K-State sexual harassment, abuse expert says alleged cybersex between congressman, page crosses boundary from mentor to molester

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Source: Robert Shoop, 785-532-5533, rshoop@k-state.edu
http://www.mediarelations.k-state.edu/WEB/News/MediaGuide/shoopbio.html
News release prepared by: Keener A. Tippin II, 785-532-6415, media@k-state.edu

Wednesday, October 4, 2006

K-STATE SEXUAL HARASSMENT, ABUSE EXPERT SAYS ALLEGED CYBERSEX BETWEEN CONGRESSMAN, PAGE CROSSES BOUNDARY FROM MENTOR TO MOLESTER

MANHATTAN -- Congress has an affirmative duty to ensure the safety of the youngsters who come to Washington, D.C., to serve as pages, and to take prompt, appropriate action at the first sign of abuse, according to Robert Shoop, a Kansas State University professor of educational administration.

Shoop said focusing solely on the alleged sexual harassment of teenage male pages by Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., through sexually-suggestive electronic messages misses the larger questions of oversight and training.

"The two key issues are power and grooming," Shoop said. "In the nation's capital, few are more powerful than a congressman or senator. Whether it is a church, a school or the U. S. Congress, a person who controls working conditions, promotions, salaries, raises, scholarships or references has a great deal of power. In the case of an underage child, the power differential is even greater."

According to Shoop, in the grooming process a perpetrator might say something mildly inappropriate to see if the target says 'no' or goes along with it. From there, the grooming process gradually escalates as perpetrators see what they can get away with before the child either rejects them or tells someone.

Shoop said people who molest youngsters in a work or school environment seldom use force, but work gradually gain the trust of the child. Often the child does not know how to get out of the situation. If not stopped, these threshold behaviors, that may appear innocent, often lead to harassment, abuse and rape.

"The grooming process is very typical in sexual abuse cases," Shoop said. "Often, the abuse starts out with e-mails like, 'What did you do for the summer? What do you want for your birthday? How are you doing?' From there, they progress into 'What are you wearing or take off your shorts and get relaxed,' which often eventually results in sexual activity."

According to Shoop, all organizations, particularly ones that assign impressionable youngsters to be supervised by very powerful adults, must have clear policies prohibiting sexual harassment and abuse, and a specific training program for both adults and youngsters that clarify appropriate and inappropriate actions.

Although rules involving congressional pages were allegedly tightened in 1983 after two congressmen were censured for sexual misconduct involving pages, Shoop said current and past pages have said they never had any training.

"No one ever talked to them about the possibility of sexual abuse or harassment," Shoop said. "They should be told that while being a page is a wonderful opportunity, and the vast majority of the people you will be working with are ethical people, some people may not be ethical. They should be told exactly what to do if someone crosses the boundary from mentor to molester."

Shoop said while the page in the Foley's case apparently resisted the congressman's alleged advances, some youngsters, in other circumstances, might be afraid to challenge the power of a mentor.

"Had the page not ended the correspondence, it very likely the inappropriate behavior would have escalated into a sexual relationship," Shoop said. "This kid did say 'no.' What would have happened had the youngster not rejected and reported the inappropriate behavior? It does not appear that there was an adequate system to investigate complaints and protect pages from abuse."

Shoop said this case emphasizes the need and responsibility for parents, educators and the office that supervises congressional pages to make a point of talking to their children or charges about sexual abuse and harassment, and the warning signs associated with those behaviors.

Shoop said given the previous incident involving pages in the 1980s and the scandals involving congressional interns, it will be interesting to see if a training program is instituted, policies developed and grievance procedures adopted -- or whether lawmakers just "make this go away."

"I am afraid that many people, including governmental officials, will see the Foley incident as an aberrant personal problem, as opposed to a system problem," Shoop said. "They may say, 'that was just one weird guy, punish him -- but that surely no one else will do this in the future.'"

If the system is not examined and improved, Shoop said the power paradigm between a page and a congressional representative or an intern and a president opens the very real potential for future occurrences.

"Some have suggested the page program be abolished," Shoop said. "I believe this would be a simplistic solution to a very serious and complex situation. Apparently the majority of pages have good experiences. If my child wanted to be a congressional page, I would want assurances this was an aberrant event. And, most importantly, I would want to know that changes have been made to see that it does not happen again."

Shoop, a nationally recognized expert in the area of standards of care and sexual harassment and abuse prevention, is the author of Sexual Exploitation in Schools. He has served as a forensic expert in over 45 cases.