For society to address the problem first the statistics - with breakdowns, need be a lot easier to locate.

Those who write on the subject then need provide links to statistics they quote.

IMHO societies failure to offer easier access to private clinical - NON judicial, treatment for potential offenders who recognize their temptations, their potential to offend, is largely responsible for many NOT seeking assistance.

Whilst expected result is public identification, then being subjected to abuse, loss of employment, etc honestly, who do you expect to seek assistanc

All Barbara Biggs does here is present us with some statistics and draw some fairly straight forward conclusions from them. If you asked just about anybody in the street about the stats, I'd guess they would say they they are common knowledge. If you asked them about the conclusions, they would say they are bleedingly obvious.

So here is a definition for you. I'd say if someone writes a contemporary article that just states what everyone knows and draws the obvious conclusions and yet it reads like a breath of fresh air, then you are in the midst of a moral panic.

Great article and so true - the media focus on one or two cases when the majority go unnoticed.

For those who question the stats - one of many studies:

27.5% of females and 5.1% of males reported a history of sexual abuse in childhood in a review of seven Australian studies. (Andrews, G., Gould, B. & Corry, J. 2002. Child Sexual Abuse Revisited. Medical Journal of Australia 176(10): 458-459. Available online at: http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/176_10_200502/and10179_fm.html)

An unfortunately true article that spells out something none of us really want to believe- that is that the paedophiles among us are more likely to be well known by us than strangers.

A paedophile that preys on children he/she knows are just as much a threat as those more rare paedophiles that prey on any child they can.

The old saying that 'what happens in a family, stays in the family' is still alive and well today.

Yet, as the author so bluntly states, we ignore this unspoken familiar paedophilia at societys' mental, physical and financial peril.

Just check the case histories of any psychologist or psychiatrist patient list and you will see sad, very sick stories of childhood sexual abuse by parents, siblings, other family members or family friends.
These, often secret,traumas suffered by these people have led to a lifetime of mental and physical illnesses.

Until we as a society accept that this continues to happen in all sorts of households, including outwardly 'normal' families, this terrible crime will continue unabated.
Listen to the children.

Ms Biggs, you say our laws silence children. What do you mean? Don’t the child protection authorities investigate allegations of sexual abuse? If they find corroborating evidence aren’t alleged offenders prosecuted or are you expecting the authorities to act on hearsay evidence only? Could you be more explicit with respect to how the authorities should deal with “such a plague”?

Australia is in denial about child abuse generally. There are 4 categories: neglect/emotional & psychological/physical and sexual abuse, each unaccepable and each can scar a child for life. Sexual abuse though unforgiveable is in % terms the lowest of the 4 and is the only abuse perpetrated more by males than females. Neglect is the highest % committed then physical & emot/psych and sexual is the lowest. So why highlight only sexual abuse? Could this be directed at males? In 1 state alone, figures collected from 05 to 08 from the child protection dept showing substantiated cases,in 3 of 4 categories of abuse, the female parent was the higher % abuser and male parents higher only in sexual abuse. Where do any of the abuse campaigns show that? Further in 2 of the 3 areas of abuse where women are higher, figures have increased! In neglect alone from 161 to 261, emotional / psych abuse from 72 to 91, physical abuse stayed the same around 70 cases,whereas the % of males abusing children has decreased in 2 of the 4 areas. Is that being made public? If we remain fixated on only sexual abuse, we will not solve the problem and children will continue to suffer abuse. Until we are honest and stop making this a gender issue by stealth we will not fix the problem. The stats,the trends and numbers speak for themselves. When are we going to be honest and expose the whole story not just a part of it. False reporting - Some report because they genuinely believe abuse is occurring, many make false allegations when the custody issues arise.
Again in that one state over 300 cases of neglect were not proven true along with over 138 cases of emotional/psych abuse, 99 cases of physical abuse and 101 cases of sexual abuse.
The kids who've been abused deserve better. Honesty is the key here and it must include the whole picture not just 25% of it.