Penn State case is teachable moment on The Murfreesboro Post

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Penn State case is teachable moment

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By: BO BRADSHAW, TNNS

Posted: Monday, November 14, 2011 11:43 am

NASHVILLE - One thing that should come out of the Penn State situation, where an assistant coach is accused of sexually abusing children, is more understanding of how to prevent such incidents from happening, according to Tennessee child advocates. They say not only should the alleged child abuse have been reported earlier, it could well have been prevented in the first place.

Jim McKay, a child abuse activist, says there are proven ways to stop child sexual abuse from happening, such as organizations having policies designed to keep kids safe.

"They should make sure the adults have appropriate background checks. Another key factor is to minimize situations where children are in a one-on-one situation with an adult."

McKay says sex abusers in more than 90 percent of cases are not strangers - they have a previous relationship with the victim or the child's family. Rules making sure adults are not alone with kids have been proven effective, he adds.

"If we make sure there are always at least two adults with one child, or more than one child with one adult, we could reduce more than half of the instances of child sexual abuse."

McKay urges parents to ask if an organization requires background checks.

"You want to ask those questions, as a parent. Does the local youth sports organization have background checks for coaches and assistant coaches who will be working with the children?"

Tennessee law clearly requires people like educators and doctors to report possible cases of abuse, he says.

"It's not enough for them to report to their supervisor their suspicions. They must directly file a report to child protective services."

The effects of maltreatment can damage a child for life, cause physical or mental problems and result in drug abuse or other criminal behavior, McKay says, adding that the U.S. spends more than $100 billion per year treating the effects of child abuse.

Tagged under Abuse, Football, Jerry Sandusky, Penn State, Sports, TNNS

Member Opinions:

By: bota on 11/17/11
Good column - good advice.

By: mlw6r_mtsu_f11 on 11/17/11
What has taken place at Penn State should be a wake up all for organizations that work with children to increase their protection measures, even if they feel that they don’t have to. Kids were sent to this football camp by their parents, thinking they were being safe and this has been covered up for years. Organizations should be taking every precaution necessary to make sure children are safe from situations like this and others that may arise. This article was informative because it states that abuse cases usually involve someone that the child or their family already knows. Another interesting statistic was that the United States is spending $100 billion a year on helping children cope with the effects that sexual abuse can cause. The truth is none of that money should be being used, because these crimes should not be happening. Lastly, the report says to report all suspicions to authorities or Child Protective Services, the exact measure that was not taken in the Penn States scandal. The entire story is not out in the Penn State case, and the early stories said that the authorities were never informed. Since then the story has changed, but how could the authorities not be involved? Any suspicion should be reported because it would be better to be wrong, then to not say anything and have another horrific crime like this happen again.