Armies of Enablers: Survivor Stories of Complicity and Betrayal in Sexual Assaults

by Amos N. Guiora

Overview

What do sexual assault survivors expect of the enabler-bystander? In this powerful book, Amos N. Guiora shares the stories of survivors to expose how individual and institutional enablers allow predators to perpetrate their crimes through silence and other failures to act. He then proposes legal, cultural, and social measures aimed at the enabler from the survivor’s perspective.

Based on thousands of pages of grand jury indictments, civil lawsuits, criminal prosecutions, special reports, media accounts, and personal interviews with numerous survivors and their attorneys, Amos N. Guiora poses this critical question:

What do sexual assault survivors expect of the enabler-bystander?

Focusing on cases of sexual assault from USA Gymnastics, Michigan State University, Penn State University, The Ohio State University, and the Catholic Church, interview after interview sheds compelling light on two powerful responses: that this question had not been previously asked and that survivor expectation of protection and support from the enabler-bystander was rarely, if ever, met.

Clearly the perpetrator benefitted from the complicity of the enabler. From the survivor's perspective, both bear responsibility for their plight and must be held accountable. This book emphasizes individual and institutional enablers alike; in fact, armies of enablers.

With emotions ranging from deep disappointment to seething anger and extreme frustration, all articulate profound abandonment by the person in a position to assist them in the face of sexual assaults.

Guiora proposes legal, cultural, and social measures aimed at the enabler from the survivor’s perspective. The proposed changes will address, and impact, both broader society and specific communities including higher education, elite athletics, sports organizations, religious institutions, law enforcement, the entertainment industry, and elected officials.

With this book, Guiora is committed to sharing survivor stories and to propel change, which is essential to protect future survivors. Only by hearing their stories, do we fully understand the power of the enabler and the pain they cause the survivor. Their voices must propel us to change.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781641057349
Publisher:	American Bar Association
Publication date:	09/25/2020
Pages:	258
Sales rank:	539,656
Product dimensions:	6.13(w) x 9.05(h) x 0.61(d)

About the Author

Amos N. Guiora is Professor of Law at the S.J. Quinney College of Law, the University of Utah.

Table of Contents

Author's Note ix

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xv

Introduction: Destruction of Trust xvii

1 Holocaust Bystander to Contemporary Enabler 1

2 From Impunity to Accountability 19

3 Enough 27

4 Survivor Expectation 33

5 Where the Hell Are the Adults? 53

6 Complicity 65

7 The Bystander Duty to Act 97

8 Criminalize the Enabler 135

9 Sexual Assault and Enabling at Universities: Title IX 177

10 The Challenges Ahead 221

Epilogue 227

Violated by Water: A Statement on Consent Brooke Martin 231

Index 233

A bout the Author 239

Editorial Reviews

"In his new book, Amos N. Guiora focuses on, as he writes, 'the powerful men who have abused positions of trust to commit sexual abuse against hundreds of survivors have dominated headlines in recent years.' It's a searing and moving indictment.... This is a book that should be required reading in all law schools, legislatures, and law enforcement agencies. The general public will also benefit from Professor's Guiora's book." —Jewish Post & News

"Guiora's study reveals a pattern of perpetrators being aided by institutional enablers. It's a pattern that he found not just at one institution and by a few enablers, but at many institutions and by "armies" of enablers.... [This is] a significant contribution to the conversation about sexual assault and what can be done to address it. It's a must-read for institutional leaders and vital addition to staff training programs. The movement needed an examination of why institutions fail, and Guirora's work validates what many victims and others have experienced and/or observed.... Abandonment is not an option. Commitment, direction, and persistence are required. America has 'an institution problem.' It's time to fix it." —Future UFrom the Back Cover
"At long last, an unflinching look at those who enable abusers, facilitate their access to children, overlook and hide their crimes, revictimize the abused and, all too often, evade scrutiny and accountability. One hopes this book shifts public attitudes, and that there can be criminal consequences for those who make this scourge possible." Walter V. Robinson, Editor at Large for The Boston Globe and Editor of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Globe Spotlight Team

"Amos Guiora has captured what happens when good people sit on the sidelines in the face of evil. His timing couldn't be better. As a critical hour has arrived in America, Professor Guiora presents to the nation and to the world too many examples where silence welds injustice because too few stood up. He answers the hard question of whether law and morality should compel action against the consequences of hatred and shows us why there can never be peace without justice." Avery Friedman, CNN Legal Analyst

"Essential reading for our times. A deeply moving book of testimonies from survivors of sexual assault and also a brilliant expose of how the predators can only perpetrate their crimes through their individual and institutional enablers, Guiora looks at the legal and moral issues of the enabler through the lens of the survivor. The book is a heart-rending and clear call to action, giving us a concrete legal plan to help achieve the goal: never again." Emily Mann, Director, Playwright, Screenwriter

From the Publisher