A Minhag Mehadrin to Minimize Molesting (Very Serious)

Elliot B. Pasik, President of the Jewish Board of Advocates for Children has challenged the orthodox community to match the Catholic Church’s Charter for the Protection of Children. Their charter includes:

• Counseling for child sex-abuse victims,
• Mandatory reporting to public authorities,
• Permanent removal of any priest or deacon found guilty of even one act of sex abuse,
• A mandatory safe environment for all youth programs,
• Mandatory background checks for church personnel, and
• Groups to make sure these policies are implemented.

This could  be the Jewish answer.

A Minhag Mehadrin to Minimize Molesting

A public call from our Rabbis:

1. According to halachah, if you have knowledge of molesting you must immediately report it to the government. In such cases we believe that the molester is likely to do it again. Molesting is like murder because it leads to physical, emotional or spiritual death. Molesters are rodfim, people who will kill us unless we stop them. A rodef can be killed or handed over to civil authorities who may punish him severely.
2. If you delay reporting you are guilty of the grave sin of lo tamod al dam reiachah (do not stand by while the blood of your neighbor is shed). If you postpone reporting evidence can be lost.
   
3. There is nothing wrong with contacting authorities when you have well founded suspicions. If you suspect molesting, report it. Thankfully, police investigate all charges carefully and only charge people when the investigation confirms the charge. Unfortunately, American justice bends over backwards to protect the guilty.
   
4. You cannot allow a molester to work in situations where they have contact with children. This is the rule even if they have only molested once and even if they promise to mend their ways. When a molester is  sincere in his tshuvah he welcomes changes in his environment that protects him from sin.
   
5. It is a serious violation of halachah to besmirch the reputations of  children who were hurt or to discourage shidduchim with anyone in their family. The Torah is clear that when a woman cries for help and she is ignored she is completely innocent. These children are innocent victims.
6. Whenever an employee of one of our mosdos has hurt a child, the institution is expected to take achrayis (responsibility) and pay for all treatments.
7. Many children are helped in their recovery by recounting their experiences. They are almost always telling the truth. One should not discourage them from telling their stories and one may not accuse them of lying.
   
8. All mosdos (organizations) for children must be bodek (examine) present and future employees by fingerprinting, checking government lists, and helping to assemble and use communty lists.  The bedikah (inspection) must include checking with all previous employers.
9. When mosdos have good reason to suspect that an employee was molesting, they must share this with other prospective employers.
   
10. We will soon release guidelines for yeshivas to adopt to assure that they are safe environments for learning.
11. A terrible chillul hashem (desecration of G-d’s name) has resulted from the revelation that our kehilot did not stop these problems.
    
12. Nowadays it is understood  that any community can have  a few people who molest. The chillul hashem occurs when it is revealed that we did not act quickly to end abuse.
13. It will be a great Kiddush Hashem (glorification of G-d’s name) when people will say, Jews would sooner suffer embarrassment than leave their children with molesters. There was a time when even anti-Semites praised the closeness of our families and our dedication to our children. It will be a great Kiddush Hashem when that reputation is restored.

We can obliterate this plague on our community by meticulously carryting out these measures  for which we should be zocheh b’mvias goel tzedek moshiach tzidkeinu bimheirah biyameinu . Amen!

Signed __________ ?

Readers, this is a first draft. Please share your thoughts on how to improve it.Brng it to your rabbis and educators and find out how they respond and whether they are the rabbis to whom you want to entrust your children.

For more information on Jewish sources on these issues see articles by Rabbi Dratch, JSafe.

If you liked this posting, you might enjoy the fable about Rabbi Besdin.