Self-Training for Prevention of Children’s Sexual Abuse

The passing of legendary coach Joe Paterno last 22 January 2012 brings back to mind the sex scandal that marred his illustrious career, wherein he was fired for his non-action with the report that one of his former assistant coaches was acting inappropriately with a minor.

I think anyone would like to avoid becoming so indecisive to the point of stillness if faced with a similar dilemma. However, I also think that the natural reactions to such a situation are shock and immobility; therefore, one must train oneself to act. Personally, I was frequently like a deer caught in headlights myself when I was being sexually harassed, which propelled me to research on what to do to protect myself.

I believe this self-training helped me when I found myself in an inappropriate situation. I was the host of a children’s fashion show and we were having a rehearsal wherein the children and young teenagers changed into their different outfits to help them get used to the time constraints.

While I was waiting for my cue in the makeshift backstage, I was jolted when I realized that one of the fathers of the models, a pre-schooler whose yaya was present, was also backstage (i.e. there was no need for his presence), and, horribly, he was just a few feet away from where the minor, female teenagers were changing.

Informing Someone of Authority I ran out and informed the stage manager, urging her to go backstage immediately to inform the male interloper that he had to vacate the area, which, thankfully, he did.

Later, during a discussion with a friend, she totally disagreed with what I did, saying she would ask the man to go out herself. Thinking back on it, I think I chose the other course of action because I instinctively believed this person was (and still probably is) a sexual predator, who will use his position and his own children to access minors. The objective was not limited to that moment, but also to prevent future incidents.

By informing the stage manager, there was another witness, and since she was a person of authority, she could file an internal incident report if necessary. It had been my experience that even when I was the one being sexually harassed, my own word was not enough, so I knew I needed a second witness.

Empowerment I also made sure to speak with the minor, female models, apologizing for not having noticed the man earlier. One girl angrily blurted out, “‘Kala ko sinasadya (I thought it was deliberate).”

I assured her that it wasn’t, the situation was definitely inappropriate, and, if it happened again, urged the young models to inform the stage manger immediately. Hopefully, in the future, whether they’re minors or adults, they will know what to do in such situations.

Prevention I strongly suggested to our director that a female staff member be assigned to the backstage area at all times for the fashion event. However, due to the shortage of people, this could only be done intermittently, but I think the events company allotted additional staff for this purpose in future projects.

At the end of the event, although the incident had already been discussed with the representative of the client, I still made sure to speak with her, pointing out that their products will involve minors repeatedly, and basically appealed to her conscience to protect the children from this male predator, because, as I’ve mentioned before, this man was in a position to do so repeatedly, for he’s a top executive of a company that frequently sponsors child-related events.

The Penn State Situation When I read about the sex scandal at Penn State, I tried to put myself in the witness’s position, and I’m still at a loss on what would be the most effective course of action.

Putting aside the fact that I’m female (i.e. I can enter the male locker rooms), if I had seen Sandusky in the showers with a minor, how do I gather evidence and stop the situation? Photos and videos are unassailable proof. But how do I get them? And how do I stop Sandusky? What if a verbal command was not enough? Or should I knock him out from behind? And then bring the boy to the hospital so that evidence from his body can be gathered? (I’m basing this on US TV forensics shows. I’m not even sure if Philippine hospitals are equipped with rape kits.)

I still don’t know, but I hope to God that I will do something if ever I’m put in such a situation.

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