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Child Abuse and the Church: A New Mission

NCJ Number
157593
Author(s)
J J Mead; G M Balch Jr
Date Published
1987
Length
156 pages
Annotation
This book outlines what clergy and other church members need to know about child abuse that occurs in and out of the home.
Abstract
The book emphasizes that child molesters may volunteer to work at churches and their affiliated schools in order to be close to potential child victims. The book discusses the roles of pastors and churches in detecting, treating, and preventing child abuse. Separate chapters cover causes of child abuse and neglect, mandatory reporting laws, civil and criminal liability, and the court process involved in prosecuting child abuse cases. Other topics examined in this book include behavioral symptoms of abuse, child sexual abuse, wound identification, burn investigations, and child neglect. The final chapter calls on the churches to make child abuse prevention a new mission. 1 appendix