Here's a quote from one of the Guardian articles:
"Known child abusers" among the teachers. There was a lawsuit by one couple against a teacher, who sexually abused their 10-year-old daughter. The case was settled out of court. Of course, predators can observe that complaints of abuse general are swept under the rug, and victims are expelled from the group, so this creates a very encouraging environment for predators. They know the organization will protect them, and their accusers will either leave or be shunned.
And the problem is, the Western teachers can look up the old tantric literature, and see that the texts specify sex with a 9-year-old, or a 12-year-old. So they can try to convince their followers that this is the religion, and the ask the parents to gift the lama with their daughter, as used to be done in the old days. Some parents are so far gone, so cultified, they actually follow through. There was an instance of this with Sogyal, and the teenage daughter of two members of his group, and there was an example of that in Shambala, as well, with a North American teacher.
But I doubt that this sudden self-examination and confession by Shambala was motivated by the #metoo movement. I think it was motivated by a court case involving Rigpa (Sogyal's organization) in France earlier this year. I think that sent shock waves through the TB community, causing several organizations to preemptively admit to harboring sexual predators, and taking advantage of trusting followers, breach of fiduciary duty.
Winn, who said she had been subjected to abuse herself, investigated the subject for a year, saying it ad been suppressed for a long time. The report claims: “Known child abusers are freely active within the Shambhala community, some are even senior teachers. Meanwhile, many who have been abused have been left with no recourse but to leave the community to heal and move forward as best they can.”
"Known child abusers" among the teachers. There was a lawsuit by one couple against a teacher, who sexually abused their 10-year-old daughter. The case was settled out of court. Of course, predators can observe that complaints of abuse general are swept under the rug, and victims are expelled from the group, so this creates a very encouraging environment for predators. They know the organization will protect them, and their accusers will either leave or be shunned.
And the problem is, the Western teachers can look up the old tantric literature, and see that the texts specify sex with a 9-year-old, or a 12-year-old. So they can try to convince their followers that this is the religion, and the ask the parents to gift the lama with their daughter, as used to be done in the old days. Some parents are so far gone, so cultified, they actually follow through. There was an instance of this with Sogyal, and the teenage daughter of two members of his group, and there was an example of that in Shambala, as well, with a North American teacher.
But I doubt that this sudden self-examination and confession by Shambala was motivated by the #metoo movement. I think it was motivated by a court case involving Rigpa (Sogyal's organization) in France earlier this year. I think that sent shock waves through the TB community, causing several organizations to preemptively admit to harboring sexual predators, and taking advantage of trusting followers, breach of fiduciary duty.