According to a story by Rachel Zoll of the Associated Press, a recent report related to a yearly child safety review called for by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has shown that claims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy increased last year.
A majority of the 803 cases in 2008 involved adults reporting childhood abuse in decades past, finally coming forward to accuse priests and others of sexual abuse. This is a 16% increase from 2007, in which 691 clergy abuse claims were made.
This report comes as a result of reforms and changes enacted by bishops in 2002, at the highest point of the highly-publicized Catholic clergy abuse scandal.
As a part of the child safety review, there are several safeguards and child protection policies that most dioceses have implemented - however, there are several areas in which auditors saw room for improvement. According to the individuals who conducted the review, it is still a common problem that abuse is reported to the church first and police second. Because sexual abuse is an illegal action that is punishable by a court of law, sexual abuse advocates urge individuals involved in sex abuse reports to go first to a law enforcement agency.
Of the 803 sexual abuse claims, most were men and many (over 50%) reported sexual abuse occurring between the ages of 10 and 14.
These claims show that there may still be many survivors of sexual abuse who have not yet come forward. The report shows that 40% of the claims involved individuals who had not yet been accused or named in sexual abuse cases.
As as a law firm experienced in handling Catholic priest sexual abuse claims, the Zalkin Law Firm will be able to provide you with legal assistance, counsel and support that you may need if you have been sexually abused by a member of the Catholic clergy.
