Sex Abuse: The role of Bystanders

As a nation we have been plagued by the Penn State Scandal. While this has been the most recent of sex scandals it is utterly wrong that this has occurred throughout the US for a number of years. There are countless victims that fall victim to sexual predators every year. While the Penn State Scandal is disturbing on many levels, probably the most disturbing point is the cover up that took place spanning many years harming many children.

Why did these men choose to turn a blind eye on the actions that were being taken by Sandusky. Why did they choose loyalty over what is morally, legally and ethically right? How can they live with themselves knowing that they contributing to the molestation of so many boys?

While the way Penn State handled this situation in the beginning is deplorable, they have taken actions now that show that no one is above the law and that they will not stand for this behavior regardless of who you are.

This sex scandal is not unlike many sex scandals that have occurred for the past several years within the Catholic church. Once again these sex scandals have been covered up by the supreme leaders of the church. How can church leaders preach the moral and Christian code of life while covering up sex scandals that are occurring? To me this is bigotry of the highest level.

I am a firm believer that sexual predators need to be held accountable to the highest extent of the law, I also feel that we need to get tougher on those that knowingly allow the abuse to continue. Aren’t they just as much to blame? Think of how many fewer victims would have been sexually assaulted had the Catholic Church took a firm stand in the beginning of the sex abuse scandal and turned their priests over to the authorities rather than defending them? How would the Penn State scandal have changed if Paterno would have taken the right actions when he first found out about the abuse?

The one positive light in this controversy is that hopefully awareness has been raised and people will understand that this is not okay regardless of who you are. All need to be held accountable for either sexually assaulting kids or for covering up the actions of others.

Blog Guest writer:
Dr. Nee Schouweiler : Is a college professor and an advocate of minority education