#on how much pain anti-sodomy laws caused

[questioningdragons]

I've been rewatching/catching up on Call the Midwife and it's amazing how many important topics this show covers. Including an episode that completely dismantles the myth that what a woman wears matters in any way when it comes to being attacked. This predator attacked a sex worker, a young mother out walking her colicky baby, and a nun.

[kansascityhappenings]

‘The shame was so big’: In emotional interviews, former Scouts open up about abuse

NEW YORK — Sharing their stories doesn’t come easily for these middle-aged men.At times, their eyes well up or their voices crack as they describe being sexually abused in the Boy Scouts and suffering from emotional damage long afterward.

Looking back, they all remember vividly how excited they were to become Scouts.

“I was real gung-ho about getting my badges — fishing and campfires and all of that,” said Darrell Jackson, now a 57-year-old New Yorker. “It was good at the beginning.”

Jackson, whose unit leader was convicted of sodomy and imprisoned for about 18 months, is among hundreds of men across the U.S. who have recently contacted lawyers for help suing the Boy Scouts of America for sex abuse they say they suffered at the hands of scout leaders.

Many of the men are from New York, which this year adjusted its restrictive statute-of-limitations law. The changes allow victims of long-ago abuse to sue for damages during a one-year window starting in August. New Jersey enacted a similar law this month. California is on track to follow suit.

Some of the lawyers told The Associated Press they have evidence that the BSA was inaccurate when the organization said in recent press statements that it had never “knowingly allowed a perpetrator to work with youth.”

The Boy Scouts acknowledge that sex-abuse litigation poses a financial threat and have not ruled out seeking bankruptcy protection.

Jackson joined a Cub Scout pack in Brooklyn in 1972 and the next year testified against his pack leader, Freddie Modica.

His initial fascination with the Boy Scouts was simple: He liked the uniforms. “It was like G.I. Joe dolls,” he recalled.

He soon learned that some boys in the unit were making visits to the pack leader’s home.

“They made it seem like it was a big thing — and I felt out of the loop,” Jackson said. “When I got a chance to go, I was like ‘OK.’”

The allure, Jackson recalled, was that the scoutmaster — while posing as a supportive father figure — let the boys engage in taboo pastimes such as smoking and drinking.

Jackson now refers to what ensued as “the ugliness” — repeated sexual molestation by the scoutmaster until Jackson summoned the nerve to tell his grandmother, who was raising him. Initially skeptical, she eventually went to police.

In the years after the trial, Jackson says, he was often mocked with anti-gay slurs. He responded at times with belligerence and mistrust.

“It caused me to go into crime, drugs, everything, just to block stuff out,” he said. “It basically messed up my life.”

Despite receiving psychological counseling over the years, his marriage broke down. His childhood dreams of becoming an oceanographer faded. He cobbled together a career in home remodeling and maintenance.

Why sue the Boy Scouts? He says the organization should be held accountable, and he wants children to be safe.

“I don’t want nobody to go through what I went through,” he said.

Scars and shame lasted decades

Raymond Luna says he still has psychological scars from being abused as a scout in New York City in the 1970s.

“In my head, there’s still anger,” said Luna, 56, who now lives in Poughkeepsie, New York, and runs a fire-alarm installation company.

He recalls that the scoutmaster befriended many of the single moms — including his own — who had sons in the troop. Luna was among several boys who began visiting the scoutmaster’s house. He says that’s where the molestation took place.

He said he never reported the abuse to others.

“The shame was so big — like it was a secret,” he said. “During my teenage years up to when I was 33, I totally blocked it out.”

Even during a 26-year-marriage — which produced five children before ending in divorce — Luna says he never told his wife. He abused drugs and alcohol to keep the bad memories at bay and underwent years of therapy.

The counseling “helped me realize that I was a victim and not a participant,” he said.

Luna says he’s increasingly at peace. He has shared his full story with his current girlfriend. But he snapped to attention when he saw a TV ad seeking survivors of Boy Scout sex abuse to join in litigation. He and Jackson signed on with the same Seattle-based law firm.

After searching the internet for references to his former scoutmaster, he learned nothing about the man’s whereabouts but found him listed in a database of the Boy Scouts’ “ineligible volunteer” files, which list thousands of adults barred from scouting because of confirmed or suspected acts of molestation.

An expert hired by the Boy Scouts testified earlier this year that 7,819 suspected abusers were identified in the files, as well as 12,254 victims.

Luna’s former scoutmaster was placed in the files in 1964 after an arrest for abusing a 12-year-old boy, yet he rejoined New York City’s scouting ranks in the early 1970s. He remained a scoutmaster until 1975, roughly a year after Luna quit the organization in shame and anger, the paperwork showed.

“The BSA needs to know how much pain the abuse caused me and so many others,” Luna said.

‘It wasn’t their fault’

Jason Amala, one of Jackson’s and Luna’s lawyers, said scout officials failed to take reasonable steps to protect the boys from the foreseeable harm of being sexually abused by scout leaders. The claims will seek unspecified compensatory damages for pain and suffering and punitive damages based on an allegation that the BSA intentionally concealed their knowledge of the danger.

“We get people who call us virtually every day who still think it’s their fault. And until the Scouts are fully transparent and accountable, you’re going to have that problem,” Amala said. “It wasn’t their fault — not their parents’ fault, not their moms’ fault. It was the Boy Scouts’ fault.”

The BSA has repeatedly apologized and says it now has policies to curtail abuse, including making mandatory criminal background checks for all staff and volunteers and requiring two or more adult leaders to be present with youth at all times during scouting activities.

“We believe victims, we support them,” said the BSA’s chief executive, Mike Surbaugh. “We encourage them to come forward.”

William Stevens, 50, came forward last year in Arkansas, filing a lawsuit alleging he was molested by his scoutmaster at least six times over a two-year period after joining the Scouts’ Webelos program shortly before his 10th birthday in 1978.

The BSA’s files show that the scoutmaster accused by Stevens, Samuel Otts, was caught sexually abusing a boy while a scoutmaster in Georgia in 1977. Yet Otts subsequently registered as a scout leader in Arkansas and remained active until 1980.

Rather than call police, the Scouts “allowed him to transfer and did nothing to warn the parents and scouts” in his new troop, said Peter Janci, one of Stevens’ lawyers.

Last year, an Arkansas judge ruled against Stevens, saying his lawsuit was precluded by the state’s statute of limitations. Janci hopes that ruling will be reconsidered if his legal team can prove the Boy Scouts made false claims about their abuse-prevention efforts.

The Boy Scouts say they report all suspected abusers in their database to law enforcement.

But Janci and his partner, Stephen Crew, say they have identified multiple cases in the Boy Scouts’ database in which adult volunteers implicated in child abuse were allowed to return to scouting assignments on a probationary basis.

Asked about the lawyers’ assertion, the BSA pointed to its current anti-abuse policies, but added, “We recognize, however, that there were moments in our organization’s history when certain cases were not handled the way they would be addressed today.”

Stevens went on to forge a successful life. He’s married, has a daughter and is human resources director for a Little Rock-based trucking company.

Yet his experience in the Scouts in Hot Springs, Arkansas, has haunted him.

“For the past 40 years, I’ve always felt like I was damaged goods,” he said. “I’ve lived with the shame and embarrassment and guilt because of the abuse I suffered. I pushed people away and didn’t let them get close to me.”

Only in 2016, Stevens says, did he come across an online database that included the Boy Scouts’ file about Otts and learn of the abuse that was documented in Georgia. Stevens reached out to Janci’s Oregon-based law firm and decided to go public with his story, speaking occasionally to small groups in abuse-recovery programs.

“That was the most difficult thing I’ve done in my life,” Stevens said, “but also the most rewarding.”

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2019/05/27/the-shame-was-so-big-in-emotional-interviews-former-scouts-open-up-about-abuse/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2019/05/27/the-shame-was-so-big-in-emotional-interviews-former-scouts-open-up-about-abuse/

[emulatingrizal-blog]

The Harm of Hazing (An Argumentative Essay)

by R.N.S.A., 2014-63411

For a young man, being a college student is a huge milestone that one can acquire in his lifetime. At this point, he will learn all the necessary knowledge and skills in his chosen program that is going to be valuable in choosing a career in the future. College is also the phase in life where he will experience a sense of freedom. Free from his parents, and free to make his own decisions as an independent young adult. It is the time when an individual like him is able to find out who he is, as well as the type of friends he wants to be with in his life. He may want to meet new people and gain a bunch of new friends for the sake of feeling belonged to a group of people who care for him. At this point in time, he might want to join social organizations that will help him with his social life while in college. While these do hold true for some burgeoning students, joining in these social groups can bring a time full of hardships, pain and humiliation. Entering these so-called organizations is not easy and most of them require their members to be subjected to a process called hazing.

A significant amount of college students in most of the universities in the Philippines are members of these tight-knit social organizations that are present in their school. Common in these are Greek-lettered organizations, also known to most people as fraternities for all male members and sororities for all female members. Fraternity or sorority is defined as a body of people that are associated for a common purpose or interest (p.1, Alcedo et. al., 2015). Fraternities and sororities provide many benefits to students such as leadership opportunities, participation in college activities, friendships and extended connections with other members in other countries (p. 1, Mercuro et. al., 2014). Many join them for the sense of belonging and feeling accepted for being in a social group (p. 3, Alcedo et. al., 2015). Some researches also suggest that the fraternity and sorority experience provides its members with opportunities for social development, promotes confidence and persistence, more peer interactions and is also associated with higher involvement in alumni projects and giving donations (p. 2, Cory, 2011). In fact, Philippine leaders are mostly frat men too. Many senators and congressmen belong to certain fraternities. The Supreme Court justices, judges including lawyers belong to a frat. It has become a tradition in fact almost a norm in our culture to be part of a fraternity (De Guzman, 2017). Thus making connections to these people who once belong to their fraternities or sororities is a big opportunity for them to seek help and advancement in their careers once they graduate.

Unfortunately, joining these organizations are not always easy. Before someone can join a certain fraternity or sorority, one must accomplish a series of tasks that is given by that certain group one wants to join; they will test one's endurance and integrity to prove his determination to join (Kangaroo, 2014). Usually these initiations are physical and mental practices that is frequently violent, physically harmful and mentally degrading (p. 2, Schmalzer, 2013). Because of these, they call this type of initiation as hazing. This is the most common way of inducting new recruits in these Greek-lettered organizations. Many groups have used hazing as an initiation ritual that has become part of their tradition as time goes by. This is the reason why the word hazing has become so synonymous with fraternities and sororities, so much that many people think that joining them constitutes to being hazed and physically harmed, which is not always the case.

First of all, hazing is defined according to the RA No. 8049 that regulates hazing in the Philippines. It says: “hazing as used in this Act is an initiation rite or practice as a prerequisite for admission into membership in a fraternity, sorority or organization by placing a recruit, neophyte or applicant in some embarrassing or humiliating situation such as forcing him to do menial, silly, foolish and similar tasks or activities or otherwise subjecting him to physical or psychological suffering or injury” (Republic act, 1995). It is an activity that has also been used for centuries by authorities in a powerful position to exert their dominance or status over others of weaker status, as demonstrated by initiating lower year levels like sophomores in the hands of upper year levels like junior and senior members (p. 3, Knutson et. al., 2011).

Since hazing is a very serious issue regarding student safety, it is not open to subjective interpretation and those involved are tried in court until the verdict has been indicted. Hence, most Greek organizations are required to have advisers and administrators who look for and maintain hazing incidents (p. 4, Schmalzer, 2013). But why do these social groups use such practice or tradition that induces great amount of physical and mental pain? And why do applicants still risk their health in going through all these despite knowing the consequences they may face? Some studies said that the contributing factor that caused the perpetrators of hazing to inflict harm at their recruits is the human’s innate characteristic of being aggressive-- the product of the evolutionary circumstance of “survival of the fittest” which explains why some groups set certain conditions in selecting new members using this evolutionary perspective (p. 2, Alcedo et. al., 2015). It also serves as a test, or trial for those who are brave and strong enough to survive the process which leads to them being worthy as a member of the organization they applied to.

In the Philippines, hazing is prohibited by many schools, but there are still many incidents where hazing occurs outside their campus or are very secretive such that the schools hold no control or power over these cases. The Anti-hazing law of 1995 (Republic Act 8049 of 1995) basically says that all perpetrators of hazing that results in death, rape, mutilation, and sodomy will be sentenced to life in prison, but that didn’t stop many fraternities and sororities in the Philippines to keep doing these harmful practice (Republic Act, 1995). The passage of the anti-hazing law in 1995 was a result of the death of Ateneo law student Leonardo "Lenny" Villa in 1991 (Buan, 2017). After the law was passed, 21 more deaths were reported (with 28 deaths since 1954) and only one conviction was made (De Guzman, 2017). This law also didn’t stop the brutal nature of hazing to admit new members into their brotherhood or sisterhood; what is worse is the fact that many of the reported deaths due to hazing since 2000 are still waiting for justice (De Guzman, 2017). Paddling, a form of hazing where students are smacked in their bottom area with a wooden paddle or any similar object is the most popular and has been considered as controversial activity done by fraternities in the Philippines, thus it is always questioned for the danger it poses; but despite all these, the patronage for this act still continues despite the implementation of R.A. 8049 (p. 2, Alcedo et. al., 2015).

Granted, not all fraternities and sororities practice physical and mental harm as a form of initiation and they use a more wholesome approach in recruiting new members (Nakpil, 2017). Completely banning any type of initiation rites for any Greek-letter social groups may not come into fruition because many would say that if initiation is stopped, entering to these social organizations would have no meaning anymore; on the other hand, it is also hard to stop fraternities and sororities from operating in schools because many of the faculty members of these schools are previous members themselves and they would fight for the freedom of these organizations who they were once part of (Baquilid, 2017). Removal of hazing will give reason to the incoming members to be lousy and not to be fully committed to the organization and there will be no sense of responsibility among the new members. In addition, they won’t understand the true meaning of responsibility, commitment and loyalty to their Greek society unless they have experienced it (p. 17, Alcedo et. al., 2015).

So with that being said, fraternities and sororities should know when hazing is becoming harmful to their members.

Knowing the significance of what hazing is all about and how it is performed is crucial for students who are thinking about joining any Greek-lettered social group in their schools. If hazing is a part of the initiation process, they must decide thoroughly if it is humane or morally upright because it is important for them to know if their safety is regarded or not and whether they will amass the benefits that are promised in the future.

Students subjected to hazing may experience the two elements involved in the hazing process, which could be of the physical and/or mental form. Any brutality of a physical nature, such as paddling, whipping, beating, branding, forced calisthenics, electric shock, exposure to the elements, forced consumption of any food, liquor, drug, or other substance, or other forced physical activity which could adversely affect the physical health or safety of the student, and any activity which would subject the student to extreme mental or psychological stress, such as sleep deprivation, forced exclusion from social contact, forced conduct that could lead in extreme embarrassment, or other forced activity could adversely affect the mental health or dignity of the student (pp. 2-3, Ellsworth, 2004). Fraternity or sorority members who are going to carry out the hazing should always accommodate the recruits’ own requests and violent reactions about the process. They must never do anything too extreme or against the recruits’ willingness to do the activity, even if the recruits have given their consent. The applicants must always be free to choose whether to proceed or to withdraw. They don’t have to cross the line just to prove their worth as a member. Sadly, frat and soro members instill that quitting during the initiation is considered as cowardice among the other members and that they are weak enough to back out during the pledging process (p. 9, Alcedo et. al., 2015). Sometimes, frat and sorority members would go beyond the discussed notions about the events of the hazing process and its mechanics, so it should only be appropriate to give the participants all the relevant information necessary, which is comprehensible and that the recruits should voluntarily agree to participate.

Going in after the process of hazing that are not properly managed and controlled, the effects of hazing may be characterized into the physical, mental and academic effects it has on a student subjected to hazing. Any action or situation, with or without the consent of the participants, which recklessly, intentionally, or unintentionally endangers the student in these three aspects might be considered as hazing. One study has shown that 71% of those in the US who are hazed suffer from negative consequences (Consequences, 2014). These consequences may include physical, emotional, and/or mental instability, sleep deprivation, loss of sense of control and empowerment, decline in grades and coursework, relationships with friends, significant others, and family suffer, post-traumatic stress syndrome, loss of respect for and interest in being part of the organization, erosion of trust within the group members, illness or hospitalization with additional effects on family and friends and death (Consequences, 2014).

Many would think that hazing is just a test of commitment and that their determination to enter the fraternity or sorority and achieving the goal of completing it is a boost in the neophyte’s self-esteem. It might be true for some people, for the most part. But the way of conducting the hazing process may prove to be too severe for those who are actually determined to go all the way to prove their worth. Many cases of death due to hazing is because of severe physical trauma that is imparted on the victims. It can be argued that it might the cause of irresponsibility, recklessness and lack of control for the hazing practitioners. Blaming the victims for their own death cannot be justified, as their decisions to proceed with the hazing process in order to join these Greek organizations are blinded with getting the benefits they’ll get in the end, and this will outweigh their short suffering .

Fraternities and sororities must be aware of these consequences when they used hazing as their process of initiation rituals for the recruited neophytes. It is not only the recruits who will be affected by hazing, but also the entirety of the fraternity or sorority involved, the parents and relatives of the victim and the whole school where the organization is instated. They should take responsibility of their members and their well-being, especially during their vulnerable state. It must be remembered that the reason why most students join these social groups is to find long-lasting friendship, happy memories, and enjoyment in their new-found group of trusted people who they can seek for guidance and assistance as a college student and as a social connection for their career in the future.

To summarize, fraternities and sororities should be aware when hazing becomes too harmful for their members. No individual person should be demeaned, ridiculed, belittled or placed in a potentially harmful situation in order to be included in a group at any university. Fraternities and sororities are mandated that individuals show respect for each other regardless of their membership status in the organization, encourage safety for those participating in every activity of the organization, and require that all these activities serve a purpose of what the organization upholds.

  Bibliography

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Baquilid, A. (2017, Oct. 7). Why is hazing so hard to stop? Rappler. Retrieved from http://opinion.inquirer.net/107680/hazing-hard-stop

Buan, L. (2017, Feb. 18). What’s happening to hazing cases in the Philippines. Rappler. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/nation/161836-hazing-cases-philippines

Consequences of hazing. (2014). Consequences of hazing. Babson College. Retrieved from http://www.babson.edu/student-life/community-standards/hazing/pages/consequences-of-hazing.aspx

Cory, A.J. (2011). The influence of fraternity or sorority membership on the leadership identity development of college student leaders. (Doctoral dissertation, Washington State University). Retrieved from https://research.wsulibs.wsu.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/23

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De Guzman, S. (2017, Oct. 2). Fraternité - the dark side of Philippine society. The Philippine Star. Retrieved from http://www.philstar.com/opinion/2017/10/02/1744660/fraternite-d

ark-side-philippine-society

Ellsworth, C. W. (2004). Definitions of hazing: differences among selected student organizations (Master Thesis, University of Maryland). Retrieved from https://drum.lib.umd.edu/bitstr

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Kangaroo, G. (2012). Greek watch Philippines. Dokumentaryo ni Juan Tagalog. Retrieved from http://dokumentaryonijuantagalog.weebly.com/fraternities.html

Knutson, N., Akers, K.S., Ellis, C.K. & Bradley, K. (2011). Applying the rasch model to explore new college sorority and fraternity members. Mwera Annual Meeting (Paper Presentation). Retrieved from http://www.uky.edu/~kdbrad2/MWERA_Nikki.pdf

Mercuro, A., Merritt, S. & Fiumefredo, A. (2014). The effects of hazing on student self-esteem: study of hazing practices in greek organizations in a state colleg. The Ramapo Journal of Law and Society (Doctoral Dissertation). Retrieved from https://www.ramapo.edu/law-journal/thesis/effects-hazing-student-self-esteem-study-hazing-practices-greek-organizations-state-college/#ftn1

Nakpil, D. (2017, Sept. 27). What made them say yes to brotherhood? Rappler. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/move-ph/183564-what-made-them-say-yes-brotherhood

Philippine Republic Act No. 8049 of 1995 (1995). Anti-hazing law: an act regulating hazing and other form of initiation rites in fraternities, sororities, and organizations and providing penalties therefore. Retrieved from http://www.msumain.edu.ph/system/downloads/stud

ents/REPUBLIC%20ACT%20NO%208049.pdf

Schmalzer, H. (2013). Defining Hazing and the immorality of hazing by sororities. (Undergraduate research, Washington State University). Retrieved from https://fsu.digital.flvc.org/islandora/object/fsu:209910/datastream/PDF/view (PHI2630)