As a child abuse survivor the grief I feel about the Penn State scandal is threefold—I grieve for the children whose innocence was stolen; I grieve about the poor decisions and lack of accountability by the adults involved, and I grieve for the rioters who lost sight of what is more important, winning or protecting and standing up for abused children.
This Examiner finds that that more se speaks about what happened in her childhood, the more fellow victims she locates. I can comfortably say that 1 in 3 women I encounter have been abused themselves, and 2/3 of everyone I encounter at least knows someone who has been sexually exploited. This is truly a silent epidemic that is sweeping our nation. It is however, as the Penn State scandal proves, not limited to female victims.
I speak from experience when I say that child abuse causes issues such as PTSD, depression, sexual dysfunction and sometimes creates future offenders. The wounds last a lifetime and fail to heal unless the abuse to exposed and dealt with. My heart aches for these young men who were violated and then failed yet again by the faculty of Penn State whose actions speak very clearly. The decisions made that led to the failure to act and the failure to protect these children, and possible future victims, from such abuse translates very clearly to mean that these victims were not considered important enough to protect by those in control at Penn State.
The issue that haunts is the fact that however highly regarded the man loving called ‘Joe-Pa’ may be, he failed to do his duty as a coach and educator (and I dare say, reasonable adult). He chose to sit silently by as those above him in administration at Penn State failed to act. He was called, if not by law but by common sense, to report the known abuse to authorities, the University President just doesn’t cut it. He passed the buck to soothe his own conscience but failed to care when no actions were taken and the offender was still allowed access to the school facilities, and even more disturbing, young boys through a foundation the offender formed.
In addition to these judgment lapses by those in leadership at the university, the student body’s actions at Penn State spoke far louder than words when it come to where their priorities lye. By choosing to riot at the news that “Joe-Pa” was finally being held accountable for his lack of action, the rioters sent a strong message that their coach’s winning percentile meant more to them than the boys who were sexually violated and then not protected by those who should have stepped up and done the right thing. This saddens me greatly.
The first game on Saturday after those involved were fired and the riots settled was a step in the right direction—but dare I say that it was maybe to little too late. Place yourself in the shoes of the boys who were abused. What did they see this past week? The saw adults sidestepping and making excuses for not protecting them. They then saw students protesting that those individuals who failed to stand up for them were being punished. And then finally they saw a wave of blue at Saturday’s game. Blue is the color used to represent child abuse awareness and child abuse awareness month in April. How confusing this must be for them? Take a minute and step back try to see it all through their eyes. Isn’t that what this is all about? Not football. Not great coaches. Not even whether or not Joe-Pa is a good person or not. This is about healing for the victims. Let’s face their reality and reevaluate allegiances and actions for them and them alone.
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