I have been working with male sexual abuse survivors for 30 years. The sexual abuse that occurred at Penn State appears to have been systemic and chronic. In other words, it was not a singular event and since there was much collusion against the victim(s), we view it as systemic. When I first read the news the morning it broke 10 days ago, I read the tea leaves and knew exactly where this story was going.
Male sexual abuse is taboo…maybe the very thin silver lining here is that we can bring male sexual abuse to the table. It’s hard for a normal thinking person to wrap their mind around sexual behavior with a prepubescent child. It’s about Power and Control…it is not about sexual pleasure or intimacy, again, the way a normal person thinks of those wonderful things. Only deviants and sociopaths enjoy power, control, and dominance.
And, like all perpetrators, Sandusky followed suit by selecting At-Risk youth, in other words, kids that have most likely already been abused; maybe they came from a single home with weak supervision, poor families, even foster children. Again, oldest trick in the book. Picking on a child who is powerless, who won't be believed, a child without resources or any inherent protection that all children rightfully deserves.
Sandusky garnered respect and admiration for his “charity” work while creating that thing that all predators love, free access without any questions or accountability. How can society at large benefit from Penn State’s deliberate and cruel negligence? remember, we are not talking about molest...molest suggests touching and exposing. We are talking about a much rarer occurrence in the child and sexual abuse arena. We are talking about rape, violent and painful.
Only a hit in the pocketbook will send a message to endowments, admin, and the Board of Directors. How about banning Penn State from the NCAA for one year? Nah, that would punish other young men and women that have honestly worked hard to be get there, for things that were simply not their fault. Million dollar civil suits will follow soon. So be it. Maybe Penn State will be pressured to provide PSA’s about signs and symptoms of sexual abuse...who to call, red flags and how to get help. I've long wanted a famous face to this cause. Can you imagine a Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, or Muhammed Ali on your tv talking about sexual abuse? Other tough men have come forwarded about their sexual abuse in recent years (Carlos Santana, Henry Rollins, Don Lemon, Tyler Perry, Axl Rose, Robert Blake).
Certainly, punishment to Penn State, to its core, is necessary. It will not make the victims feel any better, by the way.
(Search for my prior post on Male Sexual Abuse Survivors)
