Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University, Australia.
School of Law, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia; Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, United States of America.
Child Abuse Negl. 2024 Sep;155:106946. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106946. Epub 2024 Aug 4.
Numerous national public inquiries have highlighted the problem of child sexual abuse in religious organizations. Despite this, evidence of population-wide prevalence is scarce.
To provide the first nationally representative prevalence estimates of child sexual abuse perpetrated by adults in religious organizations in Australia.
The Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS) surveyed 8503 people aged 16 and over about their experiences of child maltreatment. Weighted prevalence estimates were calculated based on responses to the child sexual abuse questions from the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire-R2: Adapted Version (ACMS).
One in 250 people reported being sexually abused as a child by an adult in a religious organization (0.4 %, 95 % CI, 0.3-0.6 %). Men reported significantly higher rates of child sexual abuse by these perpetrators (0.8 %, 95 % CI, 0.5-1.2 %), compared to women (0.1 %, 95 % CI, 0-0.3 %). This type of sexual abuse was overwhelmingly perpetrated by men (0.4 %, 95 % CI, 0.3-0.6 %), compared to women (0 %, 95 % CI, 0-0.1 %), and was substantially more often experienced in Catholic organizations (71.9 %) than other Christian denominations or other religions. Prevalence of child sexual abuse in religious organizations has declined over time (2.2 % of men 65 years and older, compared with 0.2 % of 16-24-year-old men).
Child sexual abuse has been widespread in religious organizations in Australia. A decline over time indicates progress has been made in preventing sexual abuse of children. Religious organizations must take all reasonable measures to prevent child sexual abuse, with a particular need for interventions targeting male leaders, and organizational cultures.
许多国家的公共调查都强调了宗教组织中儿童性虐待问题。尽管如此，关于该问题在整个人群中普遍存在的证据却很少。
提供澳大利亚宗教组织中成年人对儿童进行性虐待的首次全国代表性流行率估计。
澳大利亚儿童虐待研究（ACMS）调查了 8503 名 16 岁及以上的人，询问他们遭受儿童虐待的经历。根据青少年受害问卷-R2：改编版（ACMS）中有关儿童性虐待问题的回答，计算加权流行率估计值。
每 250 人中就有 1 人报告称，在宗教组织中曾被一名成年人性虐待（0.4%，95%CI，0.3-0.6%）。与女性（0.1%，95%CI，0-0.3%）相比，男性报告的此类性虐待发生率显著更高（0.8%，95%CI，0.5-1.2%）。这种类型的性虐待主要是由男性（0.4%，95%CI，0.3-0.6%）实施的，而女性（0%，95%CI，0-0.1%）则很少实施，而且在天主教组织中（71.9%）比其他基督教教派或其他宗教中更为普遍。宗教组织中的儿童性虐待率随着时间的推移而下降（65 岁及以上的男性中有 2.2%，而 16-24 岁的男性中有 0.2%）。
在澳大利亚的宗教组织中，儿童性虐待已经很普遍。随着时间的推移，这种情况有所减少，表明在防止儿童性虐待方面已经取得了进展。宗教组织必须采取一切合理措施来防止儿童性虐待，特别需要针对男性领袖和组织文化采取干预措施。
