Extensive abuse can persist openly despite collective awareness

Evidence

Savile exploited his celebrity, philanthropy, and social connections in high circles, as documented earlier, to enable his sexual abuses to go unchecked for over four decades under a succession of BBC presidents. They all professed unawareness of his unlawful conduct, even though it was widely known among their colleagues. Despite the seriousness of the harm inflicted on vulnerable children, widespread suspicion and rumors of sexual misconduct and hundreds of charges filed with police department, BBC officials made no serious efforts to investigate Savile’s behavior. Commander Peter Spindler of Scotland Yard summarized the tragic state of affairs: “He was hiding in plain sight, and none of us was able to do anything about it” (Burns & Cowell, 2013). — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 572 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Targets of abuse encounter moderation whether or not they seek it — Tarleton Gillespie, Custodians of the Internet: Platforms,…, 674; Academic objectification tolerates abuse as long as the mind functions — bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as…, 45; Elite sexual abuse proved far more widespread than previously supposed — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 1939 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Collective professed ignorance allowed an abuser to operate openly for decades. #exemplifies (0.93) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 572