Cohabitation a great risker than thought

The National Catholic Register has an intriguing - and rather frightening - article on a new danger of cohabitation before marriage, a threat posed not to the adults involved but to the children: sexual abuse.

Most people have heard about the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. They also hear about the children who get abducted by strangers or get lured by Internet perverts.

And occasionally, newspapers will run a story about a teenage boy having sex with a beautiful 20-something teacher.

They seldom hear of the biggest threat of childhood sexual abuse: cohabitation and the single mom’s boyfriend.

Given the levels of sexual abuse throughout the country this really - and sadly - should come as no real surprise to us.

How serious is this threat? The executive director of the Safe Child Program in Denver, Cherryl Kraizer, put it this way:

Despite what we read and hear on TV, 85% to 90% of childhood sexual abuse involves perpetrators known to the child. Of that 85% to 90%, 35% involves a family member. Boyfriends, step-parents, foster providers and other guardians aren’t usually counted in that 35%. And single women who have boyfriends living in the home may be putting their children at the highest risk of all.

This is truly serious and a cause for much prayer for us all. The entire article is well worth a read.