TCP Episode 127 -- Preventing Educator Abuse of Children with Dr. Charol Shakeshaft

Frederick Lane -

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Show notes

Dr. Charol Shakeshaft is a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who studies the prevalence of educator sex abuse towards students and tools for prevention.

Discussion Topics
  • How much abuse of kids is happening and has it gotten better?
  • Why has there been so much scandal around the catholic church and so little around
  • The power of grooming students, colleagues, parents, etc.
  • Uninterrupted and unobserved time with students.
  • Much still occurs in the school fact to face.
  • We don’t know how much this is happening, nor do we know whether it is increasing or decreasing.
  • UAWW data surprisingly showed that students had been touched inappropriately by adults, when the study was looking for peer interactions.
  • 10% of kids report being sexually abused by a teacher or administrator
  • People don’t want to fund research in this area.
  • Predominant genders involved
  • Districts are very closed when these things happen and don’t allow much to be said.
  • Organizational decisions that get made about what is reported or disclosed.
  • Structural issue rather than an individual issue.
  • Challenges of a school system: not judging a colleague, closed rooms, nobody
  • Did you see the signs? Why didn’t you say anything?
  • The culture is such that they don’t feel safe saying something.
  • SESAME Organization
  • 133 superintendents – Too much passing the trash. We took care of the problem so “our” kids would be safe.
  • By not saying anything, we are giving people permission to expand a prediliction
  • Schools don’t just allow this to happen, schools help people find this in themselves.
  • “It must be OK” if adults aren’t calling it out.
  • Pay attention to how a student reports. Kids don’t say it straight up.
  • Think of addictions, and what sets people up for doing that addiction.
  • Start out being lonely and then it leads to another thing.
  • Prevention – look at the organization – Policies (do they follow them?), Training (not just mandatory reporting), Hiring practices (not calling references), Response
  • Grant from the Centers for Disease Control to study the effectiveness of Presidium training