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April 14, 2005

Child sexual abuse is a worldwide crisis

Sexual exploitation of children by authority figures is a global problem which continues to be underreported, said leading educational researcher Charol Shakeshaft, at an Archdiocesan Catholic Center conference April 6.

Speaking to more than 125 educators, social workers and law enforcement representatives, Shakeshaft presented a summary of her 2004 U.S. Department of Education report, "Educator Sexual Misconduct: A Synthesis of Existing Literature," that disputed some contentions raised since the clergy sexual abuse crisis became headline news in 2002.

According to Shakeshaft, a statistics professor in the school of Education and Allied Human Services at Hofstra University in New York, the perception that "sexual exploitation of youth by Catholic clergy is more prevalent than sexual abuse by others in positions of authority" is not supported by statistics. In fact, said Shakeshaft, no national statistics exist on the number or percent of children sexually exploited by Catholic clergy or employees.

By re-analyzing two surveys conducted by the American Association of University Women in 1993 and 2000 for nationwide data on educator misconduct, and after studying hundreds of sexual abuse cases from throughout the country, Shakeshaft said that seven percent of youth report physical sexual exploitation by a teacher or other educator. Besides incidents of child sexual abuse occurring in schools, sexual exploitation of children has also been reported in religious denominations as well as groups serving youth such as scouting troops, YMCA's and Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

In her research, Shakeshaft discovered that child sexual abusers, including educators and priests, use similar patterns of "grooming practices" to break down a child's defenses. Often popular and well-regarded in their field, abusers engage in "systematic and premeditated grooming" where they lavish special treatment on their intended victim --- buying presents or sharing secrets, for example --- and then advance to pornography.

Contrary to the perception that sexual exploitation of youth by priests occurs because of the unique characteristics of the Catholic institutional setting, Shakeshaft found that schools' responses to allegations of sexual exploitation and misconduct are similar to the inadequate institutional response of the Catholic Church in the '80s and '90s.

"In schools, most sexual misconduct is unreported," said Shakeshaft. Her research shows that among students who reported they were sexually harassed by a school employee, only 11.6 percent actually told a teacher while 10.6 percent reported the incident to another staff member.

Regarding consequences for educator offenders, Shakeshaft cited a 1992 study of 225 cases of documented sexual misconduct by physical educators that resulted in only 15 percent of the offenders losing their jobs. Approximately 50 percent received a "negative consequence" or reprimand, and 39 percent agreed to leave the district with a positive recommendation provided by the administration.

"Public schools are now less likely to make deals on the side," said Shakeshaft, but she emphasized that schools have a long way to go to prevent child sexual abuse by educators. Recommended prevention strategies include developing district and school level policies, engaging in "deep screening" hiring practices, centralizing educator information in districts, and reporting allegations to child protection and law enforcement.

Shakeshaft complimented recent Catholic Church efforts to prevent child abuse. "This is a world problem," declared Shakeshaft. "You're the only people out there doing something. You're at the forefront. I see you as people leading this prevention effort." On the heels of February and March meetings with U.S. Department of Education on the topic of educator sexual misconduct, Shakeshaft said staff members told her they "were thinking about it" but had no current plans for a nationwide response.

Schools training educators aren't doing much training in this area, either, Shakeshaft said. She is working with credentialing offices in all 50 states to do something different, since, most of the time, Shakeshaft noted, educators convicted of child sexual abuse don't necessarily lose their teaching credential and can find their way back into the classroom.

For educators who suspect a colleague of child abuse, Shakeshaft had these parting words: "What we usually think is: 'I don't want to say anything because if I'm wrong, I might ruin the career of a teacher.' But what we should think is: 'If I don't say anything, and I'm wrong, I might ruin the life of a child.'"

Participant Adrienne Hament, a mental health training coordinator for Los Angeles County who is on the archdiocesan clergy misconduct oversight board, said she felt very good about hearing that the Catholic Church is on the forefront of preventing child sexual abuse. She said she would like to see child protection training currently implemented in Catholic schools extended to local public schools.

Thomas Sirkel, a child abuse lieutenant for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and first-time archdiocesan workshop participant, said he appreciated Shakeshaft's "zero tolerance" message. "Though [the church] got a slow start [regarding child sexual abuse prevention], it's doing well now," said Sirkel.

Posted by Nealus at April 14, 2005 04:41 PM

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