"Organizations that fail to train staff members and volunteers concerning these issues endanger the children in their care...Ignorance is not bliss, but puts children at risk. All organizations that look after children need to ensure their safety..." ~ Dr. Carla van Dam Ph.D. Clinical & Forensic Psychology ​

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"The church and its children are increasingly endangered by sexual predators whose opportunity to ensnare children elsewhere is growing smaller, while the church opens its doors to anyone. Sexual abusers looking for access to children will gravitate to activities and organizations where there are fewer protective measures in place. Secular organizations have responded to this inevitable truth by implementing policies and training to reduce risk. Many churches, however, have done little, because ministries fail to recognize the risks or are laboring under the misconception "it won't happen here."  

"While volunteers often undergo less scrutiny than paid staff, a 1996 study in Hammar's Church Law and Tax Report found that half of all sexual misconduct offences in churches were committed by volunteer workers. Paid staff constituted 30 percent of the cases, and the remaining 20 percent were committed by other children in the congregation (peer-to-peer abuse)."

"Unlike other personal injury law shaped by tort reform, legal requirements in sexual abuse cases are enlarging legal rights, rather than shrinking them. In most states, lawmakers are increasing statutes of limitation, (the legal time limits within which suit must be filed in civil suits), and many include language allowing lawsuits against organizations for sexual abuse when a victim understands that the damage he or she has suffered is related to the sexual abuse experienced. In other words, suit may be filed a very long time later, with no specific age limit or time cut-off."

90% of criminal sexual offenders have no prior criminal background.

Christianity Today 2008