concerning sexual matters . The Church managed
sexual abuse through the reassignnment of priests,
sending them on a retreat to repent for their sins, orsending them to a psychiatric institution run by the
Church . These measures show a lack of understanding concerning pedophilia and a desire to keep
the scandal a secret. In discussing the future of theCatholic Church, Sipe asserted that there are four
factors that will continue to affect the problem ofpedophilia in the Church . These factors are as follows : the lack of education concerning sexuality
and celibacy creates a situation in which adolescence is prolonged/postponed and celibacy becomesa way of hiding from one's problems ; the structure of
the Church and the seminary tolerates and sometimes encourages sexual regression and fixation ; theemphasis upon secrecy hinders accountability ; andthe lack of sexual education in the Church fosters
defenses such as denial, rationalization, and splitting .

adolescent boys or girls during at least one point intheir lives . Sipe described the behavior as being
either occasional, compulsive, or developmental .
When the incident occurs in a developmental sense,
the priest acts out once with a child as part of his
own developmental experimentation, which has
been stunted in some way . Homosexual and heterosexual offenses are evenly distributed, but Sipe contends that the homosexual contact is four times
more likely to come to the public's attention. Sipealso asserted that these pedophiles have an attraction to children prior to ordination, but rarely act
out extensively prior to entering the priesthood .
The chapter also includes a discussion of the legal
ramifications of sexual abuse and contends that it isunclear as to who should be held accountable forthe misconduct . He notes that at the time of thisbook's publication, the Church had avoided
addressing the sexuality of the clergy and that thisin turn has hindered moral development . In
addressing the psychological evaluation of sexually
offending clergy, Sipe stresses that the following
questions must be asked : Is the behavior homosexual or heterosexual; is it compulsive ; is it an isolated
incident or part of a pattern ; and is it fixated or
regressed? In discussing the theories of pedophilia,
it is noted that a large number of sexually abusive
clerics had been victimized as youths . While this is
not applicable in every case, sexual victimization asa child may lead the individual to seek refuge in theclergy as a way of denying the reality of life . Sipecontends that the experience of celibacy interacts
with these past traumas and can either enhance thememory or stunt the priest's psychosexual development at a preadolescentladolescent stage, whichleads to sexual misconduct . Victim access is discussed and the avenues that may be pursued include
selection from schools, altar boys, family, friends,
and the congregation. In addition to displaying
pedophiliac behavior and cognitive distortions,these priests also demonstrated exhibitionistic
behavior that was directly linked to their level ofpsychosexual development (the more immature
they are, the more likely they are to engage in thisbehavior) . The effects of sexual abuse on the victims vary, but the impact is long lasting and may
result in sexual depersonalization, depression, sexually acting out, and suicide . When a child has been
victimized by a priest, the impact of the abuse
effects how the child perceives God, the Church,

OTHER RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONSThere have not been any empirical studies devoted
to ascertaining the prevalence of sexual abuse
within other religions . While little has been revealed
concerning sexual abuse within the Jewish faith,
The Awareness Center is a victim's rights organization for survivors of sexual abuse . On their website( h ttp ://www.theawarenesscenter.org ), these survivors have listed the cases of 40 Rabbis accused of
sexual misconduct with adults and children . A
search of major U .S . news sources also yielded few
results, and articles found are either not empiricalor lack specific prevalence details .

217during the week of 5/20/91 to 5/24/91 focused on
various topics through case study illustration . The
stories illustrated how the organization let known
child molesters slip through the system and how the
information was covered up in a manner thatwould protect the image of the Boy Scouts . Boyle
also discusses the impact of the abuse on the boys
through individual narratives . While the information in the confidential files is limited, the effects of
the abuse on the children are unknown . However,Boyle asserts that out of the 400 abuse cases heinvestigated, four Scouts attempted suicide and at
least three leaders who were charged with abuse
also made suicide attempts . When a Scoutmasterwas reported to local Scout officials, they oftentimes made deals in order to ensure that the scandal
would remain a secret . If the Scoutmaster agreed toleave, there would be no police involvement . What
the Scouts did not realize is that the offenders weremoving away and joining new troops where they
continued to offend . Even those offenders who
were reported to the Scouts' National Headquarters
managed to evade the system and continued to act
as Scoutmasters . As public awareness concerning
the abuse grew, the Boy Scouts realized the need tocombat this problem . Boyle claims that the organization has paid at least fifteen million dollars inorder to settle cases out of court, with payments
ranging from $12,000 to $1 .5 million . In cooperation with experts in the field of sexual abuse, theScouts have developed an extensive training program, which is meant to raise the awareness of bothchildren and Scoutmasters . It has recently become arequirement that all employees must pass a background check in order to work for the Boy Scouts .
They have also instituted policies prohibiting
homosexual scout leaders, which have come under
the scrutiny of various civil rights organizations .

BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA
While there are not any empirical studies devoted tounderstanding the prevalence of sexual abuse in the
Boy Scouts, the work of Patrick Boyle is the mostcomprehensive, albeit dated, information available .
A database search of major newspapers illustrates
that between 1970 and 2003, 22 incidents havebeen discussed in various articles . The majority of
the cases fit Boyle's findings in that the perpetrators
used various grooming tactics in order to coerce thechild into sexual acts . The number of known victims for each offender ranged from one to 20, withsome victims not coming forward until adulthood .
In many cases, the Scoutmaster knew the child's
parents and the offenses ranged from inappropriate
touching to intercourse . While the majority of theinformation presented in these articles is scarce, theinformation indicated that some of the perpetrators
also worked as teachers and Catholic priests .
BOYLE,

P.

(1991,MAY20) .

SCOUT'S

HONOR :SCOUTING'S SEX ABUSE TRAIL LEADS TO 50 STATES . THE
WASHINGTON TIMES, P. Al .

In a five-part series, journalist Patrick Boyle
explored the prevalence of sexual abuse in scouting
through evaluating the confidential files of theorganization in 1991 . The results of his investigation are also included in his 1994 book, Scout's
Honor : Sexual Abuse in America's Most Trusted
Institution . Between the period of 1971 to 1989,

416 male Scout employees were banned as a resultof sexual misconduct . There have been 1,151
known cases of sexual abuse within scouting . Boyleargued that sexual abuse is more common in scouting than accidental deaths or serious injuries combined. During this time, the Scouts claimed that thesexual abuse was not a major crisis . The Boy Scouts
had one million adult volunteers and four million
Scouts . Boyle found that Scoutmasters perpetrated
the majority of the abuse, but assistant
Scoutmasters, of which there are about 147,000,
were also responsible. All of the victims appeared tocome from the Boy Scouts, who range in age from11 to 17 and numbered 959,000 at the time of thisarticle's publication . It also appears as if the majority of the abuse occurred during camping trips . The
four other parts in this series that were reported

BOYLE, P. (1991, MAY 21) . SCOUT'S HONOR PART 2 :PEDOPHILIC PREFERENCE IS IN A CLASS ALL ITS OWN .
THE WASHINGTON TIMES, P. B5 .

This part of the series on child abuse in the Boy
Scouts focuses on the offender. Boyle argued thatfor the most part, scouting leaders have tried toprotect boys by excluding homosexuals . However, areview of the organization's confidential files
revealed that out of 200 cases, 64 offenders were2 18

also involved in educating and counseling children
as well as scouting . In light of these findings, the Big
Brothers have instituted a strict screening process,which involves a criminal background check for
all volunteers .

married/engaged and 18 were divorced . Some of theoffenders were involved with the victim's mother at
the time of the abuse . Many scout leaders also professed that they had no clear reason to believe thatthese offenders were homosexual . The author also
discusses the process involved in selecting new
Scoutmasters, which in the past involved a simple
check of references . The methods of seduction are
also discussed and include the use of campouts,
games, abuse of loyalty and authority, initiation rites,
trips alone, physical exams, sleepovers, and awards .

YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIANASSOCIATION (YMCA)
There is no record of any empirical data or official
reports outlining the prevalence of sexual abuse in
the YMCA . Eight articles were found that deal
directly with YMCA volunteers molesting children .
The perpetrators worked for the organization invarious capacities including camp counselors andsports coaches . The offenders targeted both girls
and boys and some had a multitude of victims, with
one offender claiming he had targeted 20 victims
while another had been charged with 75 counts ofsexual abuse, including 10 counts of rape . Some ofthe perpetrators had prior records for sexual abuse
and some were employed in schools .

BIG BROTHER ORGANIZATION
The purpose of the Big Brother organization is toprovide disadvantaged youths between the ages ofseven and 13 with a mentor . Similar to the Boy
Scouts, the Big Brother/Sister organization has also
experienced incidents of sexual abuse . No official
data exists, but a database search of major newspapers revealed six published incidents between 1973
and 2001 . As with the Boy Scouts, the offenders
hailed from a variety of professions and included aschool principal and a naval officer .

ATHLETIC ORGANIZATIONSBOYLE, P. (1994) . SCOUT'S HONOR : SEXUAL ABUSE IN
AMERICA'S MOST TRUSTED INSTITUTION . ROCKLIN,

There is no empirical data indicating the prevalenceof sexual abuse within sporting organizations .
Through a database search of major U .S . newspapers, youth sports teams returned the largest results
out of any youth organization . Forty-five articles
were devoted to sexual abuse cases in a variety ofsports including swimming, basketball, baseball,track and field, football, soccer, hockey, and gymnastics . The majority of the cases illustrated that theperpetrator was somehow involved with a school
either as a teacher or principal . Many of the perpetrators appeared to have multiple victims . The
offenders also appeared to groom their victims overa period of time . One case involved a coach who
was charged with 400 counts of sexual abuse,
whereas some of the other perpetrators reportedly
had 10 or 12 victims and the behaviors ranged fromtouching to rape . The victim's families were also
charmed in some instances so that the perpetrator
could gain their trust and access to the victim . The
perpetrators hailed from North America, the UK,
and Ireland and a few had been prominent figures

CA; PRIMA PUBLISHING .
In his book, Scout's Honor, Patrick Boyle briefly
reviews the work conducted by Donald Wolff . In
reviewing nearly 100 cases of sexual abuse in the
Big Brother and Sister organization, the largest areaof concern rested with the Big Brother organization,in which the majority of the abuse stemmed fromthe Big Brother-Little Brother relationship . Much
like the abuse reported in scouting, the majority ofoffenders were single and came from various professions . The sexual abuse progressed from inappropriate touching to other sexual acts and themost common situations in which the abuseoccurred were camp trips and the trips to the perpetrator's house . These perpetrators also appeared
to target emotionally vulnerable children . However,unlike the Boy Scouts or Catholic Church, once
criminal charges were filed Wolff found that theyoften led to confessions or convictions . The review
also revealed that many of the perpetrators were2 19

in their respective sport . In many of the cases, thecoaches were suspended from the organization orwere subjected to criminal charges . The victims
ranged in age ; however, a majority of themappeared to be in their teens .

institutions . In order to be included in this study,
the facility had to cater to children six years of age
or younger, of which 270 institutions were identified . Substantiation was based upon the investigations of local agencies including child protection,
licensing, and police agencies . The 270 cases illustrated 1,639 victims (484 girls and 269 boys) and
382 perpetrators (222 males, 147 females, and 13
whose gender could not be identified) over the time
period of 1983-1985 . The authors urge that thedata be interpreted with caution due to the fact thatsome government agencies did not cooperate withthe researchers' requests and that the information
sought was not always kept in one location and not
uniformly organized . However, the researchers
were able to estimate the following statistics : 30 .7of every 10,000 centers and 15 .3 of every 10,000
families have cases of reported child sexual abuse,S .5 out of every 10,000 children enrolled in daycare centers and 8 .9 children out of every 10,000
children in families are reported to be sexually
abused . The researchers concluded that while aday-care center is more likely to be reported for sexual abuse, the risk of a child being abused is actually lower when enrolled in a center than in theirown home due to the presence of more children . In
evaluating the perpetrators the following relationships were revealed : 16% were directors/owners,
30% were teachers, 15% were nonprofessionalchild caretakers, 8% were in a non-child carecapacity, 25% were family members of the staff,
and 5% were outsiders . There also appeared to bea rather high number of female perpetrators
involved in day care abuse with 44% of child care
workers, 6% of family members, and 6% of multiple perpetrators being female .

CHILD CAREGIVERS
FINKELHOR, D . & ORMROD, R .

(2001) .

CRIMESAGAINST CHILDREN BY BABYSITTERS . JUVENILE JUSTICE
BULLETIN, SEPTEMBER 2001 .

In evaluating the FBI's National Incident-Based
Reporting System, the authors examined the prevalence of sexual abuse by babysitters . Babysitters are
responsible for 4 .2% of all reported offenses forchildren under the age of six, but sexual abuse outnumbered physical abuse by two to one . Those whoare at a high risk of sexual abuse fall within the age
range of three to five . Those babysitters reported tothe police were predominantly male (77%) and 48%of the offenders were juveniles . The sexual acts committed include forcible fondling (42%), forcible
sodomy (11%), forcible rape (8%) and sexualassault with an object (3%) . Male perpetrators weremore likely to target female victims . The female perpetrators were often juvenile offenders and weremore likely to be reported for physical abuse .
L .M ., & BURNS, N .
(1988) . NURSERY CRIMES : SEXUAL ABUSE IN DAY

FINKELHOR, D ., WILLIAMS,

CARE . NEWBURY PARK, CA ; SAGE PUBLICATION .

This study evaluated substantiated claims of sexual
abuse from center-based and family-based day care

220