WHAT COULD WE LEARN IF “THEY” WERE WILLING TO SHARE?

There has been a good deal of research conducted with convicted offenders over the past 25 years. These in depth studies have provided VIRTUS with the material that forms the foundation for the programs we offer in prevention education. Studies of this kind are extremely valuable resources for those of us committed to preventing abuse from every happening. Learning about the primary risky behaviors of potential predators and identifying ways to intervene in the grooming process are essential to the goal of prevention that is the top priority of Protecting God’s Children®.

This work has been done by highly qualified researchers using excellent techniques and submitting their work to peer-review. Discovering the answers to the questions about how predators do what they do is the work of social science researchers in this field. There are other important answers that are available that do not require the kind of concentrated interviews that were necessary for these studies of predator behavior.  These answers can be found in data that is available but hidden from public scrutiny.

At least two well-known youth saving organizations have been gathering data on incidents involving children and the volunteers and staff that work with organizations for many years. The data found in their files identifying volunteers that are now considered ineligible to participate and records of every allegation forwarded from local affiliates hold a wealth of information about high risk behaviors as well as high risk locations, high risk circumstances, high risk policies and other things. The problem is that not only is this information not available for public review, the organizations have not even been looking at the files for their own benefit.

In our society, where the fear of being sued is real, the unwillingness of youth serving organizations to share this information in an open forum is not surprising. The people responsible for the well-being of the organization are weighing the real financial risk of making possible damaging information public against the possible good the data could do when considered by responsible adults. Too many times in our lives we see and hear about the “cost vs. benefit” analysis that places an emphasis on the financial realities of a potential risk about the real loss of human life and quality of life. That is often the way the world works and sometimes that kind of analysis benefits us all. However at other times the cost has been more than we could tolerate. The failure of Ford to replace a small part that cost lives when the Pinto exploded was determined to be callous disregard for human life. Recently Chevrolet has been answering for decisions it made along the same lines. The interesting thing is that we know these youth serving organizations are gathering the data. We know they are not “analyzing” it and we say nothing until a child is molested and then they resolve the complaint and nothing changes. 

The failure of organizations such as these to use the information gathered to inform them of the types of risks they face in reality and to shape their policies, procedures, practices, and training is unfortunate at best and unconscionable when any child is harmed. When one considers that the information gathered could help other organizations, churches, schools, and groups enhance their ability to create and maintain safe environments, it is difficult to justify keeping the information hidden.

One of the most devastating aspects of the Church’s history with this situation was the discovery that there was a great deal of information about the past actions of predator priests available in the secret archives of the Church. The laity, the public, the media, and the legal system were appalled at this fact, even though the actions of the Church were thought to be consistent with Canon Law.   Society expects something more when the well-being and safety of children is involved. Society expects us to rise above our personal concerns and cost/benefit analysis to do whatever it takes to make the world safer for these precious gifts God has entrusted to us - the children in our lives.

As members of the community, we can stop blaming and start advocating for open sharing of information. We can stop pointing fingers and begin to encourage those with valuable data available to them to examine it carefully and share with us what we all need to know about how we can make the world safer for our children. We can give up accusing and instead appreciate the challenge it is for an organization that truly cares about children to “air their dirty laundry” in front of the world. We can resist criticizing and in place of the criticism, support them by thanking them for being willing to open up their files so we can work together to prevent child sexual abuse.

Pointing fingers and blaming will not protect children. Information about the who, what, where, and when these events have happened can, however, help us create safe environments. If we are willing to see the information as a valuable resource and thank these organizations for having it analyzed to help us all help children be safe from predators, perhaps they will be willing to share what will otherwise remain hidden from view.