Much to Do in Preventing Sexual Abuse of Children

By Thomas G. Plante
Philly.com
June 10, 2016

http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20160610_Much_to_do_in_preventing_child_abuse.html

The Boston Globe Spotlight team that reported on the clergy abuse crisis in the Catholic Church in 2002, and whose efforts were highlighted in an Academy Award-winning movie, recently uncovered widespread sexual abuse perpetrated by teachers and other employees against children under their charge at many of the nation's elite private schools.

According to the Globe's recent report, 67 private schools, including Phillips Exeter, Deerfield, Taft, Thayer, and, most famously, St. George's School, had more than 200 sexual abuse victims and 90 family lawsuits over sexual victimization during the past 25 years. Their data is based on responses from more than 200 schools at a 10 percent rate, so we are left wondering what the other 90 percent might be hiding.

When these crimes came to light, the perpetrators often were protected and transferred to other schools, and efforts were made by administrators to silence and intimidate victims and to protect the image and reputation of these prestigious educational institutions. Sound familiar?

A quick review of the news last month:

In Western Pennsylvania, a grand jury found "systematic failures" to protect students from several teachers in the Plum School District. The teachers, news articles stated, engaged in both sexual abuse and witness intimidation. Sadly, only so much can be done to the perpetrators due to the statute of limitations.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the L.A. school district agreed to pay $88 million to settle sexual abuse cases at two elementary schools. Arrests in the cases were made long after complaints were levied against teachers.

The New York Times reported that an Orthodox Jewish village northwest of Manhattan is being investigated for sexual abuse after an incriminating video surfaced. No charges have been filed.

A record settlement was reached with the Boy Scouts of America for sexual abuse of minors, and there have been many other incidents.

Sadly, none of this news is surprising to me. The patterns of abuse, victimization, silence, and protection of perpetrators at the expense of victims closely parallels the many reports of clergy sexual abuse highlighted by the Spotlight team and other media outlets.

I've often urged reporters to closely examine both public and private schools in addition to religious institutions. The sad fact is that anywhere adults have close contact with and power over children, there's a chance of sexual abuse and exploitation.

Statistically, this means a small percentage of adults involved in youth sports, schools, scouting, youth choirs and theaters, and religious and other institutions will exploit and abuse children. While we don't know exactly what percentage of adults sexually victimize children, we do know that at least 25 percent of women and 15 percent of men report that they were sexually victimized by an adult as a child, and that the vast majority of these victims knew the perpetrators well, since they were family members, neighbors, teachers, coaches, clerics, or youth leaders.

Certainly the Catholic Church's cover-up was repugnant in its systematic efforts to sweep the entire scandal under the rug. But priests are unfortunately not the only child abusers among us. And both public and private school administrators have also attempted to hide the facts.

Sexual victimization of children and youths is common, and it was especially common from the 1960s through the 1980s due to a confluence of factors that have been well researched. There were few reporting laws, a lack of understanding of the dynamics of sexual abuse and pedophilia, and high crime rates.

The good news is that fewer children are abused today thanks to the best practices in child protection. These include mandatory background checks for potential employees, mandatory child abuse reporting to civil authorities, zero tolerance for sexual abuse, safe-environment training, and many other policies and procedures. Ironically perhaps, the Catholic Church leads the way in these best practices, and many institutions are following suit.

I've spent 30 years working with clergy who have abused children, knowing that the sins of the Catholic Church were not all of the sins against our youth. My hope is that the recent investigations will open the door to a much broader use of the best policies, procedures, and practices to ensure that all children are safe.

Thomas G. Plante is the Augustin Cardinal Bea, Society of Jesus professor of psychology at Santa Clara University and an adjunct clinical professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine. tplante@scu.edu