Peer-to-Peer Abuse

Peer-to-peer abuse refers to harmful sexual behaviors that occur between children or youth, rather than being initiated by an adult. This can include siblings, cousins, classmates, teammates, or peers within trusted environments such as homes, schools, churches, camps, and extracurricular activities.

For many families, this is one of the hardest realities to confront—because it challenges the assumption that harm only comes from strangers or adults with clear intent.

In truth, most peer-to-peer harm is driven by opportunity, access, and lack of supervision, not by fixed identity or malicious planning.

What Peer-to-Peer Abuse Is — and Is Not

Peer-to-peer abuse:

Often involves children of different ages, sizes, or developmental stages
Can occur during play, sleepovers, shared bedrooms, locker rooms, or online spaces
Is frequently hidden by confusion, fear, or loyalty
May involve coercion, pressure, secrecy, or repeated boundary violations

It is not:

A normal or harmless part of development
Something children “grow out of” without intervention
Always driven by sexual intent
The fault of the child who was harmed

Understanding this distinction is essential for prevention and appropriate response.

Why This Is Often Missed

Peer-to-peer abuse often goes unnoticed because:

Children may not have language for what’s happening
Adults assume proximity equals safety
Harm occurs in familiar, trusted settings
There is fear of labeling or overreacting

Many children want to tell—but don’t know how, or worry about getting someone in trouble, disrupting family relationships, or losing access to friends and activities.

Prevention Starts with Adults

Preventing peer-to-peer abuse is not about suspicion.
It’s about adult responsibility.

Effective prevention includes:

Age-appropriate supervision in mixed-age settings
Clear rules about privacy, touch, and boundaries
Open conversations that don’t shame or panic
Structures that reduce unsupervised access
Adults who are prepared to respond calmly and wisely

Strong boundaries protect all children—those who are vulnerable and those who may act out of curiosity, exposure, or unmet needs.

Our Approach

PPE Kids addresses peer-to-peer abuse through:

Education that helps adults understand risk factors and dynamics
Guidance for preventing harm in homes, churches, schools, and activities
Trauma-informed responses that prioritize child safety and dignity
Clear language that avoids blame while emphasizing accountability

Our resources are designed to help adults act early—before patterns are established and harm escalates.

Looking Ahead

This page will soon include educational videos and practical tools focused on:

Recognizing peer-to-peer risk factors
Common settings where opportunity increases
How to set and enforce healthy boundaries
What to do if concerns arise
How to respond in ways that protect all children involved

Peer-to-peer abuse is difficult to talk about—but silence doesn’t protect children.
Informed, attentive adults do.