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.