re: #130 Spare O’Lake

Any child abuse is odious.
But intuitively I would think it could be much more damaging when the perpetrator stands in a position of trust and power to the victim and the victim’s family.

Older children occupy that role as well, though. I’m not in any way minimizing the terribleness of it being a priest, teacher, or other authority figure, but older children are also authority figures to younger children. Everyone remembers the desperate urge to belong and fit in from being a child; abusers who are themselves adolescents exploit those fears and needs, and are often trusted by families and children. Read the sites I linked above for more information.

It is our responsibility as adults to not only safeguard children from abuse from adults, but from other children as well; to shield them from bullying, from harassment, and, sadly, from sexual abuse.