I still don't get this. I think I'm just missing your point.The "gravity" of child molestation hasn't changed in the last 50 years or whatever.We're not talking about racism or sexism or alcohol abuse.
I'm not agreeing/disagreeing that "times have changed" plays a valid role, but I would argue that while the gravity of child molestation hasn't changed, the handling of despicable crimes within tight social groups has. 40 years ago, it's not that people weren't homosexual. They just hid it. If you were a wife in the 60's who found out your husband was gay, you most likely stayed married and just put on a show. Happy life, happy marriage. The underlying reality was there, and real, but hidden. I'd argue that this type of scandal was the same. It wasn't that someone viewed the act of molestation as any less wrong, they just looked at the damage that bringing it up would do to the "group" as far worse than anything else. Hence it was internalized. I understand homosexuality and child molestation aren't perfect parallels, but I think the point is that it used to be that things that were so morally wrong and awful were just not spoken about, and not necessarily brought into the light and dealt with like they are now.