Adolescent refers to anyone between the ages 10 and 19, and adolescence refers to “a period of life with specific health and developmental needs and rights” as defined by the World Health Organization.9 The vast majority of adolescents are included in the age-based definition of “child” (see Child or children).
Boundary violation refers to adult behaviors that may be potential antecedents of child sexual abuse (CSA), comprising more subtle forms of behavior that may be innocuous or possible indicators of grooming children for future abuse.
Child or children refers to anyone under the age of 18, in alignment with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.10
Child sexual abuse, as defined by the World Health Organization, refers to “the involvement of a child in sexual activity that he or she does not fully comprehend, is unable to give informed consent to, or for which the child is not developmentally prepared and cannot give consent, or that violates the laws or social taboos of society” by any adult “who by age or development is in a relationship of responsibility, trust or power, the activity being intended to gratify or satisfy the needs of the other person.”11
Problem sexual behavior refers to behavior initiated by a child that is illegal, developmentally inappropriate, or potentially harmful to that child or to other children or adults. There is growing recognition that the behaviors of children should be distinguished from the behaviors of adults, and some experts argue that sexual harm committed by children should not be labeled as CSA and instead should be called problem sexual behavior. An unresolved concern with this distinction, however, is that children who survived harmful sexual behavior committed by other children may not accept its characterization as problematic versus abusive. We believe the most relevant distinction lies in the responses to behavior rather than the label. Thus, whether harmful sexual behavior committed by children is labeled as abusive or as problematic, the responses to that behavior should be informed by an understanding of childhood as a distinct developmental period during which children are afforded extra protections against abuse as well as alternative responses to their own harmful behaviors that emphasize rehabilitation over retribution.12
Youth Serving Organization (YSO) refers broadly to any organization designed in part or whole to meet children’s needs and wants related to social and development enhancement, education, physical and mental health, sports, recreation and leisure, the arts, religion, juvenile justice, and child welfare.13
