Ohio State task force identifies themes, patterns in long-term sexual abuse in higher education

Sam Raudins
Thu, 05 Nov 2020 21:33:56 +0000
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Ohio State’s Task Force on Sexual Abuse released a report Thursday. Credit: Lantern File Photo

Ohio State’s Task Force on Sexual Abuse released a report Thursday identifying two principle themes that emerged in its work and analyzing patterns in chronic sexual abuse in higher education.?

The task force, which was assembled in fall 2019, reviewed public records of past sexual abuse cases in higher education nationwide, according to a university press release. Using those records, the task force was charged with discovering recurring patterns and identifying barriers to reporting incidents of misconduct, and identifying best practices to encourage reporting and for providing support for victims and survivors.

The group determined that “genuine, public, and substantive support from senior leadership” was of “crucial importance” in positively addressing these cases. The task force held a series of roundtable discussions with experts in sexual misconduct, finding that a survivor-centric approach and asking “what is best for survivors” are key in weighing steps toward reform.

The task force’s findings were not directed toward any higher education institution in particular, but the task force itself was created following the May 2019 release of the independent investigative report into sexual abuse committed by former Ohio State physician Richard Strauss, who was a team doctor from 1978-98 and died in 2005, according to the release. The investigation conducted by the law firm Perkins Coie detailed acts of sexual abuse against at least 177 former students and concluded that university personnel at the time failed to adequately respond to or prevent Strauss’ abuse.

The task force identified 31 cases of sexual abuse that involved more than one victim, dating back as early as the 1940s and made public in the last decade. The analysis paid attention to common elements and patterns among cases as well as attention to challenges and cultural barriers in departments of athletics or clinical medical enterprises that could affect sexual abuse reporting, according to the release.?

The public records analysis of cases found that the alleged abuser was affiliated with medicine in seven cases, sports in four (including two of the seven in medicine), religious leadership in four, other faculty disciplines in 16, and nonfaculty administration in two, according to the release. Three cases involved faculty in music who had one-on-one contact with victims through private lessons.

In 71 percent of cases involving medicine, public reports indicate the alleged abuse occurred in the context of a purported medical exam, the report states.

According to the report, most cases involved long-term abuse occurring over at least five years, and the cases with the most reported victims were overwhelmingly in the athletics and medical contexts.

Perpetrators were male in all identified cases, and abuse incidents were consistently gender specific: In 12 cases, all victims were male; in 18 cases, the victims were all female; in one case, victims were female or gender non-conforming, the report states.

In more than half of cases, victims reported they feared the alleged abuser would retaliate against them, the report found.

The report found that university investigations usually stopped the alleged abuse; in all but three of the cases, public reports indicate the alleged abuse did not continue once there was a university-level investigation.?

But initial reports of abuse were not enough to stop the alleged abuse. According to published reports, the initial report stopped the alleged abuse in only 35 percent of the cases, and this was especially true among cases with male victims, as the abuse continued after the initial report in 11 of 12 cases involving male victims.

According to the report, this may be related to the context in which the cases of abuse of males tended to occur: three involved athletics, three involved medicine, and four involved religion; only two did not involve any of these categories.

The task force consisted of academicians, law enforcement, a survivor of Strauss sexual abuse, and legal, medical, sports and human resources experts from Ohio State and other universities and agencies. The group met with eight nationally recognized experts in issues surrounding sexual abuse in its series of roundtable discussions.