Really? At any age? Because you know that's a normal, healthy, beautiful part of marriage, right?
Child-on-child sexual abuse is defined as sexual activity that occurs without consent, without equality, or as a result of coercion. These children are the same age, which makes them equals, and there is nothing to indicate that either of them were forced or coerced into the situation.
Please take no offense, but that is incorrect. There is no age difference defined for child-on-child sexual abuse, though
usually the abuser is older. He/she doesn't have to be, however. Many children suffering sexual abuse at home reach out to enact the same kind of abuse on another child, younger, the same age or, in rare cases, older. Nor does there have to be "coercion" as one child may simply be too innocent to realize this is not normal, or so compliant with the directions of another child so as not to protest. That is why this is such a concern. A seven-year-old, as I said in my initial post, does not normally have enough information to undress another child, get her to lie on the bed, and be caught in the act of preparing to get naked himself.
There is an excellent
white paper by the Florida Department of Children and Families regarding child-on-child sexual abuse. It describes sexual contact such as the OP describes, and it contains this caveat:
Child-on-child sexual abuse involves children with sexual behavior problems and child victims. Children who engage in this type of abuse, as well as their victims, are diverse and not easily classified into typologies. Child-on-child sexual abuse may involve children of similar or divergent ages; may involve aggression, coercion or force; may involve harm or potential for harm; may occur frequently or infrequently; and may include minor or advanced sexual behaviors. As such, standard definitions of child-on-child sexual abuse are difficult to delineate and are variously used throughout the research literature resulting in differences in methodology and findings.
I would suggest the OP and others particularly read pages 11-18 of this white paper. It will open some eyes.
This incident described in the OP is child-on-child sexual abuse, and it needs to be addressed professionally. I backed off on that in one of my other posts, but the more I think about it, the more I think it has to be addressed this way. All four children need to be questioned about what may or may not have happened among them at other times, as this is indicative of ongoing abuse from a source within these familial groups and the immediate acquaintances, as that source is likely an adult or mid- to older teen.