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...
Comments from a Christ-follower on things that matter to him