Even for those who are covered by the law, not reporting suspected child abuse is only a misdemeanor in most states and the potential penalties often don’t include jail time. But coaches – both university and club coaches alike – are not named as mandatory reporters in the statute. She is currently working with state and federal legislators to update laws governing mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse, laws now woefully inept at holding an enabler accountable.įor example, under Michigan law, school and university administrators and teachers are required to alert law enforcement of suspected abuse. female gymnasts to reveal their own abuse by Nassar. In 2016, she filed a police report for the abuse she suffered at the hands of Nassar in 2000 and was the first to go public with her accusations of digital penetration, triggering more than 100 U.S. And if they fail to do that, there need to be real consequences.”ĭenhollander is one of the main reasons Nassar was finally caught. “If we are ever going to genuinely deal with the problem, we have to go after the community that surrounds the predator - because they are the only people who have the ability to stop sexual assault. “If we are really going to ever make a difference when it comes to child sexual abuse, we have to take enabling seriously,” Rachael Denhollander told me. If it takes a village to raise a child, the one thing we’ve found at Penn State, Michigan State and beyond is it also takes a culture of denial to siphon their innocence and dignity. Why are they free, albeit living with their shame and professional ruin?
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