Note from Rowland. I don’t know this organization, and hesitated to post this. However, I’ve noted that it affirms that sexual abuse happens in hetero- as well as homosexual contexts, within churches and elsewhere…

****

From

Chris Goddard,
Director, Child Abuse Prevention Research,
Monash University

Re:

Adult conspiracy to silence children a perversion of justice, Weekend Australian, 4-5/9/10

I should like to strongly endorse the suggestion in your article that the
extent of sexual abuse of children (and the tactics used to cover it up) are
only now being discovered.

My interpretation of your article: The truth about child abuse has long been
obscured. Adults and institutions have used many weapons to silence children
– and the full extent of lying and deception is still being uncovered.
Children make perfect victims (being small and easily intimidated). Abusers
have many allies – often unwitting. Medical interest in murder / abuse of
children only started 50 years ago, and sexual assault took even longer to
get attention. There is a presumption that children lie and adults always
tell the truth. People distance themselves emotionally from child victims.
Some institutions (eg Catholic Church) have aided the rapists, provided
victims and silenced complaints (see Broken Rites website). The letter
refers to case of Kevin O’Donnell – apparently a child abuser from the day
he was ordained. An Irish Commission of Investigation report into child
sexual abuse exposed again the Catholic Church’s practice of hiding the rape
of children.

While I have no direct knowledge of the problem, it seems from publicly
accessible (but generally ignored) information, that the main tactic that
the community uses to cover up child sexual abuse is the pretence that this
is mainly a problem in church institutions. While abuse within such
institutions exposes the hypocrisy of some individuals’ Christian ‘face’,
abuse within institutions appears to be insignificant in relation to the
level of sexual abuse that occurs in the community generally – according to
(apparently credible) sources cited in
CPDS

Comments on the Background to Sexual Abuse.

The major cause of this problem seems to be the breakdown of a very high
percentage of marriages – so that large numbers of children live in blended
families with adults who are not their biological parents. The community’s
way of covering-up such abuse seems to involve sensationalising instances of
sexual abuse in church institutions (eg consider the
Queensland Government’s inquiry into sexual abuse of children in Anglican institions).
By pointing the finger at those who should be condemning immorality in the
community, it has been possible to cover up the real extent of the problem.

However another tactic that has been used with success to facilitate and
conceal child sexual abuse involves the public acceptance of homosexual
behaviour – as that acceptance seems to (a) constitute belated endorsement
of the childhood abuse and neglect that seems to characterise many in the
‘gay’ community; and (b) facilitate future abuse by enabling predators to
convince same-sex victims not to complain about what is being done to them
because it is OK to be homosexual (see Public Acceptance of Homosexual Behaviour).

There is no doubt that ‘conspiracies’ by adults to cover up the sexual abuse
of children is a pervasion of justice. But exposing those conspiracies will
encounter a lot of resistance, and I wish you luck in doing so.

Regards

John Craig

Centre for Policy and Development Systems
CPDS supports leaders developing enterprise, economic, community and
governance systems

Visit CPDS website – which addresses local and global issues from the perspective of Queensland, an Australian state