Cornflower, I don't think anyone is suggesting that child sexual abuse isn't a very serious crime.

Examinator was asking why women would commit such crimes on children?
We were thinking a past history of abuse to themselves may have been a contributing factor. It doesn't excuse what they did though.

The same obviously goes for male perpetrators. I agree there are some child abusers who choose to offend against children purely as a pathetic, sadistic and twisted form of sexual release.

These sort of pedophiles should never be released.

The fact remains however, that if we try to understand why the bulk of these offenders do what they do, then maybe we can stop the beginnings of the pedophile nature for the future.

We can't just do nothing.

Examinator, interesting discussion, thanks.

Why do they do it? Foxy says it's mental illness, yet I don't recall anyone suggesting that all of the (male) rapists in jail are mentally ill. In fact, the NSW Rape Crisis Centre, which claims to be "best practise" in the field, says that rape is all about power dynamics. I'm not completely convinced, but it's been quoted regularly.

In previous threads on related topics, there is usually at least one apologist for female abusers who pops up with "oh, but they spend so much more time caring for the kids", which is true - 90% or more of single-parent households are headed by the mother. It is also true that with the rise in female-headed househholds has come a massive rise in female-perpetrated violence reports.

There are several possible explanations for that: women are becoming more violent; the absence of a man in the house to blame means that women's violence and abuse is becoming more visible; definitions have been broadened to include behaviours that have not previously been considered significant; children are being made more aware, via education and advertising, of their capacity to make a complaint. I suspect it's a combination of all of them. As a child I can recall several mothers of schoolfriends who all the kids were scared of Possibly it was because dads tended to be invisible to kids in those days, busy earning money for the family, but just possibly those women were actually nasty to be around and even enjoyed bullying young kids.

The stats show ever more clearly that our current male-vilification campaigns are not reducing violence or abuse, they are simply giving violent and abusive women a sense that they have carte blanche to be that way. After all "girls can do anything" and "only men are violent" is the message that's been pushed for years.

However, let's not forget that the total numbers are low, depite the hysterical headlines. Most parents are neither violent nor abusive and it is very dangerous to make broad law based on relatively infrequent worst-case behaviours.

Examinator,
Are you saying 16094 children in Aus made complaints of sexual abuse last year. That doesn't sound right to me and I have never heard of a Childline service in Aus.

If it is such a concern here, why do they not operate in relation to FGM and forced marriages.

We have laws against these practices but not one person has ever been charged with an offence relating to either. We do not even keep stats on the instances that come to attention.

It is obvious that some groups have immunity from the law.

Well yes some do but the statistics would appear to be much lower - 25% according to the linked article.

Villification and targeting of women, single mothers or men in general won't help us do more in the area of sexual abuse.

Women also commit other crimes like theft, shoplifting, assault at times - I am not sure what the point is?

It is a bit like saying well women eat food too? Yeah... and..!

Banjo and All

Childline is the British service equivalent to Youth line in Aus. The article is from the BBC as stated.. sorry if I gave the impression that it was AUS.

The issue I was raising was that there has been such a dramatic increase in reporting it seems to be indicating that it is a crime that has been under reported before. Logically if it occurs in UK one is fair to say it happens here.

The implications are many and varied. I merely wondered what others thought if there was a correlation with male offenders and what that means for the way we as a community behave.

I wonder why we don't see lynch mob mentality explode when women are brought to court like they did with Ferguson? This especially so given his clear modus operandi. Conversely there was a 30 yo woman baby sitter who seduced a 14 yo boy and his 10 yo sister she got 18 months? why? The prevailing view was that it would take the boy 6 months to get the smile off his face. But what about the girl?

NB when I raise a topic it is simply because it may bring out some interesting thoughts. It very, very rarely means I'm grinding an axe.I am as stated before an info junkie and between two cultures so I'm curious why logic doesn't prevail more often.

Its A True Fact Women Do Rape Children And It Has Been Un Noticed By Many For A long Time And Always Everyone Think It Is Just Men That Do These Thins To Children

A Question Also , It Is Not Just The Mentally Ill That Does That , Their Are High Profile People In The Most Highest Job Positions In Australia

Such As Politicians, Lawyers , Judges, Police Officers, The List Goes On, So Why Is This Suject Only Being Placed On People With Mental Illness

If These Crimes To Our Children Happen That Is A Mental Illness For Sure , But I Don't Hear Any Of Your Responses Here , saying Any Of Those I Have Just Mentioned Have Mental Illness ,

A Lot Of The Comments Are Refering That Everyone With Mental Illness Come Under This , Subject,

Just Recently Here In Newcastle A School Female Teacher Was Invovled With A Young Girl In A Sexual Relation Ship, This Is also rape Of That Child ,

Im One Who Has Been Fighting Against Rape To Our Children By That Of Our Goverments Covering All The Rapes Of The Victims The Forgotten Australians,

Yet None Out Their Never Beleived Us Becaue Their Heads Were So Far Up Their Ass They Didn't Want To Know About The Rapes And Abuse We Victims Suffered And They Were The Very People Who Had Power And Control Over Us When We Were Children While Under Their Care ,

As For People Who Abuse Our Children Their Is No Excuse And Using The Mental Health For Their Their Excuse Is , Is Dicrimitavite To Other Mentally Ill Paients Who Have Never Harmed A Child

These People Are Just Shear Child Pretators Whom Prey On Our Young And Need To Be Placed In Gaol For The Rest Of Their Life And This Is Where The Death Penalty Should Be Brought And Introduced In Australia , Cause Some Of The Crimes That Have Happend To Us Are The Worst That A Child Could Ever Happen To Them

A Real Forgotten Australian