Scouting Programs
Child Abuse in Scouting Programs
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A BOY SCOUT TO BE ABUSED IN SCOUTING
Few remember that the BSA operates more than one youth program. The BSA supports nearly half a dozen other programs, including Cub Scouts, Exploring, and Sea Scouting. These programs serve children of varying ages, genders, and stages of life. Within these programs, sexual predators, employed by the BSA, brutally molested the children under their care. If you were abused in a Scouting program, you are not alone or without options for help.
Learn More ยปList of Current Scouting Programs
The BSA supports not just the traditional Boy Scouts (Scouts BSA) program, but other experiences for both boys and girls and varying age and grade levels. Based on reports from sexual abuse survivors, boys and girls have been impacted by Scouting leader and volunteer sexual abuse in nearly every one of the programs the BSA supports. Scouting programs where children were sexually abused by BSA leaders and volunteers include the following:
Cub Scouting (Youth grades K-5)
Scouts BSA (Youth 11-17 years old)
Venturing (Co-ed 14-20 years old)
Sea Scouting (Co-ed 14-20 years old)
Exploring (Co-ed 14-20 years old)
Learning for life (Co-ed 14-20)
These Scouting programs were every bit as dangerous to youth as the Scouts BSA, because children were put in various settings with adults who were mostly unvetted and completely unsupervised. For example, the Learning for Life program put teens in to different corporate, research and industrial settings with unsupervised and unqualified adults. Further, the Exploring program placed teenage females in police cars as ride-along with cops, some of whom were sexual predators. Cases exist where cops abused teens in the Exploring program, forcing them into sexual acts and even rape. In 2018, two Louisville, KY officers were convicted for sexually abusing teens in the Exploring program.
Past Scouting Programs Impacted by Abuse
CHILD ABUSE HAPPENED IN PROGRAMS THAT THE BSA DISCONTINUED
Nearly a dozen extra programs were supported and funded by the BSA since its founding in 1910. Though many have been discontinued over time, reports indicate sexual predators harmed children in these additional Scouting programs and were never brought to justice. Children were abused by BSA employees and volunteers in programs including:
- Air Scouts / Air Explorers / Aviation Explorers
- Sea Scouts
- Senior Boy Scout Program / the Leadership Corps
- Pioneers Scouts
The BSA failed to take deliberate safety precautions to protect children from sexual predators in Scouting programs, Thousands of lawsuits now pend against the BSA, all filed by men and women who were sexually abused by molesters withing the Boy Scouts of America. Whether it was a past, present, or discontinued program, if you were abused while in BSA or Scouting programs, you are not alone. You have options for justice and may be eligible to hold your BSA abusers accountable for their crimes against you. Connect with Abused in Scouting's sexual abuse attorneys today and learn how you can hold the BSA accountable for your abuse.