Current Facts and Statistics about The Helpless (2 of 10)

Who we are defending and what we are defending them from? “The helpless” include children and the elderly, female and male, anyone who is under the power and/or authority of another. Legally, we are talking about people under the age of 18, people of any age with a known mental or physical handicap, or elderly citizens who require assistant with every day activities including feeding, changing, bathing, etc. The power dynamic can be held by a parent, caregiver, or another person in a custodial role (such as a religious leader, a coach, a teacher). It also includes those who simply have physical or manipulative power over the helpless. The CDC categorizes abuse that results in harm, the potential for harm, or threat of harm (CDC, 2023b). The lists include:

• Physical abuse is the intentional use of physical force that can result in physical injury. Examples include hitting, kicking, shaking, burning, or other shows of force.
• Sexual abuse involves pressuring or forcing a child to engage in sexual acts. It includes behaviors such as fondling, penetration, and exposing a child (or elderly) person to other sexual activities.
• Emotional abuse refers to behaviors that harm a child’s (or elderly’s) self-worth or emotional well-being. Examples include name-calling, shaming, rejecting, withholding love, and threatening.
• Neglect is the failure to meet a child’s (or elderly’s) basic physical and emotional needs. These needs include housing, food, clothing, education, access to medical care, and having feelings validated and appropriately responded to.

The CDC found that the total estimated financial cost associated with just one year of confirmed cases of child maltreatment are approximately $592 billion (CDC, 2023b).  

(*Any discussion about this likely will strike the nerve of parents and church goers who are concerned that this will take away their moral duty to spank their children. While I cannot verify every state, Texas has a penal code regarding the use of justifiable force not only as a parent, but also as an educator (Penal Code 9.61-63). I want you to know that I spank my children. I believe the Bible speaks definitively about the use of corporal punishment. I believe it is unwise to not spank your children. But we’re not talking about calm, logical, disciplined parenting. We’re talking about abuse. For more information on the legality of spanking, see later posts that will address this.)

This study will specifically center on the oppression of sexual abuse. There is an alarming amount of sexual abuse that happens within the United States. The Lord’s church is not immune to this. As a people of faith, we ought to have our eyes wide open to this issue instead of deferring to a position of ignorance. Nearly 100 years ago, researchers began documenting the rates of sexual abuse in children. Female ranged from 24-37%, males ranged from 27-30% (Saltar, 2003). As the years passed, the research has become more specific and identifiable. Several modern studies show that as many as 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be raped or molested before they are 18 years old. Statistics also show that only 3% of these cases of abuse ever reach a conviction (Ingraham et al., 2017). These statistics are sobering and staggering. And the reality is, it’s not just unbelieving homes and families that struggle with sexual abuse. What happens when this issue arises in our local church or within the homes of our members? We will consider this in later posts.

Works Cited:
CDC. (2023) Fast Fact: Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/fastfact.html
CDC. (2023) Fast Fact: Preventing Child Sex Abuse. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childsexualabuse/fastfact.html
Ingraham, D., Davis, A. P. O. E. R., & Davis, R. (2017). Tear down this wall of silence: Dealing with Sexual Abuse in Our Churches (an Introduction for Those Who Will Hear).
Salter, A. (2003). Predators. Pedophiles, Rapists, and Other Sex Offenders. Who They Are, How They Operate, and How We Can Protect Ourselves and Our Children. Basic Books, New York, NY.