CHURCH BOARD GUIDE TO A CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE PREVENTION POLICY


• Theories of liability. Innovative theories of liability have been introduced by plaintiffs’ attorneys that have assisted molesta- tion victims in recovering money damages.


• Injury. The extent of the psychological and emotional injury experienced by victims of sexual molestation has only recently been fully appreciated.


• Number of victims. Recent studies suggest the number of adults who were sexually molested or abused as children is staggering. Some suggest that as many as 27 percent of adult females and 16 percent of adult males were victims of molestation as minors.


• Reporting requirements.All 50 states require certain individuals, “mandatory reporters,” to report known or reasonably suspected incidents of child abuse to state officials. This has exposed many cases of child abuse, and made victims less willing to remain anonymous.


• Support for litigation. An increasing number of attorneys and victim advocacy groups are encouraging sex abuse victims to utilize litigation as a means to secure justice and promote per- sonal healing.


When are churches legally accountable?


Most lawsuits filed against churches for acts of child sexual abuse have alleged that the church was legally accountable on the basis of negligent hiring, negligent supervision, or negligent retention. All of these theories of liability are pivotal issues. The term negligence gener- ally refers to conduct that creates an unreasonable risk of foreseeable harm to others. It connotes carelessness, heedlessness, inattention, or inadvertence.


Negligent hiring simply means that the church failed to act


responsibly and with due care in the selection of workers (volunteer and compensated) for positions involving the supervision or custody of minors. A church may exercise sufficient care in the hiring of an


4


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74