Comments on: Why Child Sexual Abuse Goes Unreported: A Sociologist Explains

By: Brenda

Brenda — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:52:34 +0000

I was a whistleblower. It was very scary but I did it because it needed to be done and no one else would do it. There is always a price, but in the end I can sleep at night.

By: On whistleblowers | The Ethics of Cheating

On whistleblowers | The Ethics of Cheating — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 06:12:49 +0000

[...] who see something wrong happening in an organization will break ranks to speak out about it. According to Eric Silver, a professor of sociology and crime, law, and justice at Penn [...]

By: Catherine Seraphin: An Open Letter to Graham Spanier | Le monde de l'information

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 15:22:07 +0000

[...] Penn Stater article featured a professor of sociology and crime, law, and justice who stated, « For every [...]

By: totteacher

totteacher — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:02:44 +0000

I’m with Sarah (Jan 18). As a Head Start teacher who reports suspected abuse to Children & Youth Services through a supervisor (o.k. in Pennsylvania), I often do not hear how the investigation bears out. Due to privacy issues, (and the basic legal presumption of innocent until proven guilty), the reporter does not necessarily hear what is happening in the case. CYS interviews the child, the family, witnesses, etc and only proceeds if there is enough evidence. CYS is supposed to tell me just what I need to know (e.g. if the child is not to be picked up from school by certain family members) but I have had circumstances where I still see the (accused) perp with the victim. I am basically told the investigation is “ongoing”, and that’s all they can tell me. In the Penn State case it was a rape by a non-family member, so it becomes a criminal investigation. But as a mandated reporter, I still make the call to ChildLine (CYS) and they sort out whether it goes to law enforcement or not. Even if the reporter asked the agencies what had been done to follow up, I don’t think they would share any information. And I would assume if it were my supervisor’s job to report that it would be done as it should be. Call it a bureaucratic mentality, but sometimes we have to trust others in the bureaucracy and assume they are doing their job. Especially where privacy issues cloud full disclosure.

By: Bud '82

Bud '82 — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 03:25:36 +0000

It is an interesting perspective that most people act in a bureaucratic way instead of in a moral way. I don’t think that we can say that all bureaucracies react in the same way, however. It is a common axiom in business that companies take on the personalty of their leadership. If the president and board of an organisation show that they care about morality so will their organizations. If presidents and boards respond to every crisis with lawyers and secrecy then they tell the people of their organization how they expect them to react.
People should be able to kick problems upstairs and have confidence they will be handled morally. We Penn State Alumni need to demand this of our bureaucracy. We all thought “Success with Honor” was the University’s code not just that of the football program.

By: donotjudge

donotjudge — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:42:02 +0000

Every situation like this has it’s own unique facts and characteristics and also personal feelings that we cannot possibly know: Fact: Joe Paterno only knew what Mike McQueary told him. He did NOT witness anything. He did NOT know everything that we all know from the GJ presentment nor did he know exactly what MM witnessed. Fact: Joe called his bosses – not just one, but two people to pass the information. What were Joe’s personal feelings – did he doubt Mike’s words? Did he doubt Mike’s motivations for telling him what he told him? No one knows. Fact: Joe Paterno knew JS for over 30 years. Joe knew Mike McQueary(at the time for about 10 – 4 as a player and then 2 as a grad assistant – Mike tried to play pro for 4 of those 10 years). There was a lot to take into consideration for Joe, but he went ahead and did what he was supposed to do. FACT: We all have the benefit of knowing way more than Joe did about accusations against JS. We know details in the allegations that are horrifying that Joe did NOT know. We need to take a hard look at ourselves – doing what it morally right is laughable in so many cases – for example – letting friends drive drunk or driving drunk ourselves. I’ve witessed verbal abuse of children by their own parents at baseball, football, soccer and basketball games so many times I cannot count yet noone including myself did anything let alone notify police. I just have to laugh at the moral judgement of the people in the US. A place in which all you have to do is open a Sports Ill. magazine or any magazine or look on a billboard ad or watch the commercials of just about any tv show to find pornography. Immorality seems to be the hallmark of free speech in our great country and that is sad. We can openly tear each other to peices in the name of free speech and there will be a line of lawyers 60 blocks long to defend us. It is sad. My suggestion to those who judge Joe Paterno’s actions – don’t until you’ve walked 1000 steps in his shoes and also have taken a long look at you’re own life and the moral choices that you have made.

By: Drawbacks of Bureaucracy: Whistleblowing and Penn State « Veronica Beaty

Drawbacks of Bureaucracy: Whistleblowing and Penn State « Veronica Beaty — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:26:12 +0000

[...] Eric Silver’s article Why Child Sexual Abuse Goes Unreported: A Sociologist Explains has received the most attention for what it has to say about whistle-blowers, it also has some [...]

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 01:17:03 +0000

Professor, Thank you. Your article rings true. I agree that a large percentage of people will not be the whistleblower. Most people can’t even break up an argument. When things get ugly people walk away. And yes, bureaucracies define our actions. Thank you for your insight.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:45:28 +0000

This is an perceptive article about how people “work”. I agree that most people feel like it is not their responsibility to follow up with their boss. As someone who has made a report for suspected sexual harassment against a co-worker, I can tell you it was not an easy thing to do. And my boss never told me what came of it and to be honest I wasn’t sure if it was my right to know. This is the trouble with bureaucracies. There is a procedure for everything, but we’re so unsure of how they work. They rarely get used and everyone seems unsure of how to act. Eventually I worked up the nerve to ask my boss, and she seemed surprised that I would even want to know what happened with the investigation.

By: Rodney Wallace

Rodney Wallace — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:46:51 +0000

Where is this “For every 1,000 people, you’re lucky if there are two or three whistleblowers.” from?