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Looking Over the Edge of the Century I assisted my first victim of sexual misconduct by a therapist a full thirty years ago, and the Walk-In Counseling Center began the first of its more than 3,000 cases in 1974. Our support groups for victims began in 1976. Our state legislature created a task force on sexual abuse by therapists and counselors in 1984 and we criminalized this in 1985. In that time we've met tons of folks and talked with still more, and we've also looked back, and looked ahead. I might add that we now have such a reduction in cases in Minnesota that it has been difficult to run a group, and most of the victims we assist are from outside our state. In the past, the earliest writings on the topic (treatise entitled "The Physician") dates from between the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, and the first clear prohibition of this conduct was written between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC ("The Oath"). These both were in the Library of Alexandria in Egypt as part of a body of writings that historians have named The Corpus Hippocratum. In the 23 centuries which followed little was done to address the ongoing problem of sexual misconduct by physicians, or of other health professionals as those professions were created. Sexual misconduct by clergy was addressed from time to time during the middle ages. The Vatican archives and other documents contain examples of cases, and the bringing of a charge of debauchery against a priest in England led eventually to events which created the Church of England. What was clear was that professional groups and organizations either lacked the will or lacked the focus or lacked the ability to put a stop to this problem. Even when cases were brought (e.g. Tilton v. Henry Ward Beecher) there were often political issues which were unrelated which played a role. As the twentieth century began the blaming of the victim was still commonplace in both the media and in fiction (e.g. Cora Harris' A Circuit Rider's Wife). In the last quarter of the twentieth century a flurry of writing, studies, books, and news media coverage began to change all of that. Professional regulation, while still quite spotty, began to make itself felt. Part of this was generation by the success of a number of civil suits which now went beyond malpractice to breach of fiduciary duty and other theories, and which named organizational defendants, and which even included churches (despite First Amendment protections afforded churches in the USA). While the main "action" was initially in the USA, it can now be seen around the world. Fifteen states in the USA have criminalized therapist-client sex, many religious denominations now have rules or policies pertaining to it, the Province of Ontario in Canada has created a "Zero Tolerance" policy, and a number of reports have been done in Canada, Australia, and elsewhere. Despite all of what remains to be done, more has been done in the last 15 years of the 20th century than in the preceding 2,300 years. So, I find great hope and inspiration in the amount of progress made and feel that if we can keep moving ahead we should be able to significantly eliminate this problem and all of the nasty things which go with it. But, this will take effort, and will take support of the advocacy efforts including this magnificent new tool, AdvocateWeb. My Hope My hope in the year 2000 and beyond is that we will finally reach a turning point in how we, as a society, handle the problem of professional sexual exploitation. When someone abuses another human being by virtue of their professional position, there are many victims. There is the direct victim of the abuse, but there are also family members who are indeed victims. The institutions represented by the offending professional are also, in a sense, a victim to this conduct, and have their reputation marred. Worse than this, institutions sometimes actually take part in the victimization by attempting to protect their "image" and protecting the perpetrator at the expense of the victim, or by blaming the victim, thus causing even further harm for the victim. Families are left broken and confused, marriages sometimes shattered. Society as a whole suffers. We turn to these professionals for help because we are told that we are supposed to trust them, supposed to make ourselves vulnerable to them, and yet if if the result is abuse, it becomes very difficult to know who to trust. If these various "helping professions" become an untrustworthy source of "help," then the profession suffers and society suffers. Thus my hope is that we, as a society, will stand up and say "NO" to this abuse. Rather than covering up abuse, let's STOP blaming the victims, and STOP the abuse. As Gary Schoener noted (above), State actions to criminalize this abuse have seen very positive results in reducing the prevalence of the problem. The real concern is not punishment, it's prevention. It is far better to deter the abuse from ever happening.
Ellen T. Luepker My hope for the future is that measures to prevent abuses of power imbalance can be developed around the world. Data from my follow up study of patients treated for practitioner sexual boundary violations (published March '99 in the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law) included suggestions by survivors themselves regarding what would have been helpful to them. Consumer education was one of the most frequently cited preventive tools. H. Lane Baggett, Ph.D. My hope for 2000 is that ALL states/provinces will recognize the life-shattering damage that professional exploitation causes by making it CRIMINAL for professionals (clergy, therapists, legal/law enforcement professionals, physicians, etc.) to engage in sexual behavior with adults (as well as children) who come in contact with them in their professional roles (congregants, patients, clients, inmates, etc.). Another hope is that professionals and their national organizations and state/provinicial boards will demonstrate GENUINE understanding of the deep and extensive personal damage of exploitation by consistently sanctioning offending professionals in a way that GENUINELY makes regard for the victims/survivors, and the public, the top priority. Finally, I hope that those professionals and institutions that are entrusted with the education of people to take on professional roles will take very seriously the obligation to thoroughly and seriously educate the future professional regarding the ethics of professional behavior and the damage that results from failure to adhere to those ethics. I hope that educators will remember their obligation to protect the public by refusing to educate or graduate people who already demonstrate that they are not able to uphold the ethical guidelines and moral responsibilities of their professions. Rickilyn Schneider It is my hope that the professions will recognize the devastation caused by exploitation of all kinds! That they, the professionals, will pay attention to their colleagues behavior, the client/parishioner/patient's behavior and be alert to the danger signs. That they, the professionals, will gently confront one another, seek help before they cause anymore pain to the people who trust them! This includes the families, friends and associates of both the professional and the client, etc. That subsequent treating professionals and licensing boards will see the real pain and devastation and seek ways to address this with both parties. It is my hope that we will be understood and valued by these boards and other professionals and our needs will be seen as real. That these boards and others will make every effort to mediate with the offender and the offended. Sometimes, an apology opens the door to healing in ways the professions never anticipated. Please! No more Mangers! I am so tired and so weary I'm tired of the shepherds with their tales of Angel choirs What good are little babies I'm hungry for the mansions fair I am so tired and so weary Ellen Edgerton My hopes for 2000 are that victims and survivors of abuse by coaches and other sports volunteers will find strength and courage to both speak out and to continue pursuing their athletic dreams...and that officials, coaches, parents, fellow athletes and sports fans, from the local to the Olympic level, will find the courage to protect young men and women from those adults who would abuse their trust, and to hold abusive coaches and officials publicly responsible for their actions. In the 20th century, we saw the end of racial segregation and the empowerment of women first on the athletic field, then in our society at large. In the 21st century, may the sports world again provide such bold leadership by standing unequivocally against sexual abuse, harassment and exploitation. Things I hope for:
Just a few wishes...... Sandy Teagardin Thomas I hope that coming forward will make a difference. I hope one student is saved from a teacher preying on their vulnerability. I hope one child can stand up for themselves and find the support they need from us. Anonymous My Wish is that: Sexual Exploitation by helping professionals would come to an end. I also hope that clergy will become more sophisticated in understand their collusion in covering up their colleagues malfeasance. This is especially true of evangelicals and clergy of color. I also wish that large Christian Organizations such as Focus on the Family and PromiseKeepers would be given information about AdvocateWeb to help them keep speakers accountable, and that they would make speaking out against clergy abuse of vulnerable women/men would happen in this year and the years to come. If this happened more victims would see justice, clergy would not be able to hide behind bogus defenses. My final wish is that victims would heal, and would receive as much justice as possible, and would reclaim their lives in the next century, and the ugliness of these boundary violations would dissipate. Want to submit something for this page?Send us an email with your submission:
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