Tha lack of posts here says a great deal about the mood of the nation - several hours in for this to be the first post says child abuse is not very high on the nations agenda -

If the essay was alluded to abuse by priests or perhaps hinted at a predilictin of Muslims to abuse children I would be at the end of religious zealots and other nut bags offering their views - as it is thing, zip, nada - Zeeero

Look how quickly the abuse of aboriginal children has slid off the pages of our papers and political radars - any action taken will be

Why becuase child abuse in all its manifestations is as a wide spread as cheating on your taxes - it is almost a national pastime, up there with cricket - it is as popular as reality TV.

Our leaders are dead scared to pick the scab of this one as they will be ashamed of the outcome

That is wh

Crikey! i scribbled that in haste. I should have finished my sentence

..... Any action taken re the NT and child abuse will be motivaed by shame and self interest - that is, politicians and civic leaders hell bent on saving their respectives arses for ignoring a problem that has been festering under noses for years.

Same can be said for Royal Commission - it will never happen - if it does it will be reactive to some shameful episode yet to come - not proactive in response to the crimes we are aware of today - and because some ones hand is forced - again by only shame and self preservation -

Why spend money and time to care for our own children or those of or neighbours - when is a 1:1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, - chance of being winged by a terrorist to worry about? or having to put up with sings written in a foriegn language in our suburbs - these seem to be the issues confronting whitebread australia today - Jesus wept!pathetic really.

But hey! the resuorces boom does not look like slowing and the price of oil has dropped - at the same time the housing market is holding it own - all is right with the world - excuse me while I puke

Tragic to hear of the authors own assault. The easy available of pornography will and is making the situation worse than ever before. To deny that is to stick your head in the sand. Many of the indigneous communities in the outback have received much of the filth that the X rated industry in Canberra supply. The end result is that most (nearly all) indigneous children being abused. What many see as a harmless bit of self indulgence often opens the door to child sexual abuse. Just read a little about the serial sex killer Ted Bundy and you will get the picture. Unfortunately the selfisnness of human nature causes people to defend their rights instead of being concerned for the community at large. While the media, TV shows and magazines portray young woman as sex objects more unscruplous people will see that as an invitation.

I put this post on another page, but it more rightly belongs here.
Runner, I don't think the availability of pornography has a lot to do with it. As I read it, most of the sexual abuse of under age girls should be categorised as incest, either comitted by siblings or other close relatives. There wasn't any pornography available when I was young, sixty years ago, but the stories from some of my contemporaries about their sexual proclivities made your hair curl.

If you locked up all the men/boys who commit incest you would be putting away a sizeable proportion of the population. It is much more prevalent than anyone out there realizes and it starts from quite a young age in all sections of society.

I am not condoning it, I am not sure what you do about it. It is something like domestic violence, it gets passed on from father to son, just as alcohol abuse and unsocial attitudes. A lot of girls/women out there just have to accept it as part of life, particularly in isolated communities where there is no recourse to justice.

I applaud the author's attempts to get a royal commission up, but I am not holding my breathe, there are too many skeletons in too many closets to be let out.

VALUES EDUCATION ENQUIRY.
yep..I'd MUCH rather see an enquiry in to what has led our nation to such a degree of degeneracy that we have to ask 'why is child abuse happening' ?

You see.. the problem here is that once such an enquiry is held, everyone will wring their hands in 'shock and awe' over the extent of the problem, and then...they will simply treat the SYMPTOM by banning all hugging and male female touching at high schools..and then..primary schools and they will deprive a generation of the innocent love and genuine affection that we all need and crave for.

I say... lets look at issues such as respect,honour, love, true affection, loyalty, and dare I say it...(but this one won't get up) Love for our Creator.

If an enquiry such as this is held, it will simply be used as a political football by various groups, to prove this or that particular hobby horse of social engineering they happen to be peddling at the time.

It would probably be used against men in marraige/custody hearings.
By teachers against students, and vice versa.

TREAT THE ROOT cause.... not the symptom.

I always remember the story of Watchman Nee a chinese evangelist greatly used of God to bring many tens of thousands into the kingdom, well.. if he spoke about 'sin' he used to prance up and down the stage, and looked a the various flowers and plants, go up to one and as he was saying about sin,.. you have to RIP it out by the roots, he would do so to a plant. Very graphic...but got the point across.

VK3AUU

Sexual abuse by women of children and teens is a subject most parents and caregivers are not familiar with. Female sexual predators go unreported because of a lack of awareness by the public.

75% of sexual predators are male and 25% are female.

86% of the victims of female sexual predators aren't believed, so the crimes go unreported and don't get prosecuted. Considering these facts, arrest statistics for child sexual offenders by gender are meaningless.

from "The Sexual Abuse by Women of Children and Teenagers"

UK TV programme - Panorama - BBC1 - 10 pm Monday, October 6th, 1997

http://www.canadiancrc.com/female_sexual_predators_awareness.htm

Female Perpetrators

As recently as 10 years ago, it was a common assumption that females did not or could not sexually abuse children or youth. Even some professionals working in the field believed that women represented only about 1% to 3% of sexual abusers at most. However, mounting research evidence about sexual abuse perpetration at the hands of teen and adult females has begun to challenge our assumptions, though these earlier and dated views still tend to predominate.

You're right boaz...... the 'love for your creator' won't get up... but you meant my creators, mum and dad right? :) (Sorry, couldn't resist).

I'm lucky - Growing up, I never come across an instance of child sexual abuse... It never occurred to me, or anyone I knew of.
I've heard vague allusions to it in more recent years... I guess being shielded from it has made me somewhat unaware of it's significance.
Suicide is an issue I've had more experience with, though I've no doubt the two issues are interconnected in a number of ways.

I guess I probably haven't thought about it because I don't want to think about it (cripes that sounds bad). But on an intellectual level I know this is something that needs to be taken more seriously - I guess on that same level, this ignorance also makes me more aware of how difficult the task will be.
I hate to say it, but if this is going to become part of the national agenda, advocates are going to have to start using some confronting tactics.

In all honesty, if I go to a lecture where someone tells me about the problems associated with child abuse, I'd nod my head and say 'yes, we definitely need to do something about this' but then promptly walk away and forget about it, putting it on the 'too hard' list.

On the other hand, those who know more about this are more passionate - the problem you have, is you can't really educate people about child abuse beyond statistics. And we've all heard enough about statistics.

I guess this is about images, but again, you can't show children's faces, and you can't show anything too explicit.

What people need to see are the faces of people who've been abused, and how it's affected them. And not just a little exposure either. It would take one hell of a campaign, though unless a powerful individual who has been abused steps forward to stump up the cash, I don't know how it'll happen.

It also wants an abuser to step forward and put their hand up, but I don't imagine there is much chance of that happening.

A Royal Commission is the least that is required for this obscenity, perhaps a standing Truth and Reconciliation tribunal might also assist our society to confront, admit, and stop the perpetuation of the behavior.

Efforts to date have obviously not succeeded and several trends give no cause for comfort. The sexualisation of children in media long passed obscene, and the growing involvement of organised crime in production and distribution of child porn, a handy synergy with prostitution and people trafficking, is not some trend we can 'wait and see' on.

A Private Members Bill (for royals commissions) in every parliament in the country should help smoke out where the political opposition is coming from, that alone could be revelatory. My bet is it will come from certain old guard and pseudo-christian elements in the two largest parties, and should serve to alert a few more to the monstrous secrets in so many cupboards.

When concern over reports of an adult teacher ogling, grooming and writing love letters to students can be shouted down as homophobia (see David Flints defense of Alan Jones here on OLO, and the comments) then I am in no doubt that something is seriously sick here, and a Royal Commission is required.

This area of life, and our own reactions to it are soooo reminiscent of a movie I once saw starring Sean Connery.
In it, he was a policeman, who captured/arrested a pedophile.
The pedophile is so arrogant and unrepentant, and during the struggle to arrest him, Connery beats the pedophile up horrifically. He keeps on beating an beating..punching etc.. then.. there are flashes of the incident of abuse... they start crowding into Connery's mind and thoughts.. and the more they flood his mind, the harder he beats on the pedo, who, though in a state of bleeding and batteredness, continues to laugh and ridicule Connery. Finally, it becomes clear, that Connery is in fact beating on his own revulsion of his own sinfulness as he is confronted with the fact that he himself finds the abuse somewhat interesting.

This is not a bad metaphore for much of society at any time.
Perhaps its also a reason why such things are very reluctantly investigated. They turn into a can of worms ... or maggots, which show the level of decay and degeneracy of our whole social fabric from top down.
Public knowledge of such things, is probably deemed to be more socially volatile than punishing the particular perpetrators.

To me, it is just further evidence of our need for a Welsh Revival type repentance. "bend me Lord..bend ME" said Evan Roberts as he poured his heart out to God prior to over 100,000 converts and restorations to the Welsh Church. 1904 was an amazing year for the family of God.

When we as a community say "Not my will Lord, but thine be done" we will find our joy complete, and our morality restored.

How would we feel if judges, parliamentarians, senior police, captains of industry were exposed as child abusers ? Perhaps we would be ready to say with young Evan Roberts....Lord...bend us all.

http://www.welshrevival.com/lang-en/1904evanroberts.htm

Barbara,

Sent your informative article to Donna M. Hughes, University of Rhode Island.

Runner,

Excellent comment.

LIAM !

PLEASE...don't "guess" on such a matter in a way which specifically classifies a large slab of members of parliament as 'suspect' based on their nominal religion.

If an enquiry get's going....how about doing for THEM as I'm sure you would like done for YOU and that is not prejudging any outcome.

To be honest, that post of yours seems quite irresponsible considering such a serious matter. Was the Member who attempted suicide a member of the 'pseudo Christian' mob ? He would be nominally Greek Orthodox I suppose... do you want to tar all Greek Orthodox people with the 'pedophile' brush ?
C'mon mate.... I'm sure u can do way better than that trashy post.

Barbara, I am a bit awed by your courage.

TurnRightThenLeft says it for me:

"I'm lucky - Growing up, I never come across an instance of child sexual abuse... It never occurred to me, or anyone I knew of. I've heard vague allusions to it in more recent years... I guess being shielded from it has made me somewhat unaware of it's significance."

We thrash out issues on OLO. We make the effort to put ourselves in another person's shoes, in order to understand their point of view. But this one is tricky. Where is the means, method and motive?

Marlene (my beloved - who was not abused either) insists that it is not really sexual, but has to do with power and control exercised by weak people who cannot cut it with their physical and intellectual equals.

Still I am in the dark, because you need to "feel it" in order to empathise. No empathy = no real understanding.

Like VK3AUU, I need someone to explain it to me first hand. Having enjoyed the 60's I was always a bit of a free-wheeler, but looking back, attraction always seemed to be between equals.

Good for you, Barbara.
I admire your unflinching honesty and courage enormously.
Keep speaking out, Royal Commission or not, you change things.

Boaz

While some are getting at the root cause, further injury to children needs to be prevented through the criminal justice system:

a) And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had
done unto him. And he said, "Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants
shall he be unto his brethren...."

b)...do justice to the afflicted and needy.

c) Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of
the wicked.

d) Leviticus 18

e) They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep
the law contend with them.;

f) When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth....

g) To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord
than sacrifice.

h) A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away
all evil with his eyes.

i) A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them.

j) He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even
they both are abomination to the Lord.

k) It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment.

l) It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne
is established in righteousness.

m) A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled
fountain, and a corrupt spring.

A major purpose of government is to protect the people (including children) from criminal violence.

I'm sure you know, each act of child abuse destroys a child, psychologically, emotionally, spiritually for his or her entire life (it's not "just sex" as some catholic priests in transgression might argue).

Should we not listen to their silent cries for help? Isn't that the mandate of God? As God/Jesus said:

It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his
neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend
one of these little ones.

Why do people like HawaiiLawyer see religion as the solution to all these problems of child abuse. In the past 50 years or so the leaders of the churches seem to have been some of the main defenders of the perpertrators of abuse against children. As one example I would cire the succour given to the late Father Ridout by the then Archbishop, now Cardinal Pell. There are many others. This is not to single out the clergy as the only source of child abuse. Family members and relatives seem to come to the fore in many circumstances.

God's standards, the l0Cs are summarized in the two, first love your God with all your heart, soul, spirit, mind, and two, love your neighbor exactly as you love yourself.

Pattern all human actions based on commandment number two, informed by commandment number one, and there would be no child sexual abuse, because humans would in fact love these children as they do themselves. Right now, sans these standards, child sexual abusers do not love these children at all, but see these children as a resource to be used by the "self" (themselves), for their own selfish purposes. They care not that these children are destroyed. To them, as to some priests who commit child sexual abuse, this is "just sex" -- relieving themselves, which they think is the "highest" priority.

Notice that these priests do not follow commandment one, love your God with all that you are. If they did, if they loved and admired God with everything they were, including their minds, they would follow his standards, not theirs.

If you locked up all the men/boys who commit incest you would be putting away a sizeable proportion of the population. It is much more prevalent than anyone out there realizes and it starts from quite a young age in all sections of society.

Posted by VK3AUU, Friday, 24 November 2006 6:44:10 PM

Check SBS TV tonight:

11:20 'My Mother, My Abuser"

From the SMH TV Guide: "One quarter of all cases of sexual abuse of children are perpetrated by adult females. Two thirds of their victims are girls".

"This confronting documentary focuses on mothers who sexually abuse their sons and daughters. Statistics show that 22 per cent of cases of child abuse are perpetrated by women and only 35 per cent of the victims are boys. In this program, victims of maternal incest, both female and male, describe their ordeals in detail and recount the trauma they have suffered. Experts provide us with the shocking statistics and reveal that child abuse often happens within apparently respectable middle-class families"
Posted by Hamlet, Thursday, 30 November 2006 3:57:55 PM

VK3AUU I hope you are watching SBS tonite.

Haamlet and JamesH.
You won't get any argument from me about it. I can't get a decent picture from SBS tonight unfortunately, but I think I have seen a forum on thesubject some time ago. Some of the old nuns at the convents weren't exactly lilywhites either, but no one ever seems to publicly mention them.

Get off your collective, self righteous , high horses.

The real reason that there will never be any royal commission is that then YOU! will be jailed.

And YOU too

And you and you.

When DNA testing convicted it's first rapist women round the world rejoiced.

The jubilaiton turned sour fast when the same testing cleared thouandss of men, who had been jailed, for over twenty years, for rapes that they had never committed.

And these men ended up in a collective too hard basket. You were talking compensation cases worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

The same thing will happen with child molesting but a thouand times worse. Every last teen runaway will claim that a relative or parent had molestied them as toddlers. The police and governments are already all too aware of how far this mass hysteria will go.

You are talking something that would make the German Holocaust and the Roman Inquisition look like a picnic. No government is prepared to tolerate that scandal.

I cannot let the last poster's glib remark about feminists regretting the release of men wrongly convicted of rape pass without comment.
Why would any woman - whether identifying as feminist or not - want the wrong man jailed for rape? Apart from the simple injustice of any innocent person being convicted, it would not make a single woman safer and it would mean the real perpetrator went unpunished - and who then could go on to rape again. As a feminist myself, I am nothing but pleased when the wrongly convicted - of any crime - are released. Most feminists, contrary to the propaganda pushed by many posters on this site, are neither anti-men nor men haters. There seems to be a view that you cannot be pro-women without being anti-men ( which may reveal something rather sad about the holders of such a view and the kinds of combative lives they live). Most feminists simply want to present the female perspective on any given situation, to make clear to the world the different way things effect and impact on women than they do on men, and get that view heard. Is that so terrible?

"Men who are unjustly accused of rape can sometimes gain from the experience." - Catherine Comins

"Why would any woman - whether identifying as feminist or not - want the wrong man jailed for rape?"

The only answer I can give at present is "because they want to hurt him!"

There is a politically incorrect study published ages ago which explored the issue of why would (some) women lie about rape. If I recall correctly it surveyed the responses of women.

I Know it is politically incorrect to even hint that it is possible that a woman would possibly lie about rape.

Unfortunately there are some people who are not very nice and do not care much about who they hurt or the damage that they inflict onto other innocent decent people.

You know, James, this may come as a surprise to you, but there are rotten people in all sorts of groups and cohorts. There are even lots of nasty people who are called James. However, just because some nasty people have the same name as you, would never mean that I would say that because some James's are horrible all James's are horrible. Well, the same logic holds true for Feminists, or Catholics or Calathumpians or divorced fathers or even (shock, horror) divorced mothers.
Yes, there are stupid, rotten, angry feminists, just like there are stupid, rotten, angry James's. It doesn't mean all feminists are stupid, rotten, angry or unjust, just as it doesn't mean all James's are.
Stop trying to paint all of any group with the same brush. You lot are very quick to - in some cases justifiably - object to men being characterised as all or nothing, well, you know what, feminists aren't all one thing either. They are just as diverse as Rotarians, or Christians or Liberals or Conservatives or Catholics or Jews or Socialists or Parliamentarians or Hindus.

Barbara. I was visiting a friend at a mental instituition recently. You are not alone as far as horror stories go. One lad told of sexual abuse in a Catholic Church and how he spent his youth going around Catholic Schools spray painting "Kid f#@kers" all over the place. He ended on heroin which really screwed him up.

Another women started having anxiety/panic attacks at 60 years of age. Apparently she had suppressed some childhood events like how her father would hold a shotgun to her mum's head.

Our mental health wards are full of tragic accounts like this. I makes me very angry.

JamesH. You are obssessive in your apparent quest to prove women more evil then abusive men. Get help.