I’ve sat across from many victims of violent crime and had them share what they have suffered. The more intimate the violation the less likely they are to want to be identified.
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I’ve sat across from many victims of violent crime and had them share what they have suffered. The more intimate the violation the less likely they are to want to be identified.
I can appreciate this. It took me 40 years to publicly disclose that I was sexually assaulted when I was 12.
Victims often suffer in silence.
It’s difficult to know where to turn. But during the more than 30 years I’ve been in journalism, I have had others who have been violated come to me wanting to share.
Often, they don’t want their identity disclosed. And like most journalists, I’m honor-bound to abide by their wishes.
Sadly, officials at the University of Illinois would have journalists violate this confidence.
Rachel Otwell, a terrific journalist working for WUIS public radio in Springfield, has ruffled the feathers within the university community by reporting on sexual misconduct by professors.
She, along with ProPublica, published an investigation into how the university protected the reputations of faculty even after serious allegations of sexual misconduct were substantiated. Serial offenders were given paid leave and had the circumstances of their offenses hidden from future perspective employers.
Otwell’s reporting was first rate. It not only was broadcast on public radio stations, but it found its way onto front pages of newspapers across Illinois.
Along with the stories, the reporting team asked people who had experienced sexual misconduct at Illinois colleges and universities to share their stories through an online form. The form specified that the accounts would not be shared or published without permission.
It doesn’t take a Ph.D. to figure out that administrators were embarrassed by their sleazy backroom deals coming to light. And they were more than likely worried that more allegations could be made.