Hedgepig,

Like R0bert, I too have heard Hetty Johnson say she would be happy to see an innocent man go to jail if it might save a child from sexual abuse. She is probably Australia's most prominent sexual abuse campaigner, so if her implicit belief is all men are abusers it's not unreasonable to assume other feminists believe the same thing.

JamesH provided some good quotes too. Others aren't hard to find:

"Marriage as an institution developed from rape as a practice." -- Andrea Dworkin

"All men are rapists and that's all they are" -- Marilyn French, Authoress; (later, adviser to Al Gore's Presidential Campaign.)

Lots more at:
http://wiki.mensactivism.org/index.php/Radical_Feminist_Quotes

The truly scary thing is, if people like Hetty Johnson are basically saying all men are rapists/abusers publicly, then what must they be thinking privately. It beggars belief.

JamesH,

I have to agree with you about Sabine Dardenne too. I saw an interview/sound bite with her and really admired her courage. Here was a woman who suffered one of the most abominable experiences imaginable, yet she was determined to live the rest of her life as normally as possible. I instantly contrasted it with the women who accused the swimming coach Scott Volkers of abusing her. She alleged he had inappropriately rubbed her leg when she was around 15. Then years later she appeared on TV with Hetty Johnson saying this guy has ruined her life. It's incredible. The guy was innocent, but even if he wasn't, hadn't someone thought of saying to this women – ‘hey it was your thigh...get over it.’ How can someone touching your thigh ruin your life? Compared with Sabine Dardenne, I thought what a fraud this woman was.

Radical feminists narrow and flex the definition of child abuse to suit their obsession with sex and the (alleged) 'patriarchy'. This serves their gender politics but it is not helpful in understanding what child abuse is or what can be done about it.

The South Australian Department of Education Training & Employment`s child protection policy definition is relevant:

- Child abuse refers to all aspects of abuse: neglect, physical, emotional and sexual.

- 'Child' refers to children, students and young people under the age of 18.

The DECS Child Protection Policy is a well researched document of some years standing which has broad application. It is a shame that in our system of government the bureaucrats in the federal government and other States must always reinvent the wheel.

www.decs.sa.gov.au/docs/filescommunities/docman/1/childprotection/pdf

Best of all, the policy is exclusively concerned about the wellbeing and safety of children.

It is a must-read for those who really want to improve the lot of Australian children.

“I turned to the work of a very interesting sociologist, Joel Best, who wrote a book called, Threatened Children, in which he talked about the social construction of child abuse as a problem. What I learned from Best was that there's a predictable process by which a group of claims-makers sets forth a problem and brings it to public attention. There are a series of stages through which the public becomes aware of the problem and begins to accept the terms of the debate as set forth by this group of claims-makers.

They engage in a series of techniques, what Best calls "expansion of the domain of the problem." The public is told that it's not simply a specific problem occurring in a specific setting, but that it's a much broader problem. That way it tends to escape from its borders, so that we become aware that the problem is much, much larger than we thought. “Professor Daphne Patai

http://www.mensrights.com.au/page27i.htm
Battered by the System. Nobody believed Frank.

Feminists only are only interested in child abuse as long as it can be used to bash men. If they were truly interested in preventing child abuse, then they would also look at and discuss the behaviour of female abusers. Admitting to female abusers would challenge the feminists patriarchal model. The major basis of their dogma.

Recently there have stories of children dying after being left in the care of their mothers, even after DOCs have been notified. The current belief system that the children are better off in the care of their mothers. If it was a father acussed the children would have been removed immediately. These children have been sacrificed in order to maintain the feminist dogma.

JamesH, "Feminists only are only interested in child abuse as long as it can be used to bash men". Have you tracked down a copy of "When She was Bad" yet?

One feminist who is doing exactly what you suggest they should.

Barbera appears to be ignoring the vast bulk of child abuse, I'm left wondering why so many who claim to be interested in child protection show so little interest in about 94% of substantated abuse and neglect

http://www.abusedchildtrust.com.au/facts.htm#2
In Queensland during 2003-04, the types of substantiated abuse were:

23% physical abuse
32% emotional abuse
39% neglect
6% sexual abuse

and of course
Family types involved in substantiated abuse and neglect

27% two parent (natural families)
23% two parent (other families)
37% single female parent families
5% single male parent families

eet, I interpreted Hetty's approach as being that men's lives are not worth much and should be treated as disposable rather than an accusation that we are all child abusers.

R0bert

JamesH says above "Admitting to female abusers would challenge the feminists patriarchal model. The major basis of their dogma."

Actually, female abuse of children fits quite well into our patriarchal model. You know, man kicks woman, woman kicks child, child kicks dog.

What is most amazing about what I'm reading around here is how much power and influence you all seem to think feminists have. If only! Haven't any of you noticed the government we've had for the past ten years? You guys should be looking forward to a bright future of unchallenged male dominance - cheer up!

Hey whats with your nom de plume?