The BSA Ineligible Volunteer Files : Identifying and Examining Patterns of Institutional Abuse

Abstract

Building on prior sexual abuse research that has retrospectively examined sexual abuse in institutional settings, this project examined files from the Boy Scouts of America “Ineligible Volunteer” database. Through a retrospective content analysis, the research team analyzed BSA files of 49 individuals in Wisconsin deemed “ineligible volunteers” by the organization. Several patterns emerged from the content analysis. This poster introduces multiple case studies that highlight various patterns of institutional abuse observed in the BSA IV files. Implications of the results and directions for future research also are discussed.