"Camp is a marathon, not a sprint” is a common-enough phrase, but it probably doesn’t feel like that right now! Staff training or orientation is a whirlwind of content, tours, policies, procedures, and trying to remember where the bathroom is. Among sessions on icebreakers, campcraft, kayaking, emergency procedures, and how to get a group of 9-year-olds to keep their cabin somewhat clean, there will be far more serious topics covered, including abuse and neglect prevention.

As the field of abuse prevention continues to evolve, camp (your own camp, campers, and the field in general) needs your help in regard to an emerging (and increasing) trend among campers: peer-to-peer abuse, also known as peer-to-peer problematic sexual behavior (PSB).

The Problem with a Trench Coat: Defining Peer-to-Peer Abuse

In your neighborhood, in a movie, or on a TV show (especially one from or set in the early 1990s), you have likely come across a scene that shows a person in a trench coat with the collar pulled up, a wide-brim hat, and sometimes a mask. This iconic visage of “The Stranger” was even developed for neighborhood watch campaigns, and the idea of “stranger danger” has been prevalent in abuse prevention materials for children. But using The Stranger as a cautionary tale can be misleading, because this image and associated education can, unfortunately, be inaccurate.

While the majority of child abuse is perpetrated by an adult well-known to the child, there’s another statistic we must keep at the forefront of our minds: 33 percent of all child abuse reported in the United States occurs between minors. In fact, ACA’s Crisis Hotline team said that in 2023, 56 percent of the calls received about abuse were in fact peer-to-peer abuse situations, not camper-staff or abuse occurring at home (ACA, 2023). Peer-to-peer (P2P) abuse occurs when one minor engages in harmful sexual behavior toward another minor. This trend is not exclusive to any one setting — it happens in schools, on sports teams, and, unfortunately, at camp.

Assumption	Reality
All abusers are adults.	Camper P2P abuse/PSB is just as common.
All perpetrators are seasoned predators.	Teasing, bullying, and other “boundary-pushing” behaviors can be precursors to abuse.
All abuse involves physical touch.	Abuse can include viewing, sharing, or producing pornography, as well as electronic communication (e.g., sexting).
“It [abuse] can’t happen here.”	We should assume abuse is happening now.
There’s nothing we can do; it’s “natural curiosity.”	Prevention efforts can (and should) include P2P abuse and PSB-specific recommendations.

 

It’s important to distinguish between appropriate child development and behaviors that cause harm. Children explore their world, including social and physical boundaries, but problematic sexual behavior goes beyond harmless curiosity. Factors that differentiate PSB from typical exploration include:

• Age difference. A notable age gap between involved children can indicate an imbalance of power.
• Use of coercion. If one child is pressuring, manipulating, or forcing another, the behavior is problematic.
• Repeated incidents. Concerning behaviors persist despite redirection or intervention.
• Distress or discomfort. One or more participants seem uncomfortable, fearful, or confused.

While some peer interactions are developmentally appropriate, others fall into the realm of PSB, which exists on a continuum from normal exploratory behavior to outright abusive conduct.

Hackett’s Continuum of Problematic Sexual Behavior

Hackett’s Continuum, a screening tool, provides a framework for understanding PSB in youth, categorizing behaviors into four stages:

• Normal. Developmentally appropriate, consensual, and exploratory behavior
• Borderline. Behaviors that may be concerning but are not necessarily abusive
• Problematic. Repeated or distressing behaviors that require attention and intervention
• Harmful. Coercive, exploitative, or abusive behaviors that demand immediate action (NSPCC Learning, 2022)

At camp, understanding this continuum can help you differentiate between behaviors that need simple redirection and those that require reporting and intervention.

Examples of Normal Sexual Behavior

Following is a list of normal sexual behavior by age.

• Ages 5–9: begin asking for privacy when changing and asking questions such as, “Where do babies come from?” This age group may mimic adult relationships by holding hands with a boyfriend or girlfriend.
  • You should be concerned if you see adult-like interactions or the discussion of specific sexual acts.
• Ages 9–13: having or wanting romantic peer relationships, making jokes about sex, looking for information about sex online.
  • You should be concerned if you see public sexual behavior or hear of campers in this age group having sex.
• Ages 13–17: sexual experimentation with same age group; touching themselves in private.
  • You should be concerned if you see large age gaps in romantic relationships or campers touching themselves in public (NSPCC Learning, 2022).

Recognizing the Spectrum in Real Life

Recognizing PSB can be tricky, especially in an environment where kids are naturally playful and testing boundaries. Some scenarios that warrant attention might include:

• A camper consistently disregarding personal space despite reminders
• Older campers pressuring younger ones into games involving inappropriate touching
• Campers seeking privacy in isolated areas for behaviors that make others uncomfortable

By identifying these behaviors early, you can intervene before they escalate.

Preventing Peer-to-Peer Abuse

Prevention starts with awareness and proactive supervision. As camp staff, you must be able to recognize and respond to PSB and should work together with your fellow staff to create an environment that minimizes opportunities for harm. Key strategies include:

• Supervising high-risk times and locations. Peer-to-peer abuse often happens in private or low-supervision areas such as bathrooms, stairwells, or during free time. Make sure you conduct walk-throughs and that those areas are supervised to help deter incidents.
• Consistently enforcing policies. If you find any of your camp’s supervision, reporting, and response policies to be ambiguous, you may hesitate to act in a real-life situation. So, please ask your camp leaders if you are unsure about anything.
• Creating an open dialogue. Encourage campers to speak up when they feel uncomfortable and normalize discussions around boundaries to help create a safer environment.
• Holding yourself accountable. Expect supervisors to routinely check that you are following supervision guidelines and intervention protocols.

Fostering a Culture of Safety and Respect

Camp culture plays a significant role in preventing abuse. When you model respect, consent, and personal boundaries and these values are ingrained in camp traditions, campers are more likely to internalize them. Some ways to build a culture of safety include:

• Modeling appropriate behavior and language in all interactions
• Reinforcing positive peer interactions and respectful behavior
• Encouraging campers to advocate for themselves and their peers
• Having open discussions about personal boundaries in age-appropriate ways

Case Studies and Lessons Learned

These case studies will give you some quick, practical tips you can use to keep your campers safe and supported.

Flash in the Bath(room)

You’re midway through evening cabin time when a group of campers bursts into the lodge wide-eyed and talking over each other. “There was a flash in the shower house!” one exclaims.

“Someone took a picture!” another adds. Panic spreads fast — within minutes, the entire cabin is convinced there’s a predator lurking at camp.

Staff jump into action, alerting the leadership team. The directors gather statements, and the mood is tense. But as they start asking questions, the story shifts. One camper hesitantly admits, “I just . . . I’d never seen that many showers in one room before. I thought it was funny, so I took a picture with my digital camera to show my parents.”

What would you do?

Relief washes over the group, but the lesson is clear: things aren’t always what they seem. This is why we elevate concerning situations to leadership — to tackle the problem together. And this is why we don’t allow cameras (even digital ones) at camp!

In-tents Moments

You are the counselor of the youngest boys’ cabin (ages 7–8), and they have swimming in the afternoon. You bring the boys down to the changing tent by the waterfront to put on their swimsuits. It’s taking a while, so you call out, “How are we doing, guys?”

You get a few responses of, “Fine! Still changing!” You hear giggles and still nobody is coming out of the changing tent.

You give a one-minute warning and say everyone must be out if they don’t want to miss swimming time. The boys come out and you ask, “What was going on in there? We were almost late for swimming because it took so long to change.”

After a few giggles and shy looks, one of the campers admits that they were comparing penises* in the changing room.

*Note: Using anatomically correct words is extremely important for preventing sexual abuse so that children can clearly communicate what happened.

What would you do?

While this behavior may seem concerning, it is developmentally appropriate and not necessarily worrisome. However, this does not mean it is appropriate behavior at camp. You should talk to the campers about acceptable changing-in-tent behaviors, and let your supervisor know about the incident. It may go no further than reporting, but it’s important that someone knows in case it becomes part of a pattern of behavior or prompts a parental complaint.

Program Staff, Read Here!

Preventing peer-to-peer abuse, like all risk management, relies on a Swiss cheese style approach. (With Swiss cheese, a single slice never covers everything.) And for preventing abuse, no single strategy is foolproof. But by layering multiple safeguards, we can minimize risks and create a safer camp environment. It takes the whole team working together to cover the gaps. Directors can’t be everywhere at once. You, as trusted support staff, provide vital supervision and engagement outside the bunk to help notice patterns and inappropriate or problematic behavior before it becomes harmful.

Make sure you are familiar with your program area. Notice any areas where campers may be unsupervised or may have access to too much privacy, and pay extra attention to those spaces.

Talk to counselors about any concerns you have. You may notice patterns of behavior that camp counselors miss.

Keep a Bunk Log

Continuing our Swiss cheese approach to risk management metaphor, your camp’s reporting system should have multiple layers to catch concerns before they escalate. A clear chain of reporting ensures that when you notice something concerning, you know exactly who to tell and trust that your report will be taken seriously. The best place to learn about how to report concerns at camp is to ask your leadership team for direction.

One effective tool to use is a bunk log where you can document notable behaviors, boundary-pushing, or any interactions that feel “off” (in addition to who needs a toothbrush and any maintenance requests). Turn in your cabin’s log every night, so your leadership team can review it in the morning. These logs help spot patterns over time and provide crucial context if an issue needs to be addressed later.

Final Thoughts

Understanding and addressing peer-to-peer PSB is critical to keeping campers safe. Recognizing and responding to behaviors on the continuum can prevent escalation and ensure early intervention. As camp staff, you play a vital role in fostering a culture of safety — your attentiveness and willingness to act can make all the difference.

By staying informed and proactive, you can make a meaningful impact in protecting youth. Camp is a place for growth, adventure, and lifelong memories. With the right awareness and actions, you can help ensure that it remains a safe and enriching experience for every camper.

For More Information

To learn more about peer-to-peer abuse and prevention, refer to the following resources:

• “About Child Sexual Abuse,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — cdc.gov/child-abuse-neglect/about/about-child-sexual-abuse.html
• “Preventing Peer-to-Peer Abuse,” Praesidium — praesidiuminc.com/preventing-peer-peer-abuse/
• “Preventing Peer-to-Peer Child Sexual Abuse,” The Redwoods Group — redwoodsgroup.com/resources/preventing-peer-to-peer-child-sexual-abuse/

Discussion Questions What are the high-risk areas you need to be aware of in and around your camper cabin or activity area? What is one way you can encourage shy campers to report behavioral incidents that make them uncomfortable if they are unwilling to speak up in a group setting? You witness two of your campers mimicking some touching behavior they witnessed between staff members who were on a break, and you worry that it could escalate into age-inappropriate behavior. What do you do?

References

• American Camp Association. (2023). ACA camp crisis hotline annual review 2023. ACAcamps.org/blog/aca-camp-crisis-hotline-annual-review-2023
• Hackett, S. (2019). Hackett continuum of harmful behavior (Excerpt). International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. icmec.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Hackett-Continuum-of-Harmful-Behavior-Excerpted.pdf
• NSPCC Learning. (n.d.). Sexual behaviour in children. National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. learning.nspcc.org.uk/child-health-development/sexual-behaviour#skip-to-content

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Katie Thurson is a PhD candidate in the Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management department at Clemson University and works with Civil Air Patrol as their first national youth protection manager. She loves all things camp and considers Camp Zeke (her camp for many years) her camp home even now. Katie is actively involved in volunteering with ACA at the local and national level.

Greg Linke currently serves as Clemson University’s Pre-Collegiate Programs Office (PcPO) director, leading the university’s youth protection efforts. He has a long history in out-of-school time programs, from overnight camp to wilderness and therapeutic camping, and now in camps on campus. Greg is an active member of the Higher Education Protection Network (HEPNet).

Ali Dubin, PhD, is a lecturer in nonprofit leadership and a Hospitality Certificate Program for Clemson University. Her research focuses on issues in camp administration and camp healthcare, with a specific focus on children with severe food allergies and the constraints to participation that they face.