Child abuse- by Chris Locke

Therapist and former Police Officer Christopher Locke explains why child sexual abuse crimes should have a greater priority

There never seems a day that child sexual or physical abuse is not hitting the headlines. In the past few years there has been a string if high publicity cases of wide-scale child abuse in children’s homes, the church, sporting organisations, schools and in domestic homes.

Yet despite all the publicity and graphic accounts of the horrors so many children have been put through successive governments have been slow to take decisive action. It is only now that the Government are beefing up the sexual offence’s legislation and introducing a Commissioner for Children, which is long overdue.

Police forces are now rising to the challenge and some have even made child abuse one of their designated priorities, which is a major step forwards. However in the past without strong legislation and full government backing it had been hard to really make an impact in a crime, which often is very difficult to prove.

Devious defences put up by abusers and their lawyers have made it difficult to get convictions on the word of just the victim and this lack of success puts off victims coming forward to the police. Such defences have included the use of the rather spurious use of the so-called “False Memory Syndrome” which probably only applies to less than 2 percent of cases yet makes it difficult for the 98 percent of genuine cases of abuse.

In addition to uses such defences lawyers in the past have bamboozled vulnerable victims in the witness box with personal attacks on the their character or argue that it was too long ago for them to remember accurately what happened. Of course there are rare cases when victims have been mistaken or even malicious but does that make it right to throw out the vast majority of cases which are totally genuine.

As a former police detective and now as a NHS-registered Trauma Therapist who has worked with many survivors of child abuse over the years I have always found it hard to understand why successive Governments have not put more effort into protecting our children and offering better treatment to survivors of child sexual abuse – hopefully the new initiatives will kick start the process.

Perhaps one of the factors could be that if the true abuse figures were know it could turn out to be that this major crime could involve millions of perpetrators who until now have got away with it. As a therapist I have noticed how the origins of why so many people have sought psychological help goes back to issues of child physical or sexual abuse. Furthermore, in 95% of the cases I have known the abuse survivors had not reported their experience to the police so imagine how the child abuse would soar if every victim reported their case.

Another factor as to why successive government may have been slow to act is because sometimes, powerful influential people are involved. As reports have revealed even politicians have tried to ignore or cover up cases of child abuse, as have the church and other major organisations.

Even the old public school system, which has turned out so many judges, lawyers, politicians, and other influential figures had historically included a degree of child abuse as part of their structure. It was argued that excessive beatings or caning of small boys by prefects or teachers would build a boys character. How they justified the child sexual abuse is hard to imagine but often it was overlooked or covered up if someone went too far.

Is it hardly surprising if a Judge who has been bought up in that system gives out ludicrously low sentences to abusers it must to some seem like a fairly minor crime.. Likewise where old school politicians with the same upbringing are asked to vote on tougher legislation they too may be reluctant to vote for it for the same reasons.

Unfortunately, as it is a subject that people don’t like to talk about or on many occasions even deny it takes place it is often dismissed. In the past people who complained about abuse were sometimes deemed as either troublemakers, fantasists or psychologically unsound but now this time-bomb is almost ready to explode.

Whichever way you look at it an abuser is committing a major crime on a par with murder, robbery or rape, so no longer can we ignore it or try to downgrade it to a semi-domestic issue for Social Services to deal with as we used to only 15 years ago.

In police terms there are many compelling arguments for giving it high priority. Some estimates claim that up to one in four people in the UK have been subject to some form of child abuse and research has shown that many victims can grow up to suffer many problems themselves.

Some in an effort to numb the psychological pain can be drawn to drugs or alcohol and those who cannot fund their habit can then turn to crime or prostitution to pay for it. All which are additional crimes that the police will have to deal with in the future.

Other victims can have emotional problems, relationship problems, psychosomatic illnesses, employment problems so they too may well create additional expense for the Health and Social Services throughout their lives. And finally, and most importantly surely the most compelling reason to take decisive action would be the welfare of the child.

Most normal decent people find it hard to imagine that adults and often parents could sexually abuse children so they dismiss it, which is why it is allowed to flourish. Just because we do not do it ourselves does not mean it does not exist. Perhaps if all decent people would actively look out for the well-being of all children, not just there own, we may be able to crack this problem – the police, courts, Social Services and children’s charities cannot do it alone.

However, although the police are not supposed to be social workers or health care professionals they are in the front line and sometimes they are the only hope for an abused child. Police officers are in people homes and on the streets and they can ask that one extra question, they can double check a slight suspicion, they can take that one extra minute to ensure a child is safe.

What is the extent of the problem in the UK?

It is almost impossible to know the true extent of this problem within the UK as clearly a huge number of offences never get reported or if they do they never go to court.

In the UK some studies suggest that childhood sexual abuse and incest works out at just over 400 people a day abused for the first time; either physically, sexually or emotionally. Usually the abuse is a mixture of two or more.

Other reports I have read claim that 1 in 4 people in the UK have experienced child sexual abuse in one form or another and that the majority of abusers have on average four victims and some having as many as 30.

Another report suggests that between 1 in 3 and 1 in 4 girls will be molested during childhood and between 1 in 5 and 1 in 6 boys will be molested. Whatever the true figure is it is huge and far higher than recorded crime suggests.

Sometimes the abuse may only take place once but often it continues for years and it happens to male and female children and the effect of sexual abuse can often last a lifetime.

Sometimes the trauma caused by childhood sexual abuse can lead to suicide and in the UK we have one of the highest suicide rate in Europe. Suicide is the number one cause of death for boys aged 18-25.
Furthermore, child deaths from abuse in UK could be double official records according to a recent report compiled by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Two children under the age of 15 die from abuse in the UK each week, according to the UNICEF Innocenti Report Card No 5, Child Maltreatment Deaths in Rich Nations, which includes league tables of the statistics across all the 27 OECD countries.

Nearly 3,500 children under 15 die from abuse (including neglect) every year in the industrialised world, with the youngest children most at risk.

Previously published data credits the UK with one of the lowest rates of child deaths through maltreatment, but this study reveals a growing certainty that across the OECD official statistics under-represent the true situation.

In an attempt to address this the UNICEF study has taken the bold step of constructing a league table of child deaths which combines national totals of child deaths from known abuse and neglect with those child deaths that are recorded as being of “undetermined cause”. In the UK this more than doubles the death rate.

The good news is that child deaths from abuse appear to be in decline in the great majority of industrialised countries; however, it is clear that the child death figures are only the tip of a very large iceberg of child abuse.

Other findings showed that poverty and stress, along with drug abuse and alcohol abuse, appear to be the factors most closely associated with child abuse and neglect. Also the report showed that 80% of child abusers are the biological parents and the risk of death from maltreatment is approximately three times greater for the under-ones than for those aged 1 to 4, who in turn face double the risk of those aged 5 to 14.

What is child sexual abuse?

You would think it was fairly obvious what child sexual abuse it but still many do not actual know. We know that any type of sexual activity or indeed inappropriate touching of a child by an adult would constitute child sexual abuse. However, showing pornography to a child, exposing yourself to a child, inappropriately watching a child undress or use the bathroom or photographing a child in sexual poses are also examples of child sexual abuse.

Who sexually abuses children?

Firstly it is a myth to think that most child sexual abuse is caused by evil paedophiles who pounce on unsuspecting children in the street. Statistics show that more that 8 out of 10 children sexual abused new their abuser. Quite often they are family members, neighbours or friends.
Child abusers come from all backgrounds, races and religions and they may well be in a adult relationship at the same time so it is crucially important not to dismiss a allegation of child sexual abuse just because the suspect seem normal and respectable.
Most abusers are men but the is a growing numbers of cases coming to light where women have been found to be sexually abusing children so do not rule out that possibility. There are even cases where mothers and fathers have jointly abused a child.
Another category, which in the past has not been actively considered, but recent studies have shown, relates to children who sexually abused by other children or young people who often are related. If children get away with committing sexual abuse as a child the likelihood is they will continue abusing when they grow up. So the answer is to keep a totally open mind and listen to the child or the adult survivor and do not solely rely on the word of the parents, carers or relatives.

Why do they do it?

Most decent balanced people hard it difficult to understand how seemingly ordinary people could possibly harm helpless children in this way. Sometimes abusers know that what they are doing is wrong but they still do it and others believe what they are doing is perfectly acceptable and even convince themselves that they are showing a form of love to the child. Some have a need to have control over their victims, which is why they target children and not adults.

It is also now known that some abusers have been abused themselves when they were young or have come from violent homes but this in no way justified what they are doing. If they are sexually abusing children they are major criminals that need to be put in front of the courts.

How do they do it?

Typically abusers try to build a relationship with their victims some by making friends with them and others by using fear. Some build relationships with the parents’ first and offer help and support such a baby-sitting or helping around the house with odd jobs.

Abusers may get jobs that put them in contact with children such as working in schools, children’s homes or perhaps organising child sporting activities. Others will hang around parks, swimming pools or amusement arcades

Some offer gifts combined with threats of what will happen if they tell anyone often telling the child that they will be responsible for their family breaking up if daddy is sent to prison.

They will use the child’s fear, guilt or embarrassment about what is going on and on occasions they will try to convince the child that they really enjoy what is happening and how it is the child who really want it to happen.

Very young or handicapped children often do not have the words to complain which is why these groups are often targeted.

Why do others not see what is going on?

Often the realisations of what may be going on is too shocking for other family members or friends to come to terms with and they go into a state of denial. Sometimes an abused child will try to tell some family member what is going on only to be told off or even punished for telling wicked lies – child abuse is not normally a subject a child will lie about. This is hugely damaging for a child and often dissuades them from attempting to tell someone again which is why in many cases the abuse can continue for years.

However, if children cannot tell you what is happening there other clues such as the child having nightmares, insomnia, bed-wetting, inappropriate sexual play or having problems at school. Needless to say all of these symptoms can have other perfectly normal causes so do not jump to conclusions but do investigate further and get expert advice.

If you do have a suspicion of abuse there is little point in questioning a child in front of a parent who may be the abuser as children will typically be too frightened to tell the truth for fear of the consequences. Police officers in the past have suspected one person to be the abuser and have in fact wrongly returned the child to the real abuser because the child was too frightened to tell them.

How can we prevent it happening to our own children?

Watch out for any changes in your child’s behaviour and try to build an open and trusting relationship with them. Make sure you talk about sex at the appropriate age and ensure they know about good secrets and bad secrets. Don’t allow your children to get emotionally isolated from the rest of the family as when this happens they can be tempted by the lure of another adult offering them attention. Above all listen to what the child tells you and if in doubt get expert help – whatever happened don’t do nothing.

The new Sexual Offences Act

The new Sexual Offences Act has been the biggest overhaul of sex offences legislation for 50 years. The Act aims to provides a clear, coherent and effective set of laws that will increase protection, enable the appropriate punishment of abusers and ensure the law is fair and non-discriminatory.

The Act also contains new measures to strengthen the monitoring of offenders on the sex offenders’ register and a range of new offences and harsher sentences for sexual offences against children and vulnerable people.

Home Secretary David Blunkett said: “Protection for children and the most vulnerable is a priority for the Government. All crime has a damaging effect on individuals and communities. But sexual crime, especially against children, can tear apart the very fabric of society.

“The new offences in the Act clearly set out what is and what is not acceptable behaviour, together with appropriate penalties, giving the public confidence that they are adequately protected.”

The Act states that any sexual intercourse with a child under 13 will be charged as rape and will introduce a range of new offences designed to tackle all inappropriate sexual activity with children, including a new offence of causing a child to engage in sexual activity - which will capture behaviour such as inappropriately persuading children to undress.

There will be new grooming offence based on meeting a child with the intention of committing a sex offence with a maximum penalty of ten years imprisonment. A civil order to apply both to Internet and off-line grooming, which will enable restrictions to be placed on people displaying inappropriate sexual behaviour before an offence is committed.

About the new Act NSPCC Chief Executive Mary Marsh says: “There is a strong momentum for reform and we applaud this. But unless the Government is clear about how services should be integrated at a local level, abused children will get vastly different levels of help depending on which part of the country they live in.”

“Children must be central to any change in how the system is put together. No amount of structural change can replace the basic requirement for a properly resourced and trained workforce, which provides all children with someone to turn to. Everyone involved in child protection must always listen hard to what children are trying to tell them and act on that information.”

The government are also appointing a Children’s Commissioner for England.