Wednesday, May 30, 2018

This is a a story that should never repeat itself - one brave girl's tale of how an older staff member in a (frum) religious Jewish summer camp, who was meant to be a role model, took advantage of a broken girl --- Parents, show this to your children before they go to camp!



ENABLE CC (SUBTITLES/CLOSED CAPTIONING) TO READ HER WORDS AS WELL --- BY CLICKING CC on YouTube.

EVIDENCE AS SUBMITTED TO BAIS DIN (JEWISH COURT)
https://drive.google.com/…/13v4SMxbxIgpZY9EK-LSp1BBQ5o…/view


 by Asher Lovy:

I'd recommend that everyone take a few minutes out of their day and watch this video. Even just listen to it if you don't have the time on a busy Friday to watch it through. Gittie Kohn Sheinkopf, currently of Lakewood, abused this young woman, and must be held accountable.

A few things are notable about this story.

In a recorded phone call Gittie seems to be under the impression that Oorah will have her back should the victim ever go public (which she did in this video). It is noteworthy that the abuser assumes that she'd have institutional support against her victim. It speaks to a certain prevalent mentality in our community in which abusers assume they can abuse with impunity because institutions tend to protect abusers, not children entrusted to their care.

Leah, the victim in this video, mentions that she went to beis din to file a claim against her abuser because the statute of limitations on her abuse had already passed. Leah is not an old woman.

 The abuse happened when she was 15 years old, according to the video, around ten years ago. Under current New York State law, victims only have until age 23 to report sexual abuse. After they turn 23, there is no legal recourse whatsoever for an victim against their abuser. There is no legal process by which to identify and expose your abuser, which is why Leah resorted to beis din.

Leah got a hazamana (halachic summons) issued to Gittie through the beis din, and Gittie failed to appear. The beis din issued a seruv against her.

According to the video, Gittie is a social worker (Unlicensed?). It's horrifying to think about the fact that she may be counseling vulnerable children, especially since that gives her a ready pool of victims to abuse.

Take a look at the accompanying evidence to this video:

https://drive.google.com/…/13v4SMxbxIgpZY9EK-LSp1BBQ5o…/view

What jumped out at me from this packet is the clear grooming process. Gittie starts off in the messages being cutesy and friendy, and progresses to sexual innuendo. This is textbook grooming. 

You normalize the presence of a sexual component in an inherently imbalanced relationship (camper, staff) so that when the abuser violently introduces sex into the relationship without consent, sexuality has already been normalized somewhat in the context of that relationship.

Parents need to keep an eye on what's happening with their children at summer camps. If you see this kind of correspondence, even if you think it's innocent, make sure it stops. Make sure contact with that staff member is cut off. Report it to the camp. If you suspect abuse, report it to the authorities. Don't wait, don't ask permission, report it immediately.

Camp staff, if you see this sort of grooming, stop it. If you suspect abuse (yes, even if you just suspect it but don't know for sure) report it first to the authorities. Your first phone call shouldn't be to anyone ONLY the police, or ACS.


https://www.facebook.com/zaakah/posts/1624719967635566