Preventing abuse

  • Thread starter Thread starter LittleFlower
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Here’s the deal. I don’t actually care what causes it, or if it has ever not happened at some other place in a time long, long ago. I care that it is happening now, in our society and we know how to prevent it. The kids are what matter. We are focusing on the offenders and that is not helpful. We need to focus on the kids. We need to protect them. All this other stuff doesn’t matter.
 
Well, if you can find a way to find every single person who needs treatment before they offend, great. Do you have a crystal ball? Do you think they are self identify? Are you willing to bet the safety of children on your getting it right? I am not.
 
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No of course not. But you made a statement that simply isn’t true. I can show you a case where a paedophile was fixed. I don’t know how common it, probably not that common, but it’s noteworthy. I’m just saying you shouldn’t be so quick to write off the theory behind how we understand this kind of behaviour. How can we prevent it if we dont know where it comes from.
 
In my diocese, if you enter straight from HS, it takes 8 years.
 
These threads awful man, they just won’t stop. Let’s get out of here…And let somebody else keep at it.
 
jfz178 said:
Well, if you can find a way to find every single person who needs treatment before they offend, great. Do you have a crystal ball? Do you think they are self identify. Are you willing to bet the safety of children on your getting it right? I am not.
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Actually, yeah, that is an issue - that there are those out there who are willing to seek treatment, but are afraid that they will be reported to the police if they do so. There are countries that make it clear there’s no need to report unless an actual offense or specific planned offense is revealed, and they do find people seeking treatment. We also haven’t done any work on the subject of how to treat people, especially as pretty much all research has been done on convicts.

This isn’t a substitute for properly handling offenders, but something that should be done in tandem with it.
 
We prevent it by making it not possible. Go through the Church’s Virtus training. You will see that it can be done. Frankly, I am not the least bit interested if there is some freak case where an offender was fixed. It is still not a reliably repeatable technique. If some “magic potion” is ever found, I will change my mind. But I still have to ask: Why are we focusing on helping the offenders to the distraction of helping the kids? We know how to fix this and we are mucking around with theories and anecdotes while there are a lot of children being abused, right now, as we discuss this. We can do something about it. I say let’s do it. Let’s save those kids.
 
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Who here has been arguing against Virtus training? The OP asked us to share ideas and we are offering suggestions from every angle. It does not have to be an either/or thing.
 
I don’t think we’re going to ever have a case where an adult 100% will never ever ever be alone with a kid. We do of course minimize cases, particularly with young children. But it’s not going to be the sole solution.

One suggestion I’ve seen is to bring back the screened confessional, which prevents physical contact between the confessor and the penitent. I would also think, for other private meetings, a room with a glass door or large window should be provided, in such a manner that they can be viewed but not overheard.
 
You keep using the word offender; if they are an offender they should be in jail. It’s inaccurate to refer to all pedophiles as offenders.
 
Ok littleflower, I linked you up to our support page in pm. There are a few resources on that page.

For everyone. We, the Church, here, take the findings and recommendations of the Australian Royal Commission seriously and with gravity.

Here is some of the statement from one of the Australian Diocean Bishops.

__the Royal Commission has found serious failures in the way the Diocese responded to child sexual abuse… mishandling of complaints against priests and church personnel and a lack of response to such complaints led to unnecessary suffering for many victims and their families and has brought distress to communities _
_throughout the diocese. _
… history brought to light in the Royal Commission’s inquiry has shown that the Church was not safe for those who were victims. “Where the failures of my predecessors allowed abuse to occur, I offer my heartfelt apology.” Bishop added that he is confident that the diocese and its parishes and schools now have the policies and procedures required to provide a safe environment for children… the Church would learn from the case study and the forthcoming final report from the Royal Commission, both to assist those who have suffered in the past and keep children safe now and in the future
 
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I am not saying that. I am saying:
  • Most of the solutions seem to focus on the offenders.
  • Some of the solutions are just outlandish.
  • Some of the responses seem to still be in denial that this happens and is still happening.
Maybe I was thinking we were talking about realistic solutions. That’s where I got off track.
 
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Sorry, I haven’t done work in this area so, I’m not sure how many solutions can be put into Camp A and Camp B. I don’t know whether more are child-centered or offender-centered.

Your suggestions are good and should be followed through on. But, it’s not unrealistic to create a climate in which people who genuinely want help to avoid acting on their inclinations are free to get that help.
 
One problem is abuse itself is a result of the evil within human nature. Society may make it more or less hard to root out, but our fallen nature is the ultimate source. That’s why it’s very unlikely to find a society with no abuse at all.

And I have read stories of small communities where abuse was allowed to continue. One woman who was abused by her parents as a child, whose story I read, explained the problem. The times she tried to report, the adults simply went back to her parents and asked if it was true. So all that happened was that she got a reputation for lying and was then punished for trying to tell. So that’s also an issue - making sure when children do report someone is listening.

I think most of us aren’t really repeating the solutions that are already widely implemented.
 
Bruised_Reed said:
What solutions are you referring to?
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Just what I said. If you are focusing on trying to fix or deter offenders, as most of the posts suggest, you are dreaming. You focus on preventing anyone from being in a position of offending without being caught. If you do catch an offender, you remove them from contact with children forever. This is what the Church, and law enforcement, has learned works in the greatest number of cases.
Bruised_Reed said:
Some of the solutions are just outlandish.

How so?
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Corporal mortification? Really? Are we in the Dark Ages?
 
Oh, you meant on this thread! I thought you were referring to safety programs on churches or civil laws or psychology.
 
corporal mortification isint nessecarily the self-whipping todays culture portrays it to be… cold showers, sleeping on the floor, fasting are all ways to increase self-control, and, therefore (i would say ) sexual desire and ergo child abuse.
 
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