University of Utah Law Professor Amos Guiora joined me this morning to discuss his new book, Armies of Enablers – Survival Stories of Complicity and Betrayal in Sexual Assaults. 

The book examines cases of sexual assault at Michigan State University, The Ohio State University, USA Gymnastics, the Catholic Church and Penn State University. Professor Guiora “illuminates how enablers protect their institutions and the perpetrators at the expense of the survivors.”

The question Professor Guiora posed to the survivors was, “What did you expect from the enabler?” Throughout his conversations, the role of the enabler was front and center because the survivors reported the abuse to the person they believed was best positioned to protect them, and the systems repeatedly failed. He explains how this breach of trust/abandonment stands out as a separate and distinct trauma.

The book examines these shortcomings and proposes changes to the criminal law to better protect future victims from sexual assault.