TX--Victims blast new Baylor website on sexual violence
For immediate release: Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, 314 645 5915 home, [email protected])
A gang rape has happened each of the last four years at Baylor University in Texas. On a new website, the school’s president pledges to be “more transparent” about sexual violence on campus. But we’re highly skeptical.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/more/la-sp-sn-baylor-site-20161102-story.html
The very top of the website shows a defensive posting that criticizes one media outlet for its coverage of the Baylor scandal. That’s hardly “transparent” or encouraging. We suspect this new site is essentially the creation of the school’s public relations and legal defense teams, not a genuine effort to prevent sexual violence.
If President David E. Garland is genuinely interested in promoting openness about rape and sexual assault, he should promptly and publicly punish – or at least suspend - at least one school staffer who ignored or concealed sexual violence. That’s the quickest, clearest and most effective way to begin to reform a campus climate that has historically been secretive and unhealthy when it comes to the safety of students. Until he takes this simple step, his words will continue to ring hollow.
No matter what law enforcement, university or church officials do or don’t do, we urge every single person who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes and cover ups at Baylor to protect others by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling attorneys, and be comforted by calling support groups like ours. This is how kids will be safer, adults will recover, criminals will be prosecuted, cover ups will be deterred and the truth will surface.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 20,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected])
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
Showing 2 comments
In the ultimate demolition of justice, often times the victim is to blame, she was a dancer, she was drunk or she wore the wrong clothes.
The answer is for the violators to be held responsible. Until and unless we do this, the abject foolishness will continue
John M. Merryman