Belly,
Not me watering it down.
I was institution raised in the 40s and 50s when such things were brushed aside and allowed to go unpunished, as was the norm back then.
It was a smorgasbord for those so inclined.
There was no recourse for the victims. Silence was the only solace. Most only spoke about it in later years, if they did at all.
SD

G'day Belly, I think of myself as a do-gooder with an unpopular agenda. I am not a do-gooder with a fundamentalist agenda. I have not retired from reds under the bed to looking for paedophiles, spiders or recivavists under the bed. My fav program on TV is Air Crash Investigations. They get the TRUTH no matter how or what. The truth sparkles and leads to results.
YOU might find it hard to believe that perhaps 5-10 % of children abused will never admit it, and even appreciated the abuse as sex education. Like throwing a child into the deep end in a way to teach them to swim (in a hurry).

Child abuse - involving such acts as burning children
with cigarettes, locking them up in closets, tying
them up for hours or days, breaking their bones, or
starving them - is alarmingly common, and probably
causes many older ones to run away that happen each
year. And the sexual abuse of children - now recognised
as a global epidemic - is rarely a matter of
molestation by a stranger. It is usually perpetrated
by one family member on another.

One source of this violence may lie in the dynamics
of the family as an intimate environment. Close
relationships are likely to involve more conflict
than less intimate ones, since there are more occasions
for tensions to arise and more likelihood that deep
emotions will be provoked.

Another source may lie outside the family, for violence
is frequently a response to frustration. If the person
affected cannot strike back at the source of the problem,
(the arrogance of an employer), say, or the lack of a job -
the aggression may be readily redirected at family
members.

In any event, the extent of violence in groups whose
members are supposed to love and care for one another is
not easily explained, and suggests that the modern family
may sometimes be under greater pressures than it can
easily bear.

Laz,
I too watch Air crash Investigations.
Do not believe all you see on TV as there is bias in many of these investigations, it depends who carried out the investigation. Law suites, manufacturers protecting their product and national pride all have an effect, as do many other factors.
It is all about people trying to find the facts/truth but not always achieving the desired result.
SD

Foxy,
With all the assistance and knowledge available to the modern family life should be a walk in the park.
I would suggest the family of years ago was stronger and far more supportive of each other than now.
We talk a lot today but do little if it is to our discomfort. Pass our problems on to others be the way of it.
SD

Dear SD,

What should be, and what is, are two different things
altogether. The issues are complex.