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	Strategy for Reform By Marylou Sudders and Steve Pagliuca Boston Herald November 19, 2011 http://news.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/op_ed/view.bg?articleid=1382107&srvc=home&position=emailed The sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated by Jerry Sandusky at Penn State has provoked an outcry across the country and around the dinner tables in America. This provides an opportunity to get at a real remedy for abuse crimes against children. Firing Coach Joe Paterno and the university president, both of whom knew of the abuse, is the critical first step. But, there must be a deliberate and full reform of the culture of denial at Penn State. This includes administrators and coaches who failed to act as well as students protesting the dismissal of a legendary coach. Unless the board of trustees unequivocally places the highest priority on the safety of children, they will fail in restoring institutional faith. The culture should not succumb to preserving prestige and power. The culture must be to protect children from any kind of abuse. In Boston we experienced similar shock and revulsion when it was revealed that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston had concealed decades of sexual abuse of children by priests. The church failed to protect the most vulnerable souls in its care. Its failure guaranteed the behavior and abuse would continue and the count of victims would soar. In horrifying parallel, the grand jury report in the Penn State case chronicles victim after victim, with no responsible party stopping Sandusky for more than a decade. In addition to beginning an external third-party investigation, the board must also commit to a thorough review of policies, training and reporting procedures around sexual abuse and assault throughout the university. The investigations must be transparent and reports made public. Furthermore, Penn State must express its determination to cooperate fully with the criminal investigation wherever it may lead. As moral and ethical leaders of the university, the board should urge victims to come forward. Someone at Penn State must stand up for the victims. Only dramatic and full support for the victims will help them in the long road of healing. But how do we stop the abuse before it happens? We must listen and pay attention when someone tells us things that are hard to hear. We must trust our instincts when they tell us something is not right. We must speak about matters that make us uncomfortable. We must find the courage to stand against the popular, the powerful, and the privileged if the safety of children may be at stake. We must talk about child abuse. We must overcome our disbelief and denial when faced with evidence of these hideous acts against children. We must put children first. When we put children first, everything else becomes clear. We are all responsible for keeping kids safe. Marylou Sudders is president and Steve Pagliuca is chairman of the board of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
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