Our local news outlets have recently reported that some schools--private
and public--have failed to report abusive situations involving students. Several reasons have been cited by officials
for their actions, but these indicate that they failed to protect vulnerable
individuals under their supervision.
We have seen this before in churches, schools, and
not-for-profit agencies. Institutions can
quickly become more concerned about protecting themselves than in doing the
right thing.
There two primary errors that institutions commit in relationship
to abuse--sexual, verbal, physical, or psychological.
First, very often institutions act as if it can’t happen to
them. Several years ago, I worked for an organization and became concerned that
we be more proactive about possible incidents of abuse. Nothing had happened, but I believed that it
would be appropriate to take steps to head off any problems both for the sake
of those we served and for our staff members.
Surprisingly, there was little interest in this initiative. Leadership was willing to let me come up with
recommendations, but there was minimal support. When I talked with the
organization’s legal counsel and insurance carrier, they acknowledged that this
was a potential concern but were hesitant to address “hypothetical situations.”
We made some progress in training staff to deal with potential
abuse situations, but it was not a popular topic. I got the feeling from leadership that “It
won’t happen here.”
The second error that institutions make when it comes to abuse is
to act like it didn’t happen. There is a
tendency to blame the victim or to excuse inappropriate conduct on the part of
those in a position of power. We
misplace our trust and fail to act. If
we don’t acknowledge it, perhaps it will go away.
Whenever one person is in a position of power or control over
another, there is the potential for abuse.
Institutions of all types must acknowledge this and act justly rather
than seeking to protect their reputations and resources.
What is your organization doing to be proactive in relation to
potential abusive situations?
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