NY- Men to rank NY private schools on safety; SNAP responds

By Barbara Dorris
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
March 4, 2014

http://www.snapnetwork.org/ny_men_to_rank_ny_private_schools_on_safety_snap_responds

We applaud these compassionate men of the Horace Mann Action Coalition who are devising a system of rating New York private schools on how they handle child sex crimes.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304709904579411530870196934

For far too long, private institutions – both religious and secular – have evaded scrutiny on child safety issues. Many of these institutions do little to prevent abuse and cover up but spend lavishly on defense lawyers and public relations consultants when abuse reports surface. Many of them write nice-sounding policies but then ignore them. 

We offer one caution, however. We urge the group to pay more attention to officials' behavior and less attention to the formal, written abuse policies of these schools. Over the past 25 years, we've seen that such policies almost always sound good on paper but are usually ignored in reality. Most private institutions are answerable to almost no one. So they often not only break secular laws, but also violate their own stated policies.

These brave, wounded men were denied justice by New York's archaic, predator-friendly statute of limitations, which was repeatedly exploited by callous Horace Mann officials. These victims were betrayed three times – once by predatory teachers, again by selfish school staff and again by lawmakers who refuse to reform the state's outdated child safety laws. 

Many victims would have given up. But these men are not. They are heroes for turning their horrific experiences into something positive – an effort that will make kids safer and deter future cover ups.