Child Sexual Abuse Awareness and Prevention Timeline

Child Sexual Abuse Awareness and Prevention in America: A Timeline

Scouting has long recognized the need to create a safe environment for its youth. The Boy Scouts of
America incorporated in 1910, and by the next year had already begun to require character reference
checks for Scoutmasters. Two years later, in 1912, the BSA began to provide guidance to parents and
chartered organizations in selecting Scout leaders. By the mid-1920s, Scouting was cross-referencing all
adult volunteers against a list of “ineligible volunteers” to identify and keep out individuals deemed by
the BSA as lacking the moral, emotional, or character values for membership. Before the end of the
decade, every male adult involved in Scouting was required to register with the organization. In 1935,
Col. Theodore Roosevelt stated that leadership is a sacred trust and discussed the existence and use of
the confidential list of ineligible volunteers to protect youth, and two years later, this process was
discussed in the book The History of the Boy Scouts of America.

The following timeline examines how awareness and prevention of child sexual abuse has grown and
developed in the last 40 years across American society, law enforcement, the courts, experts in childhood
development, and youth-serving organizations, including Scouting.

 1972 The BSA begins developing standards for leadership as a guideline for screening adult
leaders.

 1977 In a speech to the American Academy of Pediatrics, pediatrician and child sexual abuse
expert Henry Kempe describes child sexual abuse as a “hidden pediatric problem and a
neglected area.” Despite this first call to arms on child sex abuse, it takes nearly a decade for the
academic research to reach law enforcement manuals (see 1986, 1987, and 1990). 1, 2

 Late 1970s The rise of the feminist movement launches “previously hidden and taboo issues,”
including child sex abuse and incest, onto the national stage. 3

 1979 David Finkelhor’s study Sexually Victimized Children sheds light on the prevalence and
harmful effects of child sexual abuse. This and other groundbreaking studies in the late 1970s
and early 1980s focus the nation’s attention on the issue of child sexual abuse. 4

 1980s Legal standards evolve in ways that eventually make it easier to prosecute child sexual
abusers. As the decade progresses, courts increasingly admit children as witnesses and drop
their corroboration requirement for child sex abuse cases, acknowledging that abuse is a crime
that, by its nature, often lacks witnesses. 5

 1981 The Scoutmaster Handbook directs that there should be a minimum of two adult leaders at
troop activities. 6

 1981 Scouting magazine runs its first of many advertisements from the National Committee on
the Prevention of Child Abuse. At the time of publication, this issue had a print run of
approximately 1.1 million copies distributed to each registered BSA adult leader. 7

1

 1981 Seven years after its establishment by Congress, the National Center for Child Abuse and
Neglect publishes its first study on the incidence of child abuse and neglect, including sexual
abuse. 8

 1982 The Chief Scout Executive provides instruction to all Scout executives regarding procedures
for maintaining standards of leadership, including moral standards required for leadership,
reporting unacceptable conduct to the national office, confidential personnel files, procedures
for suspension of leaders, and refusing to grant new registrations because of questionable
conduct.

 1982 The Supreme Court considers the issue of child pornography for the first time in Ferber v.
New York. 9

 1983 Time magazine publishes its first cover story on abuse, called “Private Violence: Child
Abuse, Wife Beating, Rape.” While it focuses on physical abuse of children, the story includes
content on sexual abuse. 10

 1984 Partially in response to the Supreme Court case Ferber v. New York, Congress raises the
statutory age limit of a minor to 18 as part of the Child Protection Act. 11

 1984 PBS airs a four-part series titled “Child Sexual Abuse: What Your Children Should Know.” A
TV critic from the New York Times writes, “Until recently, the sexual abuse of children was
seldom discussed.… Clearly, the topic has surfaced.” 12

 1985 Scouting magazine provides information regarding a government publication titled Child
Sexual Abuse Prevention—Tips to Parents, and in the same issue presents a “BSA statement
about child abuse.”

 Mid-1980s The BSA contacts the FBI looking for advice on creating a program to prevent child
abuse and molestation by screening out ineligible volunteers.

 1985 The Chicago Tribune reports, “A national survey has confirmed what most readers of daily
newspapers have known for months: Reports of sexually abused children increased sharply in
1984, more than doubling in some states … the topic of sexual child abuse has only recently
come under widespread public discussion.” 13

 1986 The Chief Scout Executive identifies child abuse as one of the BSA’s “Five Unacceptables.”
The others consist of drug abuse, hunger, illiteracy, and youth unemployment. The BSA
publishes and distributes educational materials on these topics, including a Boys’ Life magazine
article entitled “The Wrong Kind of Touching.” At the time, Boys’ Life had a circulation of 1.2
million.

 1986 Congress strengthens prohibitions on production of, and advertisements for, child
pornography. 14

 1986 Oprah Winfrey reveals the sexual abuse she suffered as a child. Five years later, she starts
a number of initiatives designed to stop sexual abuse and testifies before Congress, urging the

2

adoption of a national registry of convicted child abusers as part of the National Child Protection
Act. 15,16

 1986 Sacramento’s Commission on Police Officer Standards and Training publishes the first
known guide on child sex abuse for its local police force. It is called the Guidelines for the
Investigation of Child Physical Abuse and Neglect, Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation. 17

 1986 Scouting magazine publishes a five-page article by Dr. Walter Menninger of the famed
Menninger Institute delivering a message to Scouting adults.

 1987 Scouting’s Procedures for Maintaining Standards of Membership is revised to specifically
include issues regarding child abuse. All local council Scout executives and BSA regional directors
are directed to be aware of child abuse issues when deciding whether an individual is eligible for
membership.

 1987 Scouting magazine publishes a letter from the Chief Scout Executive on “Grooming by a
Child Abuser.”

 1987 The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children is founded. The professional
organization was among the first of its kind in this field, created to provide education, training,
guidance, and leadership for those working to end child abuse. 18

 1987 Focusing primarily upon the legal issues of charging, plea negotiations, and trial issues, the
first comprehensive training/reference manual for local law enforcement is produced by the
American Prosecutors Research Institute. It is called the Investigation and Prosecution of Child
Abuse. 19

 1987 The BSA develops a camp staff training program and formally adopts the “two-deep”
leadership policy.
 1988 The BSA publishes Youth Protection Guidelines: Training for Volunteer Leaders and
Parents.20

 1988 The National Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers is formed because “the social service
and the criminal justice systems at the time were not working together in an effective manner
that children could trust…. In the beginning, the Network was quite informal, and existed
primarily to provide some direction and training for the field of emerging programs.” 21

 1989 The BSA produces “A Time to Tell,” a video that teaches 11- to 16-year-olds the three R’s
of Youth Protection—recognize, resist, and report child abuse. More than 3,500 copies were
distributed in the first year. The video was ahead of widespread use of the VCR. The year before,
VCRs could be found in only 65 percent of U.S. households. 22, 23

 1990 How to Protect Your Children From Child Abuse: A Parent’s Guide is inserted into the new
Boy Scout Handbook. It includes exercises that promote abuse awareness, which all Scouts
complete with their parents when they join Scouting. 24

3

 1990 The Supreme Court allows victims of child sex abuse to testify in court through one-way
closed circuit video. This decision makes it easier for childhood victims to testify while avoiding
the personal trauma of having to directly face their abusers. 25

 1990 The U.S. Department of Justice produces the first manual for police that includes a full
chapter on child sexual exploitation, entitled Child Abuse and Exploitation: Investigative. 26

 1990 A survey of elementary school districts finds that 85 percent offer abuse prevention
training, with 65 percent of respondents reporting that their programs are mandated by state
law. Such programs were first introduced in the 1980s. 27

 1991 The BSA creates “It Happened to Me,” a video for 7- to 10-year-olds about child abuse.

 1992 The BSA advises the U.S. government on youth protection by serving on the U.S. Advisory
Board on Child Abuse and Neglect (from 1992 to 1995). 28

 1992 The BSA contributes “The Youth Protection Program of the Boy Scouts of America” in
volume 16 of the International Journal of Child Abuse & Neglect, (“the Official Publication of the
International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect”), vol. 16.

 1992 The BSA produces youth protection materials for Explorer-age youth (15 to 21 years old).

 1993 The BSA hosts the first National Child Abuse Prevention Symposium for educational,
religious, and other youth-serving organizations. 29

 1993 Congress passes the National Child Protection Act, which is designed to open the FBI’s
national criminal records to schools, day-care facilities, and youth-serving organizations and thus
provide a new avenue for screening out child molesters and others whose conduct might pose a
risk to children. Access to the FBI’s files under the NCPA is contingent on each state passing laws
that grant access. By 1998, only six states had passed such laws, limiting access to the files for
nonprofit groups. 30

 1994 The BSA requires criminal background checks for all professionals and staff who work with
youth. 31

 1994 The BSA updates its “Youth Protection Guidelines for Volunteer Leaders and Parents”
video, addressing how to determine whether a child has been or is being abused, and what the
adult should do to protect the child. 32

 1996 The Los Angeles Times and the New York Times launch their online editions. The
movement of data and news onto the Internet improves the effectiveness and breadth of
background checks. 33, 34, 35

 1997 Congress passes the Adoption and Safe Families Act, which for the first time requires
criminal background checks of any prospective foster or adoptive parent who is receiving federal
assistance. ASFA is an attempt to update the foster care system as established by the Adoption
Assistance and Child Welfare Reform Act of 1980. 36, 37

4

 1998 Searches of the Internet for news and other information becomes easier with the
introduction of the Google search engine. 38

 1999 While states are responsible for licensing and regulating child care providers (such as day-
care centers), only 41 states conduct criminal background checks on the directors or staff of
these centers. 39

 1999 The BSA creates training for Venturing (coeducational Scouting program for 15- to 21-year-
olds) adult leaders and the “Personal Safety Awareness” video training for Venturing-age youth.

 2000 The Child Abuse and Prevention Enforcement Act updates ASFA, encouraging background
checks of all foster parents, not just those who receive federal funds. CAPE also specifies that
congressional funding previously designated to upgrade states’ criminal record systems can now
be used to “deliver timely, accurate, and complete criminal history record information to …
programs that are engaged in the assessment of risk and other activities related to the
protection of children, including protection against child sexual abuse.” 40, 41

 2002 LexisNexis launches its VolunteerSelect PLUS program, a computerized background
screening program for nonprofits across the country. 42

 2003 After implementing criminal background checks in 1994, the BSA moves to third-party,
computerized criminal background checks on all new registered leaders and introduces online
training: “Youth Protection Guidelines: Training for Adult Leaders and Parents.” 43

 2005 The National Sex Offender Public Registry launches. 44

 2005 The BSA publishes on DVD its three age-level videos: “It Happened to Me” (for Cub
Scouts); “A Time to Tell” (Boy Scouts), which added scenarios on bullying and Internet safety;
and Venturing’s “Personal Safety Awareness,” featuring new scenarios on Internet safety and
stalking, acquaintance rape, and peer sexual harassment. The DVD is made available in English
and Spanish.

 2006 An interactive version of the BSA’s Youth Protection training is made available online.
More than 84,000 complete online training before year-end. That same year, slightly more than
two-thirds of Americans say they use the Internet “at least occasionally.” 45, 46

 2007 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention writes, “When this report was published,
an efficient, effective, and affordable national background screening system was not available”
to youth-serving organizations. 47

 2008 The BSA again expands its use of criminal background checks and requires registered adult
members to go through full criminal background checks. 48

 2008 Scouting implements Youth Protection requirements for youth to advance in rank and
addresses bullying and cybersafety through new policies and training. 49

5

 2009 A respected legal journal notes that “there is still a debate within the scientific community
as to whether child victims should testify in court proceedings. The debate centers on the
psychological and emotional impact experienced by these child victims when called upon to
provide in-court testimony.” 50

 2010 The BSA hires Michael Johnson, an internationally recognized expert on child abuse
detection and prevention, as Youth Protection director. 51

 2010 The BSA makes Youth Protection training mandatory for all registered adult members and
requires it to be repeated every two years. 52

 2010 Parents are advised on the BSA youth membership application that abuse can occur “even
in Scouting.” The application also advises them of Youth Protection training and the two-deep
leadership policy. 53

 2010 The BSA creates a mandatory reporting policy, which says that all persons involved in
Scouting must report to local authorities any good-faith suspicion or belief that a child is being
or has been physically or sexually abused. Further, the policy states that no person may abdicate
this reporting responsibility to any other person. Previously, Scouting required each council to
follow its local state law on reporting, only. 54

 2011 Scouting launches a new campaign called “Youth protection begins with you”™, which
underscores the fundamental belief that the protection of youth—in Scouting and in local
communities—can be best achieved through the shared involvement of parents, volunteers,
leaders, and council staff. 55

 2011 The BSA includes vignettes in its Youth Protection training depicting “grooming” and abuse
occurring in Scouting.

1
Critical Issues in Child Sexual Abuse, Jon R. Conte, p. 30
http://books.google.com/books?id=qBSuIMgJLNYC&pg=PA30&dq=child+sexual+abuse+hidden+1970s&
hl=en&ei=o6viTuuFJabw0gH15ZXPBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CEEQ6AEwA
w#v=onepage&q=kempe&f=false
2
A Historical Review of the Evolution of Police Practices, Policies and Training Regarding Child Sexual
Abuse, Joseph P. Hornick, p. 16
http://www.ontla.on.ca/library/repository/mon/22000/286053.pdf
3
Knowledge of Evil, Alyson Brown and David Barrett, p. 6
http://books.google.com/books?id=FdNVzaNLxZUC&pg=PA6&dq=child+sex+abuse+taboo+1970&hl=en&
ei=XpriTs_sJ4mFiALqydzABg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CEwQ6AEwBQ#v=onep
age&q=child%20sex%20abuse%20taboo%201970&f=false
4
A Short History of Child Protection in America, John E. B. Myers, p. 12
http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/35363_Chapter1.pdf

6

5
Handbook of Child Psychology Volume 4, William Damon, p. 777
http://books.google.com/books?id=xTD471221c0C&pg=PA777&lpg=PA777&dq=During+the+1980s+all+
states+dropped+their+corroboration+requirement+for+children+involved+in+sex+abuse+cases,&source
=bl&ots=EI3Sialg7M&sig=KeXVoxsb0b7KS7w8XDlyDAV0yBs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UsHkT4vhF6Ha0QGdwu3P
CQ&ved=0CFMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=During%20the%201980s%20all%20states%20dropped%20thei
r%20corroboration%20requirement%20for%20children%20involved%20in%20sex%20abuse%20cases%2
C&f=false
6
Scouting Timeline
http://www.scouting.org/sitecore/content/BSAYouthProtection/BSA_Communications/Timeline.aspx
7
Scouting Timeline
8
Understanding child abuse and neglect, National Research Council (U.S.) Panel on Research on Child
Abuse and Neglect, p. 80
http://books.google.com/books?id=qnxZpAeYVtMC&pg=PA80&dq=%22Incidence+and+Severity+of+Chil
d+Abuse+and+Neglect%22+first+study+1981&hl=en&ei=E77iTo7hKMjY0QHp04jqBQ&sa=X&oi=book_re
sult&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Incidence%20and%20Severity%20o
f%20Child%20Abuse%20and%20Neglect%22%20first%20study%201981&f=false
9
Sexual Predators Amongst Us, Ronald A. Rufo, p. 96
10
Time magazine online archive
http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19830905,00.html
11
12
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/17/movies/tv-review-4-part-series-on-child-sexual-abuse.html
13
The Chicago Tribune
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1985-02-17/news/8501090847_1_sexual-abuse-anne-cohn-child-
abuse
14
15
Oprah.com
http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/The-Oprah-Shows-Most-Shocking-Moments_1
16
Stories of Oprah: the Oprahfication of American Culture, Trystan Cotton and Kimberly Springer, p. IX
http://books.google.com/books?id=ElswmhzTc8cC&pg=PR9&dq=oprah+sex+abuse+1986+%22national+
child+protection+act%22&hl=en&ei=dc7iToGNEanJ0AGlpuzzBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnu
m=1&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=oprah%20sex%20abuse%201986%20%22national%20child%2
0protection%20act%22&f=false

7

17
18
APSAC
http://www.apsac.org/25th-anniversary
19
20
The BSA’s Youth Protection Guidelines were subsequently updated in 1992, 1994, and 2002;
introduced online in 2003; and revised further in 2003, 2009, and 2011.
21
History of National Children’s Alliance
http://www.nationalchildrensalliance.org/index.php?s=35
22
Scouting Timeline
23
Communication Technology: A Survey, Dana Royal Ulloth, p. 164
http://books.google.com/books?id=gqwntXBa4ocC&q=vcr+penetration#v=snippet&q=vcr%20penetratio
n&f=false
24
Scouting Timeline
http://www.scouting.org/sitecore/content/BSAYouthProtection/BSA_Communications/Timeline.aspx.
This was revised in 2005.
25
Legal Information Institute, Cornell University Law School, Maryland v. Craig
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/89-478.ZD.html
26
27
Child maltreatment: an introduction, Cindy Lou Miller-Perrin and Robin D. Perrin, p. 156
http://books.google.com/books?id=AJgxUqce5GcC&pg=PA156&lpg=PA156&dq=breen+daro+romano+s
urvey+1990&source=bl&ots=ZYlocKLANx&sig=GofEjgkGGMvo7N_eIcZgluSTggU&hl=en&ei=ZfbjTq-
eGMLq0gHSz_TCBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=b
reen%20daro%20romano%20survey%201990&f=false
28
Scouting Timeline
29
Scouting Timeline

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30
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
https://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs16d-VolunteerScreening.htm
31
Scouting Timeline
32
Scouting Timeline
33
LATimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/about/mediagroup/la-mediacenter-milestones,0,1502162.story
34
NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/22/business/the-new-york-times-introduces-a-web-site.html
35
New York Times, December 1, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/02/business/smallbusiness/02sbiz.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1
36
HHS.gov
http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/background.cfm
37
The Encyclopedia of Child Abuse, Robin E. Clark, Judith Freeman Clark, and Christine A. Adamec, p. 24
http://books.google.com/books?id=Dl4Qm54Km7YC&pg=PA24&dq=adoption+and+safe+families+act+i
mpetus&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uy8XT_HjJ6Wa0QHLzsDTAg&ved=0CEcQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=adoption%20
and%20safe%20families%20act%20impetus&f=false
38
Google.com
http://www.google.com/about/corporate/company/history.html
39
Child Care, GAO report, p. 12
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/he00028.pdf
40
Child Care and Child Welfare: Background Checks, Congressional Research Service report, p. 4
http://stuff.mit.edu/afs/sipb/contrib/wikileaks-crs/wikileaks-crs-reports/RL32430.pdf
41
Child Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Act Hearing
http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/judiciary/hju62439.000/hju62439_0f.htm
42
The Importance of Background Screening for Non-profits, LexisNexis, p. 3
http://www.lexisnexis.com/risk/nonprofit/documents/Background_Screening_Nonprofits.pdf
43
Scouting Timeline
44
DOJ Press Release: “Department of Justice Activates National Sex Offender Public Registry Website”
http://www.amberalert.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/ojp_05_0720.htm

9

45
Scouting Timeline
46
Pew Internet, Internet adoption, 1995–2011
http://www.pewinternet.org/Static-Pages/Trend-Data/Internet-Adoption.aspx
47
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention
www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pub/preventingchildabuse.html
48
Scouting Timeline
49
Scouting Timeline
50
The Michigan Child Welfare Law Journal, “Child Victims of Sexual Abuse and the Law,” Timothy L.
Arcaro, p. 2
http://chanceatchildhood.msu.edu/pdf/CWLJ_sp09.pdf
51
Scouting Timeline
52
Scouting Timeline
53
Scouting Timeline
54
Scouting Timeline
55
Scouting Timeline

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Child Sexual Abuse Awareness and Prevention Timeline

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