Statistics
Safe
from Harm
A Church
Policy
The
Memory Debate
Helping Survivors
Inspirations |
Church Policy |
 |
1. What is a child?
Any person under the age of 18 years.
2. What is abuse?
- Physical abuse - includes hitting, shaking, squeezing, burning,
biting, administering poisonous substances, suffocating/drowning, excessive
force.
- Neglect - a failure to meet basic essential needs of a child,
or if a child is left unsupervised at a young age.
- Emotional abuse - children harmed by constant lack of love and
affection, or threats, verbal attacks, taunting or shouting.
- Sexual abuse - involvement of dependent, developmentally
immature children or adolescents, in sexual activity that they do not fully
comprehend, or to which they are unable to give informed consent, or which
violate the social taboos of family roles.
(A child may suffer more than one category of
abuse)
3. Who abuses children?
- very rarely a stranger
- often someone close to a child, e.g. parent, carer,
baby-sitter, sibling, relative or friend of the family
- sometimes, someone in authority such as a teacher, youth
leader, children's worker, or, very sadly, a church worker/leader
- sometimes, paedophiles and others who set out to join
organisations (including churches) to obtain access to children
|