Thank you Amanda. This is an insightful view of the options of the abused child who is essentially powerless in having few options other than to succumb to violation.

I agree by and large with your assessment of the child's need to 'revert to the primitive survival instincts: fight, flight or freeze'.

I was disappointed, however, that you failed to answer the crucial question that you yourself raised at the outset: << one might wonder why the story has taken more than 20 years to hit the newspapers>>.

Is it because the community has been in denial? If so, why, and what awakened them?

Is it because Australians are essentially apathetic conformists who like to believe that so-called men of God can do no wrong?

Is it because to Australians (and others) children are not seen as people with rights but are the mere playthings of adults?

Is it because....? OLO posters please help me. I don't understand why the public has been so passive about child abuse.

I wonder if the reason it has taken so long to report is because we have had some high profile judges, teachers, artist, sports coaches, environmentalist, scouts, brownies, atheist, agnostics etc etc who themselves are padeophiles.

The problem of clergy child abuse is encouraged by church leaders who consider themselves above the law. Rather than report serious crime, which they are obliged to do under common law, church hierarchies choose to handle it internally, keep it secret, cover it up.
This culture of secrecy to protect the church has had very serious results for children abused by known offenders who were simply forgiven and transferred only to repeat offend. It is probably continuing today. Why are our police and legal authorities failing to prosecute church leaders who deliberately flout the law?

One might also wonder why it is that abuses (not necessarily sexual) of children, by the sisters in various convents around the country have also not seen the light of day.

David

HI TO ALL THE FORGOTTEN AUSTRALIANS
we are victims abused and raped by the same type of people that worked in the state institutions as those of the church homes

the reason we victims were never to speak of what we were suffering in these institutions and homes was because we were told never to tell anyone as we would be kept locked up for as long as possable

a lot of us victims have suffered mager break downs of which has let our stories come to life because we hid the secret of what happend to us victims for too long
our stories are real and true

the goverment knows it and the churches know this and they still to this day try to cover up the rapes and abuse and physical assults and slavery humiliation and much more

we victims have been silent for too long and for over ten years our stories have been told

the institutions that are involved with the abuses that occurred to us victims have been covering up each other for far to many years
and its about time the state goverment and the comonwealth goverment stand up for the victims and addmitt to the truth of the abuse we victims endured by these pedophiles that worked in any of these institutions whether it be a church home or a state run home

we are real and we are not going away and we will no longer be forgotten

its about time parliment and the courts act for the victims and not the pedophiles

lets hope that the courts will give us victims justice and stop the goverments and the chuches cover ups

the judges are in a reserverd judgement disission of the appeal i lodge against the state for the rapes and abuse i suffered as a child and i can only hope they will give justice to i the victim and stop the state from covering up any more of these cases that are before the courts of which their are so many lined up in sydney supreme

kind regards huffnpuff

Perhaps, it is only in the last 10 years that the issue has been recognised in the media and in society's consciousness as a crime. Surely the victim's fear of confronting the issue prevents disclosure to authorities. It must be an ordeal to disclose even to a confidant to say nothing of going public on the issue. Of course there is also the fear of both the perpetrator and the institution they are a part of, to admit publicly what they have done. We need more people like Father Chris Riley saying that any matter of abuse must be taken straight to the police rather than dealt with internally by any organisation. These calls must be acted upon. Having said all that I hesitate to generalise about and stereotype these criminals and assume anything about their motivation or intent. Some of them, for example, were sexually abused themselves in the 1950's, when there was even less awareness.