The Conspiracy of Inaction on Sexual Abuse and Harassment
By David Leonhardt, NOV. 5, 2017, The New York Times
I caught the journalism bug in high school. I was fortunate to be a scholarship student at a rigorous New York private school with a weekly newspaper, and some of the older students I admired taught me the power that the written word could have.
When we complained verbally to teachers or administrators about a problem, they could ignore us. When we put our arguments in writing, they tended to pay attention. So we became teenage crusaders, inveighing against perceived injustices. Sometimes, the subjects were sophomoric (“censorship” of the talent show), but often they were serious (inequality, racism, South African divestment).
Three decades later, I look back on the experience with deep gratitude. I also look back with haunting regret.
For all of our crusading, we ignored . . .
Winter Appeal 2023
To our friends,
2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’
At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.
To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.
Right now, survivors worldwide are getting the help they need from SNAP, and more and more reach out to us daily, but we need your help to keep those programs going and get our volunteers the training they need to thrive.
Your tax-deductible gift to SNAP can help offset the cost of our important mission. If you are not in a position to contribute, you can still support us by sharing this letter with those who can. As we continue to fight for survivors across the globe, your donation or sharing the great work SNAP does will help us continue our work to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, and prevent abuse.
Your donation ensures SNAP will be there for those who need us more than ever!
Warmly,
Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.
Interim Executive Director
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The taboo regarding sexual abuse is speaking out about it. Society doesn’t want to believe such things can occur in our culture, so silence and secrecy are encouraged. Survivors capable of challenging that taboo are met with doubt and disparagement. Good people convince themselves what that they suspect could not be happening, or someone would have said something.
In this climate of denial, the burden is on survivors to fight feelings of guilt, shame, and fear and stand up to the institutions where the guilt and shame belong. Institutions use their vast resources to denigrate the motives and credibility of those who dare tell what happened to them.
The multiplying effect of social media makes it impossible to deny this epidemic any longer. More victims take courage seeing others come forward and perpetrators get exposed.
Yet, with all this attention, we have barely scratched the surface of the problem. It’s systemic requires all people to get involved. We need to pay attention, not just to salacious news stories, but look at how institutions spend millions of dollars to lobby politicians to block the bills that would reform statutes of limitation on child sex abuse. We must ask why they are putting their own reputations and bank accounts above the welfare of the children they are entrusted to protect.
It is right that we are outraged by what we see in the news these days, but nothing will truly change until we realize what we see is just the tip of the iceberg.