The Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas agreed today to pay $23.4 million to eight former altar boys and the family of a ninth who say they were sexually victimized by a priest in the 1980's and early 1990's.
Consequently, children who initiate or solicit overtly sexual acts with other children most often have been sexually victimized by an adult beforehand, or by another child who was in turn abused by an adult.
Children who were sexually victimized by other minors, including inter-sibling abuse, show largely the same problems as children victimized by adults, including anxiety disorders, depression, substance abuse, suicide, eating disorders, post traumatic stress disorder, sleep disorders and difficulty trusting peers in the context of relationships.
Elisa claimed to have been sexually victimized by a neighbor when she was between 14 and 18 years of age.
The view that sexuality is victimization teaches girls to be careful of being sexually victimized and taken advantage of.
Ms. Stone notes that blacks are sexually victimized in childhood at the same rate as whites, but that one survey reported that they were more severely abused.
According to a study by the United States Department of Justice released in August 2010, 3.9% of inmates who responded to a survey reported that they had been sexually victimized at the prison.
Moreover, if there is any appearance that the child has been sexually victimized by a family member, the mother's report should be viewed with even more caution.