Institutional abuse unfortunately coincides with a significant amount of child sexual abuse cases. While institutional abuse isn’t as easily identifiable as physical or sexual abuse, its effects are just as impactful.
What is Institutional Sex Abuse?
Institutional sexual assault isn’t the sexual assault itself, it is how the institution responds to the sexual assault before, during, and after it takes place. It is an institution’s duty, whether it is a corporation, a government, or a church, to protect those in its care from harm.
When an institution fails in that duty or actively ignores such obligations, they are committing institutional abuse by oppressing the survivor instead of taking steps to accountability.
The Catholic Church is notorious for committing institutional abuse against survivors of child sexual abuse. Read more at our dedicated FAQ page.
Who Is Most at Risk with Institutional Sex Abuse?
Unfortunately, there are groups of people that are more likely to experience some form of institutional abuse.
- Children – Possibly the most at-risk group in these situations. Kids are susceptible to power imbalances and manipulation, which can be used by adults in positions relating to the child for the predator’s advantage.
- Socioeconomic Factors – Although seemingly unrelated, a person’s economic standing has a direct correlation to institutional sex abuse. Those in power may use such disadvantage for their own goal by threatening the survivor’s livelihood or offering to promote them in exchange for sex.
- Women – Your gender also determines how likely you are to experience institutional sex abuse. A staggering 30% of women have reported being sexually harassed in the workplace, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.
- Minorities – Even a person’s ethnic background can factor into the likelihood of institutional sex abuse. Although roughly a third of women have experienced sexual harassment at work, that number skyrockets to 53% of women who are Black. The Department of the Interior also finds that over 56% of all Indigenous women have experienced sexual violence.
- LGBTQ+ Community – According to The Trevor Project, the LGBTQ+ young people report higher rates of sexual violence than the general population. Nearly two in five LGBTQ+ young people (39%) reported that they had ever been forced to do “sexual things” that they did not want to do. Furthermore, young LGBTQ+ who are struggling with their sexuality, or don’t feel supported by their family or friends, may be more vulnerable to institutional abuse. A lack of support may lead to isolation and increased emotional vulnerability, making them more likely to be targeted by an abuser. Additionally, if the institution is religious, they may not be supportive of the victim’s sexuality. If this is the case, and a victim comes forward with allegations of abuse by an employee, the institution may be less inclined to believe them or to take action.
If you have experienced institutional sexual abuse, contact us confidentially today.
Why Does Institutional Sexual Abuse Continue?
Institutional sexual abuse is not a thing of the past; it is experienced by many modern workers on a daily basis. Institutions that attempt to silence these survivors through refusal to acknowledge a survivor or active oppression have one simple goal: avoid accountability. Executives and officials of institutions, from the Catholic Church to a multi-million dollar corporation, recognize that with acknowledgement of abuse comes an admission of guilt in some form. This admission of guilt is often detrimental to profit margins and public perception, which leads certain institutions to refuse acknowledgement of their role in the abuse.
While this is reprehensible in and of itself, an even worse result occurs as an institution that doesn’t recognize wrongdoing implicitly allows such sexual abuse to continue. Often, if an institution denies sexual abuse exists in its workforce, none of the issues that led to said abuse are addressed.
When an institution commits abuse, it is rarely due to a mistake. It is often a conscious decision by leadership to prioritize their wealth over morality. This corruption is well and alive in organizations today.
If you have more questions about how institutions continue to evade accountability, you can find more answers here.
Why Survivors Often Don’t Report Abuse
Another layer of institutional abuse often occurs even before a survivor comes forward with allegations of sexual abuse. Survivors of sexual abuse, no matter their age, sex, or experiences often don’t tell anyone about the abuse. This can be for a multitude of reasons, including shame, guilt, or fear of not being believed.
Survivors of institutional abuse have the added fears of retaliation, loss of livelihood, or the power of the perpetrator. If you have these feelings, you are not alone. Nearly all survivors experience these feelings at one point in their journey.
How Institutions Can Be Held Legally Accountable
Institutions can face legal liability for failing to protect children, students, or others who attend the institution. Institutions may face legal consequences due to negligent hiring practices (i.e. not performing background checks), lack of proper supervision, lack of safety and abuse prevention policies, lack of action or cover-up when abuse allegations surface, failing to report abuse to authorities, and more.
Survivor-centered legislation, such as the California Child Victims Act and New York Child Victims Acts, specifically allow historical abuse cases to be tried against individuals and institutions in civil court. When a civil settlement with an institution is reached, there are usually two aspects: the monetary and non-monetary facets.
The monetary aspect relates to how much money the institution owes to the survivor/s. The amount is impacted by multiple factors, including the impact that the abuse has had on the survivor, what the institution is able to pay, along with many others. The non-monetary part of a settlement often relates to reforms that the institution is legally bound to implement in order to protect those under its care more effectively. This may look like more extensive vetting of incoming employees, new safety policies put into place, increased transparency with the public regarding abuse allegations, and more. Survivors who have received settlements with powerful institutions have said that the non-monetary protections are worth even more than the monetary justice that they receive.
Steps Survivors and Families Can Take
If you or someone you know are experiencing institutional sexual abuse, you are not alone and you are not to blame. Here are some steps that you can take during this difficult time:
- If possible, document incidents of abuse – This helps to provide a ‘paper trail’ of evidence that will allow you to show others how you have been treated
- Report the abuse – When you feel safe to do so, report the abuse to the appropriate authorities. This may be police, higher executives than those committing the abuse, or another person in a position of power.
- Seek support – You don’t have to do this alone. Medical professionals, therapists, and friends will be able to help create a support system to help you through this.
- Speak with a well-established attorney who has experience with institutional abuse to explore your legal options.
If your child has been the target of institutional abuse, it is not your fault. Contact us at Jeff Anderson & Associates for a confidential and compassionate conversation about your legal options.