Men, Children & Sex

There have been horrific cases in the news of men abusing children, both girls and boys. This is nothing new. Old instances of abuse that come to light many years afterwards show that it has been going on for a very long time. The repeating pattern of the "Cycle of Abuse" is well known. Several thoughts occur to me about this disgusting phenomenon.

Firstly, I cannot believe that it has very much to do with sexual pleasure. What pleasure can there be in forcing very young children into aberrant sexual acts? So, is it simply about power? If this is the case what sort of disfunctional childhood did these men have which led them along this path? Are they so lacking in the ability to see themselves clearly & the dreadful harm they do as perpetrators, that they objectify the children? See them as somehow less than human? Block out their fear & pain? How inadequate a human being do you have to be to only be able to see yourself as powerful in this sad & pathetic way.

Secondly, is this inability to clearly see children as human beings who suffer pain & who have emotions, translated into the rest of the population? Are these men incapable of empathising & sympathising with someone else, such as the parents of the child, in any context? Are they mentally ill & can they be treated? If they are, how should we treat them, both in terms of punishment & in terms of healthcare & re-habilitation? Are we, to some extent, blinded by our disgust at the crime & against the perpetrator?

The really worrying thing about these crimes is that the men often act in groups. This seems to me to raise the seriousness stakes enormously. These men share, plan & target in a calculating & well thought out way. They are skilled at covering their tracks & using modern technology. In fact technology, it seems to me, has allowed the crimes themselves to grow exponentially. In the same way that it has changed the face of politics in opressed counties, it has actually helped these men to be better organised to spread & continue the cancer of their actions.

If I had a child who had been violated by a man, or gang of men, I know that I would want to do them physical harm. I feel loathing for the acts against children & if I'm honest, against the perpetrator/s. But that raw emotion doesn't help us as a society tackle & deal effectively with this crime. We all need to face up to "the evil that men do" and find a more effective way of dealing with them & protecting our children. We need to do it soon.

 http://www.childmolestationprevention.org/ I found this after writing the blog & found it very informative.