opinion

Duggar case reveals need for more homeschool oversight

Recently it came to light that Josh Duggar, 27, a “19 Kids and Counting” reality television star and religious right activist, was accused of sexually assaulting young girls when he was a teenager.

This tragedy is an example of two dysfunctions in American society and shows urgent needs for reform. The first dysfunction it exposes is the petri dish for abuse that is fundamentalist evangelical homeschooling. The second is the unforgiving reality of our juvenile justice system.

Duggar’s parents, Jim Bob and Michelle, practiced the fundamentalist evangelical doctrine known as Quiverfull. This theology promotes the expansion of the kingdom of God through unfettered procreation. Quiverfull theology is coupled with religious indoctrination masquerading as education in the form of Bible study-themed homeschooling. The patriarchal mindset underpinning the movement requires women to submit to male authority. This subculture can groom girls for sexual abuse through homeschool-created ignorance, isolation and female-submission teachings.

Homeschooling is subject to minimal oversight in the United States. The only mandatory child abuse reporters with whom a homeschooled abuse victim may come into regular contact with are members of a child’s family or church – all parties with an incentive to disbelieve or hide abuse occurring in their separatist subculture.

Here, the statute of limitations had run out by the time the abuse was reported to police by a third party several years later. Josh Duggar’s parents should be criticized for their apparent failure to immediately report the abuse to the proper authorities. Given the number of victims and the nature of the abuse, an offender similar to Josh would be considered a moderate to high risk to re-offend. A young offender needs immediate, intensive sex offender treatment, and Josh might have received this treatment had his parents approached the police instead of their church elders.

The inconsistency in our juvenile justice system may give a parent pause before taking their predatory child to the police. In some jurisdictions, offenders as young as 14 can be tried as adults and subject to a lifetime of sex offender registration, all for actions long before their brains have fully developed. In other circumstances, a juvenile offender such as Josh would be treated and the records in the case sealed to protect both himself and his victims. This varies according to state law and the judgment of the prosecutor. Going in, it is impossible to guess which will be the outcome of a case.

Together, reforming our juvenile justice system and lax homeschool laws could ameliorate some of the conditions that created the perfect storm of miscarried justice in the Duggar case. Families of young juvenile offenders should know that treatment – not a lifetime of shame – is the probable outcome of approaching the authorities.

Homeschool children should be afforded actual education instead of the teachings of Christian patriarchy and the law should be changed to ensure homeschooled students come into regular contact with mandatory reporters outside their families and churches.

Meghan S. Bishop of Beaverton is a juvenile criminal defense attorney in Portland. She can be reached at meghan@metrojuvenile.com. Sarah E. Hunt of Washington, D.C., was raised Quiverfull, was the co-author of Ballot Measure 73 in 2010 and is a victim-rights activist in Washington, D.C. She can be reached at sarahehunt01@gmail.com. Both are graduates of Willamette University College of Law.