How Can We Protect Minors At Work

Sexual violence against minors occurs at an extraordinarily high rate in the United States. Child
sexual abuse refers to the involvement of a child, defined as a person less than 18 years old, in
sexual activity that violates the laws or social taboos of society. Approximately one in four girls
and one in twenty boys in the United States experience child sexual abuse in their lifetime.

This issue is both nationwide and state-relevant. According to the National Children’s Alliance,
in 2023, the number of reports of sexual abuse of children in Georgia reached 7,223,1 and this
number only captures reported cases– experts estimate that one in 10 children will experience
sexual abuse before the age of 18.

The repercussions of child sexual violence are numerous and disturbing The Physical health
consequences include sexually transmitted infections, physical injuries, and chronic conditions
later in life, such as heart disease, obesity, and cancer. Mental health consequences include
depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance misuse and increased risk of suicide. When
children are abused, they can’t understand, can’t fight back, and often lack the ability to advocate
for themselves.

Of the pool of children that the Children’s Advocacy Center of Georgia serves, 55% of cases are
typically attributed to child sexual abuse. In 2025, CACGA served over 21,200 children in the
state of Georgia, meaning that there were almost 12,000 cases of child sexual assault in the state
in 2025 alone. Furthermore, Georgia ranked 37th overall in the nation for child maltreatment
concerning areas such as economic, education, family and health.

Another issue, sexual violence in the workplace, can overlap with sexual abuse of children in
unexpected ways. Sexual violence in the workplace is all too common, affecting sectors such as
restaurant and food service, government workers, farmworkers, and military personnel. Georgia
in particular is in the top ten states in the U.S. for the highest rates of workplace sexual
harassment. Sexual violence against minors in the workplace is particularly underdeveloped as a
field, demonstrating the need for intersecting legislation between issues.

A national telephone survey of young workers revealed that U.S. workers ages 14-24 reported
sexual harassment, with perpetrators including customers (48%), coworkers (47%), and
supervisors (13%). A similar study published in 2023 by the National Library of Medicine
showed that out of 1,031 young workers who had held a job in the past 12 months, more than
60% of them experienced some form of workplace violence, with 24% outright citing sexual
harassment at work as something they had directly experienced.

Georgia’s existing legislation leaves gaps for these individuals by not creating a cohesive guide
for protections for minors who have been sexually assaulted at their place of employment.
Existing Georgia legislation is general and does little to handle the nuanced intersections of
sexual violence and assault, especially for vulnerable populations such as minors. The legislative
gap is not that sexual abuse of minors or employed individuals is legal, but instead that Georgia
lacks a comprehensive, minor-specific workplace prevention and response system.

Georgia law already requires certain professionals to report suspected child abuse, including
sexual abuse, immediately and no later than 24 hours after they have reasonable cause to believe
the abuse occurred. These individuals are referred to as mandated reporters. However, the law’s
mandated reporting framework is specifically tied to professional roles and children whom the
reporter directly attends to through their employment.8 An ordinary workplace supervisor is not
automatically a mandated reporter simply because they employ a minor, because the statute does
not establish a clear, across-the-board requirement that every employer should report suspected
sexual abuse of a minor under their employment. A similar failed attempt to revise Georgia’s
mandated-reporting provisions, HB 1409, would have required the Department of Family and
Children Services to implement an online platform for receiving reports from mandated
reporters. The bill was vetoed by Governor Brian Kemp on May 12, 2026, arguing that its
technical requirements were too narrowly specified and would limit Georgia’s Division of
Family & Children Services.9 Bringing back the possibility of HB 1409 could be a great way to
readdress the issues that are still impacting Georgia’s youth.

A proposed Minor Employee Protection from Sexual Abuse Act could help fill this gap in the
mandated reporting framework. This act could require employers to notify the appropriate
authorities when they reasonably suspect that an employee or supervisor has sexually abused a
minor employed alongside them, prompt notification of the minor’s parent or guardian, subject
to exceptions where doing so could endanger the child or interfere with an investigation, and
employers to document reports and preserve relevant evidence. The bill could prohibit retaliation
against a minor who reports abuse and establish penalties for employers who knowingly conceal
abuse or fail to comply with reporting requirements.

Overall, I think this is good and I like the connections you make to minor workplace issues and
child sexual abuse. I think the structure of the paper could use some work, maybe an added
paragraph at the start about the connections between child sexual abuse and abuse of minors in
the workplace. Especially since the solution is focused on minors in the workplace, starting more
focused on that will help the paper. Additionally, some of your paragraphs are very evidence
heavy so try to add some more explanations in between citations.