(DailyAnswer.org) – The Boy Scouts of America has announced that it is changing its name for the first time in its history to make the organization more inclusive. The rebranding of the BSA as Scouting America is due to come into effect on February 8, 2025, which will also mark the 115th anniversary of the BSA. Officials stated that the rebranding will help ensure that everyone feels they are welcome. Critics suggested that the move was an attempt to clean up the organization’s image and recover from bankruptcy following a sexual abuse scandal. BSA settled 82,000 claims by former Boy Scouts relating to alleged sexual abuse by BSA officials and volunteers with a $2.46 billion settlement in 2023.
Victim Ron Hunter went with reporters to revisit the places where his abuse occurred. One location was an apartment building where Hunter was groomed and sex-trafficked by his Boy Scout leader, who went by the street name “Angel”. Hunter worked on a book recounting his traumatic teenage years of sex-trafficking and blackmail, Angel Finally Found His Wings, which was published in 2023. BSA filed for bankruptcy following the claims coming to light in 2020 and hundreds of lawsuits that followed the allegations. BSA’s confirmed plan for reorganization was approved by a Delaware federal bankruptcy court judge in 2023. Chief Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein stressed that the BSA must establish a safe environment in which such abuse can never again be covered up or allowed to “thrive”. Silverstein also recognized that no amount of compensation could truly repay the victims for the sexual abuse they suffered while in the BSA.
BSA president and chief executive officer Roger Krone said he wanted the organization to be “very, very inclusive” over the next century. Following moves to allow gay youths in 2013 and gay scout leaders in 2015, the organization already allowed girls as cub scouts and in its Boy Scout program in 2017. The Girl Scouts of the USA sued the BSA after it began accepting girls due to the confusion caused and the impact it had on Girl Scouts’ recruitment efforts.
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