Business, Education and Schools, Free News Articles, General Editorial

Are Your Kids in Danger of Being Sexually Abused at School?

SAN MATEO, Calif. -- Thousands of children every year are molested, used for pornography or otherwise sexually abused by teachers, coaches or other school employees - according to leading research, school employees sexually abuse one in ten students before the end of high school. New resources from Stop School Sexual Abuse (SSSA) help parents keep their kids safe.

"Children's safety is just not a priority for many schools," said Charles Gleen from SSSA. "Parents need information to know if their school can be trusted."

SSSA has created the School Sexual Abuse Database, the only directory of educator sexual abuse of students in California. SSSA also has published its School Sexual Abuse Hall of Shame, which uses some of the worst examples of schools enabling the sexual abuse of students to highlight how schools fail on children's safety.

"To reduce educator sexual abuse, parents must know if their school has been unsafe and must be able to recognize dangerous practices," said Gleen. "But that information has not been available before."

Schools don't want you to know

The SSSA database includes cases involving the sexual abuse of hundreds of students from kindergarten through high school in more than 65 communities statewide.

"Schools try to hide or minimize sexual abuse of students," said Gleen. "School sexual abuse is a powerful sign that administrators can't handle the most important part of their job - keeping kids safe. They don't want parents to know they have failed in this most basic responsibility."

Even after abuse happens, schools often do not improve safety. Many believe changes are an admission that they failed before.

"Schools don't automatically become safer, especially if the same leaders who neglected safety before remain in charge," said Gleen. "Parents should ask what has changed to make kids safe. Were school leaders held accountable? Have policies or training improved? Parents need to know what happened in order to demand needed changes."

Recognizing unsafe culture

The failings of unsafe schools are often similar from case to case, and parents can recognize the signs - if they know what to look for. The Hall of Shame provides examples of schools where sexual abuse could easily have been prevented, allowing parents to see how schools enable abuse.

"The Hall of Shame shows the failed attitudes and dangerous patterns of leadership that allow abuse to happen," said Gleen.

The Hall of Shame includes private and public schools from San Mateo (St. Matthew's Episcopal Day School), Daly City (Westmoor High School), San Jose (Dartmouth Middle School), Redlands (Redlands High School), Riverside (Liberty Elementary School) and Anaheim (Kennedy High School).

Understanding the risk

To help children stay safe, parents must first understand the risk themselves, and SSSA research provides insight into school sexual abuse.

"The diverse schools in the Hall of Shame highlight that students can be sexually abused at any school," said Gleen. "Other research shows the highest-risk employees - coaches, teachers, aftercare workers, aides and bus drivers - and reminds that predators are found in every school job."

The cases in the database also help parents understand the ways that educators manipulate children into abuse.

Promoting change through knowledge

"Predators are drawn to schools," said Gleen. "Schools give predators a constant supply of vulnerable kids. Parents need to demand that schools take necessary steps to keep kids safe."

Public pressure is the most effective way to make schools take employee sexual abuse seriously, but for that to happen, parents must know if their school failed and what to watch out for.

Search the School Sexual Abuse Database - https://stopschoolsexualabuse.site/.

Visit the School Sexual Abuse Hall of Shame - https://stopschoolsexualabuse.com/topics/school-sexual-abuse-hall-of-shame.

Other Information on School Sexual Abuse is at Key Topics - https://stopschoolsexualabuse.com/topics.

About Stop School Sexual Abuse

Knowledge is power. Stop School Sexual Abuse is a volunteer-run organization that provides victim advocacy services to school sexual abuse survivors and their families, as well as a website where survivors can tell their stories and a database of school sexual abuse cases. Our mission is to advocate and educate to reduce sexual abuse in schools. Stop School Sexual Abuse is a pro bono site supported financially by our team.

To learn more about Stop School Sexual Abuse, volunteer or submit your survivor story, visit https://www.stopschoolsexualabuse.com/.

Related link: https://stopschoolsexualabuse.com/

This news story was published by the Neotrope® News Network - all rights reserved.

Business, Free News Articles, Legal and Law

Child Sexual Abuse Settlements Obtained from St. Matthew’s Episcopal Day School in The Silicon Valley

SAN MATEO, Calif. -- Stop School Sexual Abuse (SSSA) announced settlements today of claims totaling more than $1.25 million for two survivors of child sexual abuse by a pre-kindergarten teacher at St. Matthew's Episcopal Day School in San Mateo, California. SSSA volunteers worked with the parties in these claims.

St. Matthew's teacher Anthony Satriano pled no contest to five felony counts of lewd and lascivious conduct, attempted lewd and lascivious conduct and using a child for sexual purposes. The victims, all students at St. Matthew's Episcopal Day School, ranged from 5 to 8 years old and were abused on school grounds during official school activities. Satriano was sentenced to 6 years in state prison and is currently incarcerated at San Quentin Penitentiary.

The survivors alleged that St. Matthew's and Head of School Julie Galles failed to supervise Satriano, allowing him to be alone with students whenever he desired, during which time he took thousands of lewd pictures and videos of young girl students, some of whom he posed or dressed in "encasement" bondage outfits. Satriano sexually abused the students in his classroom and in public school spaces during official school activities (regular class time, after-school enrichment programs, after care or extended care, and school camps).

The cases also alleged that St Matthew's and its employees, including Head of School Galles, ignored Satriano's inappropriate physical contact with students and grooming conduct, failed to have child protection policies and procedures in place, and hired staff that did not meet legally-mandated minimum qualifications. The cases alleged that St. Matthew's and Head of School Galles received many complaints about security but elected to ignore them. These settlements are separate from previously announced settlements.

An important part of victim advocacy is helping survivors and their families address the trauma of betrayal by teachers who abuse and the schools that enable or facilitate the teachers' abuse. Allowing survivors to be honest and open about what happened is a key piece for survivors to move forward. In addition to providing victim advocacy, SSSA maintains detailed information on school sexual abuse cases in California, including survivor statements, at https://stopschoolsexualabuse.com/.

More information on the St. Matthew's Episcopal Day School sexual abuse can be obtained at https://www.stopschoolsexualabuse.com/st-matthews-episcopal-day-school-sexual-abuse

The lead case is MA Doe vs. St. Matthew's Episcopal Day School et al, 18 CIV 01309, San Mateo County Superior Court. The plaintiff was represented by the Law Offices of Joseph C. George, Ph.D.

About Stop School Sexual Abuse

Knowledge is power. Stop School Sexual Abuse is a volunteer-run organization that provides victim advocacy services to school sexual abuse survivors and their families, as well as a website where survivors can tell their stories and a database of school sexual abuse cases. Our mission is to advocate and educate in order to reduce sexual abuse in schools. To learn more about Stop School Sexual Abuse, volunteer or submit your survivor story, visit us at https://stopschoolsexualabuse.com/.

Related link:

This news story was published by the Neotrope® News Network - all rights reserved.