Rabbi Yakov Horowitz writes:
…[A]s we talk about building walls around our children to protect them from the decadence of secular culture, we had better make certain that the ‘monster’ of child abuse is on the other side of the wall.
Abusers are nocturnal creatures, operating most effectively in the darkness of denial. What they fear most is the light of day and the righteous indignation of victims.…
‘[W]alled’ communities are the dream setting for a child molester. A community where negative news is not reported and the fear of causing a chilul Hashem makes people hush things up is a community where an abuser can comfortably set up shop.…
If you want to understand the problems of haredi society, know this well – not one gadol or other leader of haredim will admit to or agree with the above.
Rabbi Horowitz is the anti-Shafran, so to speak, of American haredim. In a just and honest world, Rabbi Horowitz would come out on top. But, as many haredi children have already learned, this world is neither just or honest.