How Can We Ethically Prevent Child Sexual Abuse?

[TNF_13]

Since a few people in another thread wish to discuss this topic, I am creating a new one here, based on my other thread in the sister-forum for all members in philosophy and ethics.

There you have it. What is the best way to end the epidemic of child sexual abuse, while remaining the most ethical?

In case you are unfamiliar with the issue, here are a few facts to get you started (though, remember, there is much more to this issue than can be summed up in a list of statistics):

1. Child sexual abuse affects roughly 13-20% of children in the US, and between 10-20% of children worldwide. It is thought that boys are just as much affected by sexual abuse as girls, but more boys do not report abuse (see here and here).
   
2. 92-96% of abuse allegations are true, and those that are false typically originate with adults (see here and here).
3. Roughly 38-50% of abuse is reported to the police (here and here).
4. 93% of perpetrators are people known and trusted in the community (common knowledge, see also here and here).
   
5. 95% of sex crimes are committed by those with no criminal record (see here).
6. Sexual recidivism among child sex offenders is lower than that of other sex offenders, on average around 4-8%, in California, as low as .6%. It is more common for sex offenders to recidivate with a non-sexual crime, like a probation/parole violation or failure to register.
   
7. 81% of sex abuse happens in a one-on-one situation, and 77% is committed in a residence (see here).
8. 97% of sex offenders have at least one adverse childhood experience in their background (see overview of lecture by Jill Levenson here).
9. One-third of contact child sex offenders have pedophilia, and two-thirds of offenders with sexual abuse material have pedophilia (see here and here).

So, what is your solution? How do you propose we ethically end this epidemic, without trampling on people's rights?

Note: Edited to provide more references.

 

[Saucy]

We can't.

 

[Tree of Life]

Jesus returning.

 

[TNF_13]

We can't.

Oh?
We are three experts on individuals who cause sexual harm and the prevention of sexual abuse; ask us anything about sexual abuse and sexual violence. • r/IAmA

 

[Tolworth John]

What is the best way to end the epidemic of child sexual abuse, while remaining the most ethical?

I know of only one way and that would be for society, for people to accept that sex is 'only' for those who are married to each other.
For society to proclaim and teach that sex outside of marriage is always and in every case wrong.

 

[Saucy]

I was raped and sexually abused as a kid. There's nothing that would've prevented it. Pedophilia is no different than any other sexual orientation and as long as there are people who are born with this trait, they will abuse.

Still, not every pedophile abuses. Many choose to suffer in silence and not abuse. There are many instances where people who weren't pedo just lost control of themselves.

 

[FireDragon76]

TNF, I applaud you for presenting this difficult subject it in a rational, scientific, and compassionate manner.

I think a great deal of the problem is that we as a society are overly moralistic and terrified of honest discussion about sexuality in general, so problems like this are not addressed realistically. We scapegoat and blame people for problems that are more complicated and beyond the individual's complete control. Instead of focusing on realistic solutions, we focus on blame and an overly punitive mentality. And our shallow religious moralism full of trite cliches doesn't really help in that respect.

 

[TNF_13]

I was raped and sexually abused as a kid. There's nothing that would've prevented it. Pedophilia is no different than any other sexual orientation and as long as there are people who are born with this trait, they will abuse.

Still, not every pedophile abuses. Many choose to suffer in silence and not abuse. There are many instances where people who weren't pedo just lost control of themselves.

I am sorry for what you went through. I was also abused, and none of my abusers seemed to have been attracted to children, and that is also what the facts indicate. Please re-read the facts in the OP. Pedophilia is not often the cause of sexual abuse, it is more often about unmanaged/unmet mental health needs:

How Abuse Happens

 

[TNF_13]

I know of only one way and that would be for society, for people to accept that sex is 'only' for those who are married to each other.
For society to proclaim and teach that sex outside of marriage is always and in every case wrong.

I think systemic sexual education would go a lot further than trying to teach abstinence:
Prevention Through Sexual Education

 

[TNF_13]

TNF, I applaud you for presenting this difficult subject it in a rational, scientific, and compassionate manner.

I think a great deal of the problem is that we as a society are overly moralistic and terrified of honest discussion about sexuality in general, so problems like this are not addressed realistically. We scapegoat and blame people for problems that are more complicated and beyond the individual's complete control. Instead of focusing on realistic solutions, we focus on blame and an overly punitive mentality. And our shallow religious moralism full of trite cliches doesn't really help in that respect.

It is difficult to check our emotions at the door on this topic. I have been doing research and advocating for a little over two years, and it is difficult even for me somtimes, though I tend to get upset when people refuse to believe well-established facts that I am probably too familiar with.

Conversations around this subject need to be centered around what the facts are, rather than what is popular.

 

[Dave-W]

In case you are unfamiliar with the issue, here are a few facts to get you started (though, remember, there is much more to this issue than can be summed up in a list of statistics):

Your source for these numbers??

They seem low to me.

 

[Tolworth John]

I think systemic sexual education would go a lot further than trying to teach abstinence:
Prevention Through Sexual Education

Sure talk to your school about the scientific evidence that shows that multiple sex partners is harmfull to both sexes, that the evidence shows that living together couples break up sooner than married couples, that the most dangerous place for children is in single parent families so vunerable to abuse from the boyfriend and of course the poorest families are single parent ones.

If you can get that taught in school you will make a difference.

 

[TNF_13]

I thought I had more sources on there... oh, well.

1:

[The prevalence of child sexual abuse in community and student samples: a meta-analysis, Pereda et al, 2009, Clinical Psychology Review Volume 29, Issue 4, p. 328-338 DOI:

[A Global Perspective on Child Sexual Abuse: Meta-Analysis of Prevalence Around the World, Stoltenborgh et al, 2011, Child Maltreatment Volume 16, Issue 2, p. 79-101 DOI: 10.1177/1077559511403920

2/3:

[Break the Silence: End child sexual abuse, Unicef

[Delay in disclosure of childhood rape: Results from a national survey, Smith et al, 2000, Child Abuse and Neglect Volume 24, Issue 2, p. 273-287

[False allegations of sexual abuse by children and adolescents, Everson and Boat, 1989, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Volume 28, Issue 2, P. 230-235

[False allegation of child sexual abuse, Wikipedia, Retrieved 2/5/2017

4: Common knowledge to prevention programs, FBI report from, 2001 See, for example:
Step 1: Learn the Facts

5: Does A Watched Pot Boil? A Time-Series Analysis… Sandler, Freeman, & Socia, 2008) See also (noting that recidivism studies do not paint an complete picture of re-offending, since they study prison releases, not those on probation or juvenile offenders):

Hanson, R. K., & Bussière, M. T. (1998). Predicting relapse: A meta-analysis of sexual offender recidivism studies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 348-362.

Hanson, R. K., & Morton-Bourgon, K. E. (2009). The Accuracy of Recidivism Risk Assessments for Sexual Offenders: A Meta-Analysis of 118 Prediction Studies. Psychological Assessment, 21(1), 1-21. doi:10.1037/a0014421

7:
[Characteristics of Crimes Against Juveniles, Finkelhor and Shattuck, 2012

[Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to Law Enforcement: Victim, Incident, and Offender Characteristics, Snyder, Howard N, 2000

8:
The Primary Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse: Moore Center Sex Abuse Symposium: Part Four: Adverse Childhood Experiences And Causes Of Sexual Offending
(summarizes a speech given by Jill Levenson at the Moore Center Symposium 2017)

9: http://http//www.olemiss.edu/depts/ncjrl/pdf/I C A C/2012 - October 15-16/A - Child inappropriate contentography Offenses Are a Valid Diagnostic Indicator of Pedophilia.PDF

Several other sources are available for that last part if you need them, like:
James Cantor on Twitter

I hope that helps. More facts/sources are available at:

Facts

Edit: OP updated to provide these sources more streamlined.

 

[TNF_13]

Hey @brinny if you want to discuss how we can protect children from abuse, here is the place to have that discussion.