What is it about?
In addition to the characteristics of potential perpetrators and victims of child sexual abuse, it is important to realize that situations and settings also play a huge role in determining if abuse is going to take place or not. This study analyzes some of the characteristics of situations and settings that have an impact on child sexual abuse in the Orthodox Jewish Community. It also highlights some of the differences in that regard between cases where the abuser is an adult and cases where the abuser is a child. A painful, but critically-important point that this paper draws attention to is the fact that a huge percentage of child sexual abuse is perpetrated by minors. This paper carries profound implications for the further development of child sexual abuse prevention in general, and, in particular, for the Orthodox Jewish Community.
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Why is it important?
As time goes on, the need for child sexual abuse prevention programming is becoming more and more accepted in the Orthodox Jewish Community. It is of utmost importance that these efforts be data driven so as to ensure their efficacy. A primary component of this is using data to determine clear prevention targets. This study clarifies many of the most imperative and pressing areas in which prevention programs need to be implemented.
Perspectives
My personal academic background is exclusive to Torah study. However, as I became aware of the prevalence of child sexual abuse, that this plague has not skipped over our Orthodox Jewish Community, and that it has the potential of wreaking enormous havoc, I decided to establish an organization, in Israel, that would be dedicated to prevention efforts. Having co-authored the first-ever (to the best of my knowledge) comprehensive article on child sexual abuse in the frum community published by a widely recognized Torah journal under the auspices of leading Rabbanim in the USA, I became educated about the topic and came to realize how crucial research and data is for the implementation of effective prevention strategies and programs. Put otherwise, I realized that without research and data one is "shooting from the hip" and really has no way of knowing if the target goal will be achieved or not. As such, this paper, which is my first published academic paper, represents for me a very important step in cultivating a truly data-driven approach to child sexual abuse prevention.
Rabbi Yehoshua Berman
Lamdenu
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Situational Factors Related to Childhood Sexual Abuse in the Orthodox Jewish Community Among Adult and Juvenile Offenders, Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, July 2018, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/10538712.2018.1483993.
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