The Things I Know About Sexual Abuse That I Wish All My Social Service Clients Knew

Abuse and Molestation liability coverage is on my checklist for every Social Service organization that I work with.? Many times, I review this point, and there simply isn’t enough time in a conversation with the owner or executive to discuss everything they need to know.? I only get about an hour with people to do a thorough coverage analysis, and my primary goal is to have enough information to help the client complete insurance applications.

That means the extent of my risk analysis is typically limited to answering underwriting questions.

Do you have run background checks?? Conduct face to face interviews?? Check credentials?? Anyone that has looked at a supplemental application for Human Services knows what I’m talking about.

But the applications don’t begin to scratch the surface of what people need to know.? I can see it in my clients’ eyes as they answer the questions:

“Of course I do these things, they’re required by the state, the accrediting body, etc…”

“This will never happen to me. ?We have excellent housekeeping practices…”

Or in the case of a church or community organization, “This will never happen to us, we know everyone.”

?There’s just not enough time to relay everything, or systematically overcome every line of complacency.? So, in a written format, here are the things I wish all my clients knew:

1.????? Your background checks won’t keep out all the sexual predators.

More than 90% of people that are convicted of a sexual offense have no prior record of sexual offenses.? When you think about it, it makes sense.? If everyone runs background checks, only the people with no prior record will make it through that line of screening.

It’s still important to run background checks.? You don’t want to allow someone through the screening process with a history of sexual crimes.? But don’t allow background checks to lull you into a sense of false complacency.

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2.????? Sexual Predators will be someone you know and trust

Sexual predators need access to children to get to their prey.? The people that are allowed access to children are usually individuals that are leaders in their community.? They are known, trusted, and permitted unsupervised access.

If a person is not trustworthy, they are not given access.?

Just because you know everyone, it doesn’t mean that you should forego ?good practices like eliminating one-on-one contact whenever possible.

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3.????? More than 20% of sexual predators will have more than 10 victims

They don’t stop.? It becomes a game.?

They are pathological liars.? They fool everyone around them.? Sometimes they are caught, and they can persuade the people closest to them that they will change.? This is how the situation spirals out of control.?

We have to report immediately and let professionals investigate.

4.????? Sexual predators target at-risk youth

They will seek out the vulnerable children, the ones with behavioral issues.? They do this deliberately.? Many times, when a victim comes forward, it becomes a “My word against theirs” situation.

We’ve all seen this play out in national media with sexual assault cases.? It’s the same principle.?

If the youth that comes forward has a history of behavioral problems, and the person they’re accusing of abuse is a prominent, well-trusted individual, the natural response toward the youth is skepticism.

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5.????? Power Dynamics make it very difficult for victims to come forward

I’ve seen this dynamic play out in various types of abuse.? Whenever there is a person of prominence, and they can damage the victim’s social standing, the victim will struggle to come forward.

Here are some examples:

A well-beloved pastor is accused of sexual misconduct with several women in the congregation.? The women know that if they come forward, they risk social isolation within the church congregation, and so they stay silent.

A woman in a transitional house needs assistance from maintenance in the building, but those services are withheld unless she provides sexual favors.? She doesn’t want to risk homelessness from eviction, so she complies.

If there isn’t a safe way for a person to come forward and discuss their situation without undue repercussions, they will stay silent.

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6.????? Your written procedures are what will protect you in court.? And if you didn’t follow them, you’re screwed.

Insurance companies use written screening practices as the first line of defense in court.? It functions a lot like a professional or lack of care claim.? What were your standards of care?? And did you follow them?

Many of the organizations I work with will tell me they have a written screening program.? After further review, a couple things become obvious:

It’s a document that was crafted to check a box in an application.

It hasn’t been reviewed in years.

Many times, it’s a one-page addendum in the employee handbook that lacks the depth and specificity required to make for a good plan.? It doesn’t define abuse, how to report it, how the situation will be investigated, or how it will be handled with the community.

Insufficient documentation is a recipe for failure in court.

Even worse is complete documentation with no follow through.

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7.????? Abuse can ruin your reputation and run you out of business.

I’ve seen this happen in childcare businesses, churches, and schools alike.

Social Service Enterprises rely on the trust of their community, local governments, and grantmaking organizations to thrive.? The best Social Service Enterprises are ones that command groundswell support from people that believe to their core in the mission of the organization.

Abuse is the ultimate transgression of that trust.?

After there is a case of abuse, how do you trust a childcare provider with your kid?? Or a school?

How do you keep going to a church if the pastor was a sexual predator and the board turned a blind eye to the situation?

It doesn’t happen this every way every time.? It’s impossible to eradicate abuse.? In many situations, the provider identifies a situation and responds swiftly.? These organizations can move on.

But woe to the ones that are slow and unprepared.? These are the ones that end up in the local news with footage of a childcare worker throwing a kid around like a doll and are swiftly put out of business.

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8.????? Abuse will challenge your prejudices.

This bullet point might reveal as much about me as a person as anything else.? But here are some claim descriptions that challenged my prejudices.

A female teacher having an affair with a high school basketball star

A female counselor having an affair with a male client in a substance use disorder program

A female caregiver having a sexual relationship with an intellectually challenged man

In all these situations, I had preconceptions about what abuse looked like.? It was a man with a vulnerable child.? But that’s not what it always looks like.

Abuse is the misuse of power.? In each of these situations, a person misused their power.? It just didn’t look the way I thought it would.

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Conclusion:

Insurance policies are a contract.? They only come to life when we tell the stories behind the contract.? These are stories I wish we didn’t have to tell.

They are stories about the worst parts of people.? Predators that look for the vulnerable.? Casual managers that have lost touch with the people they serve.

And there is only so much I can do as an insurance broker.? I get an hour with most people.? An hour to talk about vehicle safety, lifting safety, abuse prevention, etc…? There’s only so much time.

But these are the things I wish all my Social Service Entrepreneurs knew.? I would hope it helps them approach the topic with the vigilance it deserves.

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