What to Do When an Institution Fails to Report Abuse

Institutional sexual abuse is an incredibly difficult problem to deal with because many institutions and individuals in power simply work to protect themselves rather than reporting abuse, outing abusers, and protecting community members.  Instead, it is often up to those victims and to bystanders to take reports into their own hands.

If an institution fails to report sexual abuse, other members of the community might be able to report the abuse.  In situations involving mandated reporters, there may also be ethics complaints that can be filed against them as individuals, potentially jeopardizing their licenses going forward.  Additionally, there is often recourse for the individual abuse victims.

For help with an abuse case, call the lawyers for sexual abuse victims at The Law Office of Andrew Shubin today at (814) 826-3586.

When Do Institutions Need to Report Sexual Abuse in the First Place?

Before looking into what happens when an institution fails to report sexual abuse, it is important to understand when the institution in question has actually failed its obligations.  This will typically change depending on what kind of institution we are talking about.

Schools, colleges, museums, libraries, and other educational institutions are usually governed by Title IX, whether they are private or public, as they receive at least some level of federal funding.  Title IX requires every covered institution to have a Title IX coordinator who is responsible for taking reports of sexual abuse, starting investigations, and taking steps to remediate and stop the abuse going forward.  These reports are usually internal, but there are times when they need to be reported externally as well.

Additionally, most teachers and other school staff are mandated reporters under state law.  This requires them to report any instances of sexual abuse that they hear about – including some instances outside of their institution’s purview, such as sexual abuse at the child’s home – to their state’s reporting hotline.  When they fail to do this, they could lose their license.

Doctors, therapists, and other healthcare and mental health workers also have mandated reported requirements when it comes to childhood sexual abuse and other certain areas of abuse.  Similarly, they report to the proper authorities if they hear about it while working at a hospital or other facility.

When it comes to normal employers, there may not be as strong of a requirement.  Sexual abuse or sexual harassment qualifies as a Title VII violation, but these reports are usually made by the victim to the appropriate state or federal EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) or similar agency.  These reports are not always made by the institution, but the institution does still have obligations it must carry out when a report is made.

Churches and other religious institutions, summer camps, and scouting associations might have their own methods for obtaining reports, but if there is no such system set up, you can always report sexual abuse to the police.

How Can You Report Sexual Abuse at an Institution?

People are familiar with various safety ad campaigns across the country saying, “See Something?  Say Something.”  This is a great policy to have, especially when it comes to working together as a community to fight sexual abuse and stop sexual abusers in positions of power from bringing further harm to people in their institutions – especially children.

If you are a volunteer or a worker at an institution, you might already be a mandated reporter in your own right.  Check the rules that apply to your license or position, and check local and state laws to see if you need to make a report based on the evidence you have.  In some cases, you might not be required to make a report, but you might still be allowed to make a report, even as an exception to privacy or confidentiality requirements.

If you have knowledge of a report that was made, but you can see that the institution is taking steps to bury the report, your witness testimony may be vital to someone’s case.  You may be entitled to whistleblower protections and anti-retaliation protections for coming forward to the proper authorities – e.g., child protective services or local police – about this misconduct.  If you know who the alleged victim is, you may also be able to provide them with the information you have by talking to them, their parent, or their attorney.

If you are ever in doubt about how to report sexual abuse, you can always call your local or state sexual abuse reporting line and ask them for help reporting what you know.  If an individual seems to be responsible, you can also report the information to the police.

How Victims Can Report Institutional Sexual Abuse and File Lawsuits

If you are the victim of sexual abuse or a parent of a child who was sexually abused, you can go through the proper channels to report it to the institution in question.  At work, this might mean reporting it to human resources; in a school or other educational institution, this would mean filing a Title IX complaint.  In some cases, as with churches and camps, there might be no internal system, but you can always report abuse to the police.

Some institutions have processes that must be carried out first before you can sue, but your report will be vital to helping stop abuse in the institution – and it will often end with you being granted permission to sue the institution or abusers (or both).  For example, Title IX violations and sexual abuse in schools are usually reported to the Department of Education’s OCR (Office for Civil Rights).  Title VII violations at work, as mentioned, are reported to the EEOC.  These agencies or their state equivalents will take up the investigation and eventually approve your ability to sue directly.

If there is no agency to handle the issue, you can often proceed straight to a lawsuit.  People who abuse others can often be sued directly for their abuse, but institutions can also be sued for their responsibility in failing to keep victims safe.  If there is evidence that the institution tried to protect the abuser, knew about previous abuse and did not act, or made its own mistakes that allowed the abuse to happen, you may be able to receive compensation directly from the institution.

Call Our Sexual Abuse Victim Lawyers Today

If you need help with an institutional sexual abuse case, contact The Law Office of Andrew Shubin’s lawyers for sexual abuse victims today at (814) 826-3586.