LOS ANGELES TIMES
December 13, 2011 | 12:29pm
As Jerry Sandusky waived his right to a preliminary hearing in a Pennsylvania courtroom, Washington lawmakers Tuesday called for stronger child-abuse reporting laws. They made their demands at the first Capitol Hill hearing growing out of the Penn State scandal.
"This senator takes the position that no institution should ever be too big to report or too famous to report" child abuse "and no adult should ever feel that they’re protected because of the brand that they represent," said Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), chairwoman of the Senate health, education, labor and pensions subcommittee on children and families..."It is time to act to protect children nationwide,'' she said.
Thirty-two states do not require all adults to report suspected child abuse or neglect; instead, many states have in place a requirement that people with regular contact with children, such as healthcare providers and teachers, must report abuse.
Kennedy, who co-founded Respect Group Inc. to work to prevent child abuse, said that in child abuse cases, including his own, "there are people who had a gut feeling that something was wrong but didn’t do anything about it. Their attitude was, "I don’t want to get involved," "It’s not my problem," "He couldn’t possibly be doing that" or "the authorities will take care of it." "That’s what keeps child abusers in business," he told the committee.
The Senators and anyone that steps up to the plate to combat child abuse, efforts are greatly appreciated, but we must remember that even the strongest laws on the books are worthless, if the individuals with the power to prevent the abuse are also worthless. Child abuse will still happen if people are afraid to report it due to fear of retaliation. Along with the big institutions and the high positions, comes money and power. It is obvious from the Sandusky case that the money and power bought silence, because this happened over years, not days.
Many parents, school staff, advocates, and others who reported child abuse in schools by restraint, seclusion, and other atrocities were retaliated against by the same schools, agencies(including Department of Children, Youth, and Families), brain washed individuals, and the local police. So, although the laws may become more stringent, if not enforced by those with the power to enforce the laws, we only traveled in a circle and wasted taxpayor money. Those in power are the politicians, the police, judges, the prosecutors, the attorneys, the physicians, the social workers, the mental health counselors, psychologists, and so on. Once those in power can get pass the coverups and turning their heads to the abuse, then the laws may work. Until then, they only exist on the books and child abuse will continue. Remember in the Sandusky case, reports were made to prosecutors, police, etc., but nothing was done for years. Some fear retaliation and others just go along with the system and turn their heads.
Although, making everyone liable for reporting child abuse may seem like the answer, the greatest task will be getting authorities to enforce the laws against the school officials and others committing the crime. Remember, most of these people live together in the same town and may be friends, so coverups will lend its hand and play a major role in whether or not action is taken when a report is made against a school official, institution, etc.
It will be ineresting to see if this case will truly make a difference in how child abuse cases are handled when the abuser is a school official or institution.
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