The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #141461 Message #3258570
Posted By: Janie
17-Nov-11 - 12:56 AM
Thread Name: BS: Paterno - Penn State Football Coach
Subject: RE: BS: Paterno - Penn State Football Coach
One positive (making lemonade out of lemons) aspect of this is that many people, if and when they encounter a similar situation, may be more likely now to act.
Let us hold institutions and the culture of institutions accountable for cultures, practices and attitudes that result in protection and cover-up of abusers. As a society, that means we have to also hold individuals accountable within those institutions even if those individuals took the legally designated actions. However, never let the failure of individuals to act obscure the role of institutional culture in those individual failures.
I'd be willing to bet that every single person on this forum, whether they are aware of it or not, knows at least one child who is being sexually abused, knows at least one adult who was sexually abused as a child, and knows at least one person of whom they have a good opinion, based on their own interactions with that person, who either has or is sexually abusing a child.
I'll risk going a bit further and say it is likely that there are parents on this forum whose children are being, or have been sexually abused, people on this forum who were sexually abused as children, and people on this forum who are or have sexually abused children.