Protect Our Children, Dammit!
By: Arthur Hargate
Tags: Governance, Risk Management, Sexual Predator, Child Abuse, Board Of Directors

Who the heck is supposedly running things when an institution like a high school fails to prevent a sexual predator from preying on young people? A recent tragic incident involving multiple victims over many years has been alleged and reported yet again here locally, and what I find appalling is that the facts are reported but little or no editorial content follows that takes “leaders” to task for not doing their jobs.

The incidents abound, especially the epidemic of sexual predator discoveries occurring today and in decades past that have damaged young lives. Ohio State, Michigan University and Penn State come to mind, as does the pain and anguish of our Olympic gymnastic athletes. We’re all familiar with the horrific abuses of priests in the Roman Catholic Church, and a recent spate of similar scandals going back decades has hit the posh New England private high school syndicate.

Certain patterns jump out. The large majority of the perpetrators are men, both against girls and boys. The perpetrators are in positions of authority like teachers, team doctors, coaches or clergy. In most cases the sordid activity goes on for years and even decades before it is made public. Generally there is a fair degree of understanding or at least suspicion within the institution as to what is going on. Frequently institutions take steps to willfully ignore, cover up or keep quiet what has happened.

Rarely do we subsequently hear about perpetrators being sent to prison, and it is highly unusual for the people in charge of these institutions and their boards of directors to be held accountable legally or publicly chastised. Repeatedly you hear the story of a suspect teacher who had been “dismissed,” only to pop up somewhere else a few years later to do the same horrific thing somewhere else. A school principal is let go here and there, but with a severance package and an opportunity to recalibrate their career in another institution or profession.

So, how exactly does this happen? What is there about institutional behavior that can be so corrupt that it allows this to happen to begin with and then often turns a blind eye to its very existence? What priorities are more important to an institution and its “leaders” than the very safety of the children and young adults that we as a society entrust to their care? Reputation? Alumni giving? Revenue from an athletic program? The endowment? Marketing? Careers of privileged and well-connected people?

I submit that when something like this happens at any institution the management and governance systems and those charged with administering them are criminally deficient. The people involved are not doing their jobs in the worst way and they should be publicly held accountable.

The first and most paramount responsibility of a Board of Directors and the executive administration of these institutions is the safety and welfare of those in their care. All other aspects of governance and management cannot hold if this first basic premise is allowed to falter. In the gut-wrenching cases that have surfaced, one must ask obvious questions of those in charge, and those questions must be answered directly.

Why did you not know this was happening? Did you have a management system in place to actively discover these behaviors? Do you screen job applicants in depth in a way that would likely reveal suspect history or personality disorders that would give pause? What is it about the institutional culture entrusted to you that makes it difficult or impossible for people with knowledge of such behavior to come forward? Why did you not have your finger on the pulse of the organization and a personal connection with the people who depend on you to protect them?

Yes, predators and criminals are wily, evasive and masters of deception. Yes, people generally are reluctant to get involved and hope someone else will come forward. That’s not the point. You must implement a risk management system that overcomes these hurdles.

Boards of Directors and management of these institutions have a base obligation to have instituted a preventative risk management system that actively searches out these situations as a matter of course. Such a system encourages people to come forward to report suspicious behavior, creates opportunities for them to do so and routinely asks for their input on such matters. Every suspect situation is thoroughly investigated and documented. Expert advice and counsel is part of the management system. The civil and criminal justice system is consulted in a diligently active way.

Quite frankly, there is no excuse. The reason this happens and happens in the way that it does is that people in positions of authority in these institutions have not done their jobs. Worse yet, they may have been complicit. And we as a society should absolutely not tolerate it.

(Original art by J.E. Hargate)