The Forum > Article Comments > Vigilantes versus pedophiles - our community shame > Comments
Vigilantes versus pedophiles - our community shame : Comments
By Barbara Biggs, published 15/2/2005Barbara Biggs argues that we need education to prevent child sex abuse, not vigilantes.
- Pages:
-
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Page 5
- 6
- 7
-
- All
I do agree with what you said re tone could increase harm to children. The disgust that is portrayed in the media reinforces the idea in the victim that it is disgusting and perverted and no matter how many times "its not your fault" is said it can be hard to get that accross.
David Boaz - definately need to re-evaluate what counts as a pedophile under the law, but it is my impression that the general concencus of the public / media is that it is an adult targeting pre-pubescant children. The law ought to be changed and clarified. I will right to the Atorney General's office! Good suggestion.
The help line may be "knee-jerk" and may not work, but it has not been tried before (at least not in QLD - my mate is a cop who works in child protection with peds and I checked with him) and it is worth giving it a go.
Timkins - I still disagree with the statistics - just because they are published doesn't make them acurate - but I do agree that ALL abuse (emotional, physical, sexual) is completely out of order and should all be given due weight.
I don't know if there are help lines for people who beat up their kids, but there should be support for them too as a prevention.
The only way I would say sexual abuse differs from other forms of abuse is that it is often not the primary care givers who are the abusers. Most often it is someone who is known to the family (ie uncle, neighbour, parents boy/girl friend) and that is the main reason sexual abuse may need to be treated differently.
One thing I can never understand is why the general impression is that sexual abusers were abused themselves. This is true of physical abuse, but not of sexual abuse (I have very carefully backed up my reason for believing this by asking my mate - if anyone wants to check it out and correct me feel free). The majority of pedophiles (and by that I do mean people with a sexual preference for children) may have had a difficult relationship with their family growing up (an alcoholic mother or whatever) but very few have been sexually abused themselves.