Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

The Psychological Mechanisms that Lead Institutions to Side with Abusers Organizations often respond to allegations of abuse with surprising defensiveness, offering protection to powerful insiders while showing little compassion for the people who report harm. This pattern appears across sectors—politics, religion, business—and raises a difficult question: why do groups so often rally around the accused rather than support the victim? Consider three familiar scenarios: A political aide reports sexual abuse by a well liked male politician. Party leaders quickly close ranks, defending him publicly while circulating stories that cast doubt on her credibility. A charismatic megachurch pastor engages in a six month sexual relationship with a woman who sought him out for pastoral care. When she later names the experience as abuse, the church board emphasizes his community impact and stands firmly behind him. An employee tells a board member that the CEO misrepresented salary and benefits dur...