ABSTRACT
The sexual abuse of children spans all races, economic classes, and ethnic groups. Sexually abused children are no more precocious, pretty, or sexually curious than other children. Though there may be no physical force involved, every time a child is sexually used by a man, there is coercion. Children trust the adults in their lives, even when the adults are untrustworthy, because they have no choice. People are becoming alarmed, and rightly so, about the extent of child abuse in general and child sexual abuse specifically. In biblical times, sex was sanctioned between men and young girls. Sexual intercourse was an acceptable means of establishing betrothal, and the use of both women and girls was regulated by a detailed set of laws reflecting the property status of females. Canon law held that sexual intercourse established possession, and popes through the centuries upheld rape as an indissoluble means of contracting a marriage.
