From: cloister@stein.u.washington.edu (cloister bell)
Newsgroups: alt.sexual.abuse.recovery
Subject: Re: TIRED and child abuse statistics.
Date: 2 Jan 1993 03:09:56 GMT
Organization: University of Washington
NNTP-Posting-Host: stein.u.washington.edu

anon-1280@twwells.com (MelancholyChild) writes:

>hal@netcom.com (Hal Wine) writes:

>>In article <C018MC.5Jo@twwells.com> anon-1317@twwells.com writes:

>>> [ informed friend of child abuse prevalence, friend was shocked. ]

>>Why should he be shocked?  From the stats I've seen, child sexual
>>abuse rates are unfortunately consistant throughout the industrialized
>>world.  (I wish it were otherwise.)  This *isn't* an American problem.
>>If anything, we're on the leading edge of acknowledging the abuse and
>>developing treatment programs.

>It *is* shocking, and nobody wants to hear about it.

>Speaking of industrialized countries...

>I've been shocked to find out how bad the problem in in Canada. It's
>the last country in the world I'd expect to see having this problem.
>As part of my job I see newspaper clippings from all over America and
>Canada. Every day I see dozens of clippings about child molestation/
>sexual abuse/rape/murder and a fair number of them come from Canada.

I realize this is something of a morbid request, but here it is anyway.  the
FAQ list has a section on child abuse statistics.  i think this is important
because people need to know of the extent of the problem.  but, the statistics
i have been able to find are all from the USA.  please, anyone, if you have
statistics from other countries and know what their sources are, send them to
me.

>>Granted, we need this shouted from every street corner by hoards of
>>outraged citizenry.  But, I think I can hear at least a whisper from
>>many corners.

>I personally don't feel the situation is going to get past the 
>"whisper" stage, and the only shouting I can imagine is from
>people who are weary of hearing about it shouting to the victims
>to put a lid on it. I see more scepticism (sp?) and less understanding
>coming. That's pretty cynical, but that's how I see it.

>My own SO, who loves me and supports me, has said things that make
>me cringe. He brought up the McMartin Day Care case to me once. Because
>of that case, he automatically disbelieves Day Care abuse stories. I
>didn't(don't) know enough about the McMartin case to argue with him.
>He supported the Foxfire guy (Wigginton?) and, even when I told him
>that the guy had been convicted, said "hmmm" as if he thought it was
>a frame or something. He doesn't believe that there are any MPs on asar.
>I think he thinks that the women yelling "sexual harrassment" at these
>US Senators are going overboard (I know that he absolutely refuses to
>believe that Inouye...sorry, I don't know how to spell it...the senator
>from Hawaii, is guilty of all the sexual harassment claims made against
>him.) The thing is, my SO is a wonderful, sensitive, caring and supportive
>man. If *he* has trouble beliving this stuff, then I can imagine the rest
>of society's viewpoint.

please, take this comment with several large grains of salt because it's just
my opinion and i don't even know the guy, but your SO doesn't sound all that
supporting to me.  to me, denying media reported cases of child abuse is not
very far from denying that you were abused.  i have trouble separating in my
mind accepting all the things that happened to you and denying that society at
large could have this problem.  i don't see how someone could hold both
viewpoints at the same time.  anyway, food for thought.  if i'm way off base
here, which is likely, then please ignore this entire paragraph.
-- 
+-------------------------------------------------+---------------------------+
|tactical nuclear sdi stealth nsafood signature.  | cloister@u.washington.edu |
+-------------------------------------------------+---------------------------+