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News 2008

Ten per cent of UK children 'suffer abuse'
Wednesday, 03, Dec 2008 12:01

Research published has suggests one million children fall victim to child abuse in Britain every year.

A study published in the Lancet reveals this statistic is prevalent across high-income countries. It means in Britain around one million children are maltreated – either through neglect or sexual, emotional or physical abuse.

The University College London study found that 15 per cent of girls and five per cent of boys have been exposed to some form of sexual abuse by the time they are 18.
Read more: http://www.politics.co.uk/news/opinion-former-index/children-and-family/ten-per-cent-uk-children-suffer-abuse--$1252464.htm

The German government acknowledged the abuse on 500,000 institutionalized children.
by Sieglinde Alexander
The decades of waiting for justice ended on Nov. 26. 2008
The German government not only acknowledged the abuse of some 500,000 institutionalized children, it apologized and promised a thorough investigation.
Two years ago, the formally institutionalized, filed a petition to the German government, asking for an investigation about abuse in German institutions and the violation of human rights in the post World War II years.
continue

US Vatican abuse case to go ahead
A US federal appeals court has ruled that a lawsuit against the Vatican over claims it covered up decades of child sex abuse by priests can go ahead.
The case was filed by three men from Kentucky who say they were abused by clergy in their childhood.

read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7749153.stm

Watch also: Sex crimes and the Vatican
VIDEO AND AUDIO NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/panorama/5402928.stm

Rapist father given life sentence

A man who fathered nine children by raping his two daughters over many years has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 19-and-a half years.

The 56-year-old from Sheffield was sentenced to a life term for each of the 25 rapes he had admitted.

The attacks led to 19 pregnancies, Sheffield Crown Court heard.
read More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/south_yorkshire/7747711.stm

Secret life of jailed father
A PAEDOPHILE jailed for life for sex offences against boys used to live in a rented house at Nuffield, near Henley.

David Cullen, 48, rented the semi-detached house in Bradley Road on an estate behind Huntercombe Young Offender Institution for about 18 months.
Passing sentence, the judge said: “It is difficult to imagine a worse betrayal of trust. He systematically wheedled his way into the confidence of other families. Some were single parents who themselves were vulnerable.
More:http://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/news.php?id=520599

Improved Foster Care Reduces Risk Of Adult Mental And Physical Illness, Study Finds

ScienceDaily (June 6, 2008) — In the first controlled follow-up study ever to examine the long-term health effects of foster care programs, researchers from Harvard Medical School showed that the extremely high rates of mental and physical disorders typically found among adult alumni of public foster care programs were significantly reduced among alumni of a private foster care program staffed by highly trained social workers with low caseloads and good access to quality services.

originaly published by: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080602160721.htm

Unthinkable abuse
Feds target child prostitution operations
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2008

Raids in June provided intelligence for the operation, according to the FBI, which arrested 642 people. The arrests are part of a five-year effort that has recovered 575 children since 2003.
read more: http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20081028/OPINION01/310283109/Unthinkable+abuse

80 percent of Internet child porn victims under 10 years old
The true horror of Internet child pornography has been revealed by the Internet Watch Foundation, a UK organisation that works with law enforcement agencies to help prevent such abuse. Be warned, this story does not make for happy reading...

The Internet Watch Foundation is a British organisation that works closely with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre and other law enforcement agencies to encourage the reporting of child porn online. (A)

A brother is not just for Christmas
If children in care must be parted from their siblings, they need space and time together, say campaigners.
Louise Tickle Tuesday October 14 2008

When Aaron was taken into care at the age of eight, he was separated not only from his three younger siblings but also from his twin. After an initial placement where all five children were kept together, they were split up and placed with a variety of foster parents in different areas of the country.

more at: http://www.paddydoyle.com/notjustforxmas.html

10 lawyers made over €1m from abuse cases
Sunday Tribune 14/9/08
Ken Foxe Public Affairs Correspondent

TEN solicitors have made more than €1 million each representing the victims of sexual and physical abuse at state institutions.

The legal firms have raked in colossal fees for their work with the Residential Institutions Redress Board, in some cases being paid more per case than the victims.
read more: http://www.paddydoyle.com/topearners.html

Bishop Anthony Fisher said: “PEOPLE should stop "dwelling crankily" on old wounds.”

Melbourne priest Kevin O'Donnell raped the girls while they were in primary school and died in prison about 10 years ago.

192 angry reactions from the public. The Daily Telegraph [ Sydney ]
read: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24028966-5016937,00.html

When a child is struck, parental trust is betrayed
by Barbara Rogers, Author, Screams from Childhood

Re: Senate passes anti-spanking bill, June 19.
Only 23 of the UN's 192 countries have decided to ban all violence against children.
read more: The Ottawa Citizen Published: Monday, June 23, 2008
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/letters/story.html?id=a3e065c7-b693-41ad-8c40-67af8273fbe8

Sex predator began abuse as a boy
A serial sex predator who began targeting his victims when he was a boy aged 12 has been jailed for 10 years for raping three girls.
The High Court in Edinburgh was told that Kay's abuse of children had spanned more than 20 years.

Comment to Haunting Shadows from the Past
I just finished reading Haunting Shadows from the Past by Sieglinde W. Alexander. I’m deeply impressed by this honest and courageous book full of truth and wisdom. The reader is allowed to witness the process of awakening and healing. The psychological wounds inflicted by emotional blind, abusive parents, - who never felt the endless pain they inflicted on their child.
Many times, I started crying, overwhelmed by the experiences the girl had to suffer throughout childhood and adolescence: all those terrible beatings, humiliations, neglect and betrayal, the parents’ endlessly hurting and destructiveness that injured the girl’s integrity and dignity.
Being a victim of child mistreatment and abuse as well, I am thankful to Sieglinde W. Alexander’s fearless revealing. It will help and encourage me saving myself from my own dark shadows from the past.

Sabine Becker, Germany

Josef Fritzl: The making of a monster
For the past week the world has been transfixed by the appalling crimes committed in Amstetten. But now it has emerged that Josef Fritzl was the victim of brutal abuse at the hands of his mother. Could this explain the man he became? By Tony Paterson.
Article Independent:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/europe/josef-fritzl-the-making-of-a-monster-820370.html?service=Print

and comment by Alice Miller to the article of the Independent:

The short report of the Independent explains FULLY the behavior of Joseph Fritzl. In an eerily precise way, he has staged what happened to him as a child: His mother was his SOLE RULER,....
http://www.alice-miller.com/readersmail_en.php

Church still owes €50m to victims of sex abuse
By Mary Regan, Political Reporter

RELIGIOUS orders still owe the Government more than €50 million of the sum
they agreed to pay in 2002 to compensate victims of clerical sex abuse.

While the overall compensation package will cost €1.1 billion, the controversial
deal the religious orders struck with the state limits their liability to €128m — of which only €76.8m has been paid.
More at: http://www.paddydoyle.com/churchstillowes.html

Clergy Sex Abuse Payouts Nearly Double

By RACHEL ZOLL – Mar 7, 2008

NEW YORK (AP) — The number of sex abuse claims against Roman Catholic clergy dropped for the third consecutive year, but total payouts to victims nearly doubled to reach their highest level ever, according to a new report for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.(A)

What Are We Doing To Our Children?
Victoria Hardy
March 10, 2008
What are we doing to our children? Typically I jump from subject to subject, circling the tapestry attempting to see the bigger picture, but a few weeks ago I wrote an article, Is Ritual Child Abuse Just a Hoax?, and naively, I have been surprised by some of the responses it has generated.

CEED - Conseil Européen des Enfants du Divorce
Parents, children and grandparents victims of international and administrative child abductions
http://www.jugendamt-wesel.com/CEED_eng.htm

Jersey Child-Abuse Investigators Find Evidence in Home's Cellar
By Brian Lysaght

Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Police on the island of Jersey said the cellar of a former children's home contains evidence that corroborates the accounts of many of the 160 witnesses who allege they were sexually abused there while in the state's care.

The inquiry into allegations of sexual and physical abuse of children began Nov. 22, police said. Investigators are looking into serious criminal offenses that date back to the 1960s, with most taking place in the 1970s and 1980s, police said. (A)

Is Ritual Child Abuse Just a Hoax?
American Chronicle - Beverly Hills,CA,USA
7th Fire During the investigation, 460 children reported being sexually abused and 80% showed physical symptoms including vaginal and rectal scarring, ...(A)

Middle-aged women abused as kids spend more on health care

After accounting for womens age and education, women who were sexually abused as children faced health care costs 16 percent higher than non-abused women, ...(A)

WHO AM I

The small Wexford boy's life was to take a tragic turn less than two years later when his mother, Lil, died of breast cancer. Six weeks later, his 'father' Paddy, hung himself in the haggard at the back of the house.

It is likely that the boy witnessed the hanging and was found several hours after the estimated time of death, wandering around in a distressed state.
read more or listen to the Canadian Radio Interview with Paddy: http://www.paddydoyle.com/whoami.html

Sex abuse victims react angrily to legal move
http://www.paddydoyle.com/victimsreact.html
Victims of clerical child sex abuse have reacted angrily to attempts by the former archbishop of Dublin Cardinal Desmond Connell to prevent legal documents from being handed over to a Government inquiry. Carl O'Brien and Genevieve Carbery report.
Deirdre Fitzpatrick, the group's advocacy director, said: "This cynical attempt to use legal manoeuvres to limit the work of this statutory investigation is a slap in the face to the women and men who have waited decades for truth, for justice and for some sense of closure."

Abuse victims become predators
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23094398-5013172,00.html
POLICE in the remote indigenous community of Kowanyama on Cape York have interviewed eight pre-teen and teenage boys after reports from doctors that very young boys had been raped by the group, with most of the alleged perpetrators themselves having been victims of sexual assault in the past. (A)

Convicted killer described as neglected child
Defense lawyers argue against death penalty in slaying of officer
By Tyeesha Dixon | Sun reporter January 24, 2008
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/howard/bal-md.ho.morris24jan24,0,2019265.story
Arguing that convicted killer Brandon T. Morris should be spared the death penalty because of his difficult childhood, defense attorneys yesterday presented experts who testified that children who grow up neglected and abused are more prone to violence when they become adults.

During the second day of sentencing hearings in Howard County Circuit Court, a social worker described Morris' childhood as marked by sexual abuse by an older male and his mother, a lack of food, episodes of homelessness and continual exposure to drugs and crime. (A)

Subject related reading recommendation:
“Guilty By Reason Of Insanity” By Dorothy Otnow Lewis, M.D.

Ruling may lead to more claims from adults abused as children
http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2008/01/31/107119/law-lords-back-compensation-cases-for-abuse-after-six-years.html

Posted: 31 January 2008/ Sally Gillen
Victims of physical and sexual abuse may be able to pursue compensation claims many years later, following a landmark ruling in the House of Lords.
Until now, people claiming to have suffered child abuse have been forced to take actions against their abusers within six years of turning 18.
The ruling yesterday means that social care employers could face a number of compensation claims from people who say they were abused in the care system.

Abuse by my own father made me feel worthless'
Sentence adjourned for man who also preyed on nieces and children of friends
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/abuse-by-my-own-father-made-me-feel--worthless-1278560.html
By Fiona Ferguson
Friday February 01 2008
A MAN who sexually abused his daughter while reading her bedtime stories -- as well as four nieces and children of family friends over a 15-year period -- has had his sentence adjourned.
The 67-year-old man pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to 14 sample counts of indecent assault against the seven female victims, on dates between October 1974 and November 1989.
His now 40-year-old daughter wept as she told the judge:
"If your father does that to you and your mother stands by him, it makes you feel worthless." (A)

Remarks by Sieglinde W. Alexander:
To bring abuse to court after 30 years would not possible in Germany or USA. The statue of limitation protects abusers.

National Suicide Research Foundation 2007
Institutional child sexual abuse and suicidal behaviour:
Outcomes of a literature review, consultation meetings and a qualitative study
http://www.nosp.ie/institutional_07.pdf

Executive Summary ( PDF file 54 pages )
Excerpt:
Key findings and recommendations include:

• There is a lack of studies addressing the relationship between institutional child sexual abuse and suicidal behaviour and related mental health difficulties, as well as protective factors. Future research should focus on the effects of child sexual abuse perpetrated by both adults and by peers.

• Studies focusing on the consequences of child sexual abuse in general have revealed consistent evidence of an association with adult suicidal behaviour, in particular non-fatal, as well as suicide ideation.

• The qualitative study found that alcohol and/or drug abuse and social isolation are major factors associated with suicidal behaviour among survivors of institutional child sexual abuse. A wide range of other, less frequently reported mental health difficulties included inadequate coping skills,impulsive behaviour, PTSD, anti-climax following attendance at the Redress Board and depression.

• Relationships, children and education were major protective factors identified by the specialist support services. Other less frequently reported protective factors included support from survivor groups, being employed and receiving counselling.

• Considering the wide range of mental health difficulties experienced by survivors of institutional abuse, a multidisciplinary treatment approach is required within the support services. This would include further collaboration with other mental health services and is in accordance with recommendations of the Vision for Change Report (2006) .

• The overview of factors obtained through the qualitative study should be further validated by research directly involving people with a history of institutional child sexual abuse, as well as physical and emotional abuse and neglect.

• During consultation, a number of the survivors explained that the experience of being abused in an institution has led to anxiety regarding the possibility of receiving nursing home care in later life. This fear of what might happen to them as they grow older must be given appropriate consideration as a risk factor for suicide ideation among survivors. This also indicates that the long-term effects of being resident in an industrial school during childhood have yet to be fully explored and understood.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Ireland 'left out' in atonement drive for sins of the Fathers
By John Cooney Monday January 14 2008
http://www.paddydoyle.com/poisonedchalice.html

THE Vatican's call on Catholics to atone for the child clerical sex abuse scandals that have rocked its foundations in recent years has handed a poisoned chalice to the Irish bishops.

A week after what has been described by one commentator as Rome's "largest global prayer initiative ever seen", the Irish bishops have not yet received a letter instructing them what to do in order to make reparation to the thousands of young people raped by priests and nuns.

The purported aim of this Rome initiative is "to make amends before God for the evil that has been done and hail once more the dignity of the victims".

Irish Independent 5th January 2008
Brace yourself for final chapter in our shameful saga of abuse
This year will see an attempt to conclude the long, sorry, dishonest saga of supposed recompense and healing to the thousands of men and women who suffered lifelong damage and injury in Ireland's industrial schools and reformatory institutions.
more: http://www.paddydoyle.com/braceyourself.html

From the Frying Pan to Hell
by Sieglinde W. Alexander

The choice a child has against abuse is null. Either it is the frying pan or hell. A child is powerless. Having learned everything to become a dysfunctional adult, we continue our life in the same unbalanced pattern.

The 14 years of my childhood were my private holocaust, stained with fear by the almost daily beatings, sexual abuse, oppression, and child labor. After having run away six times, I said to these cold-hearted bureaucrats from the child protection agency that I would steal or commit murder if they sent me back home again....
...The new girls’ home was called Haus Weiher, and was operated by brother Buchta, a member of the Lutheran Brothers of Altdorf a part of the Rummelberger Anstalten. In this house of continuously praying, middle-aged, vicious spinsters, who called themselves “the ones without sin,” I became acquainted with other frightening cruelties, oppressions and dehumanizing humiliations.
Read more

Sex crimes and the Vatican:

Watch the video or read the Transcript: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/panorama/5402928.stm
...KENYON: Instead of reporting O'Grady the church hid him from the authorities. No mistake, but part of a secret church directive. The man responsible for enforcing it was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI..

Brady says apology not adequate for abuse victims
Patsy McGarry, Religious Affairs Correspondent

The Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All-Ireland, Dr Seán Brady, has said as a church leader, he cannot adequately apologise to victims of clerical child abuse.

More: http://www.paddydoyle.com/bradysays.html

Sex abuse haunts half of all women
Fay Burstin - October 09, 2007 12:00am
ALMOST half of Australian women aged 18-41 were sexually abused as a child.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22553778-662,00.html
Research shows a staggering 45 per cent of women were abused as children by family members, friends or strangers.

Abuse ranged from non-contact behaviour -- such as indecent exposure or being forced to watch pornography -- through to rape.
A survey of 1300 women selected at random from electoral rolls by Griffith University psychology researchers found 80 per cent of victims knew their abusers. (A)

Anti-depressants 'cause bleeding'
http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/2004-03-04-BBC-antidep-bleeding.htm

Experts say a group of anti-depressants called selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors or SSRIs may predispose some people to internal bleeding.
"Strengthened warnings about the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding are being considered by the SSRI Expert Working Group."

Antidepressant prescribing soars
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6653013.stm
The number of prescriptions for antidepressants in England has hit a record high despite national guidance advocating alternative treatments.
More than 31 million prescriptions for drugs such as Prozac were issued in 2006 - a 6% rise on the year before.

Very important reading: Anti Depressants Facts
http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/articles3.htm

Antidepressant News Stories
http://www.benzo.org.uk/ads.htm

Antidepressants and alternative treatments for depression
by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP
http://www.womentowomen.com/depressionanxietyandmood/antidepressants.asp
Jackie was just 42 when she came to Women to Women for help. She had gone to her prior healthcare provider complaining of fatigue and “feeling low” two weeks out of every month. She had two active children, kept house, helped her husband with his business, and cared for her aging parents. No wonder Jackie was tired. But her doctor put her on Prozac.
....Certain chronic pain conditions that primarily affect women, such as fibromyalgia, endometriosis and rheumatoid arthritis, can cause mild depression and multiple trips to the doctor’s office. While your primary care doctor may be unable to resolve your chronic pain, he or she can help make you happier about living with it. If they can satisfy you and the HMO with a prescription, they feel they’ve done their job.
....While doctors are under pressure from the managed care system on the one hand, the influence of the pharmaceutical companies who make antidepressants is truly pervasive.

Low Cortisol Levels May Predict PTSD Risk
Researchers at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Bronx, NY, have been studying post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children of Holocaust survivors. A major conclusion of these studies is that these children have a higher risk of developing PTSD than other people. In a study presented in the August 2000 The American Journal of Psychiatry, the research group discovered that adult children with at least one parent who is a Holocaust survivor have low cortisol levels. The discovery could mean that low cortisol levels may be predictive of the development of PTSD.
More http://panicdisorder.about.com/cs/ptsdbeyond/a/cortisolptsd.htm

“spirituality” cements childhood blindness

How we learn to judge human feelings – the most vital messengers of our souls with a protective purpose

Human feelings are vital messengers that are meant to have a protective function. They convey important information as our bodies and souls respond to the world around us, to the actions and attitudes of others and to the experiences that we make, most powerfully to traumatic experiences.
read more: http://www.screamsfromchildhood.com/spirituality_cements_childhood_blindness.html

The Norm Report - Month 69
Be firm but never harsh.
Never lose your temper with a horse.
Reward him with kindness when he does what you wish.
- Xenophon, Greek cavalry officer, 300 BC

"The point of my method is to create a relationship based on trust and confidence...For centuries humans have said to horses [and children] you do what I tell you or I'll hurt you. [But] inflicting pain does not work ...I am convinced that my discoveries with horses also have value in the workplace, in penal and school systems, and in the raising of children...."
read: http://www.nopunish.net/

Books: The God Squad

We have been fortunate to have made contact via Ronnie Knight with an awesome individual called Paddy Doyle based in Ireland. Paddy is the author of a book 'the God Squad' reflecting on his life which since his parents deaths at the age of 4, he found himself in the care of religious institutions for the next 11 years. There he experienced terrible assaults both physical and sexual and through negligence found himself disabled at the age of 10. Paddy's book has sold over 100,000 copies throughout the Commonwealth and is in it's 8th print and available from Amazon.co.uk (it does say it is out of stock, but it is there in re-print). A copy of the book is winging its way to MatsoMedia and all the reviews produce a 5***** feed back having an influence on anyone who has read it. We look forward to that impact. Paddy has been communicating with Sooty who has been on a mission to locate the book since Paddy told him off for not getting it straight away and he has been pleased to report to Paddy that it has been achieved and a copy of the receipt has been sent to him as confirmation via e-mail today and he wishes never to get on the wrong side of Paddy again! This action has helped an Irish farmer maintain his posterior...! Have a read of Paddy's remarkable story and his positive approach and outlook on life via his website:
The God Squad

And this http://www.irishwriters-online.com/paddydoyle.html

Difficult life for Industrial boys
Tuesday August 21 2007

Thank you for Bruce Arnold's article about the past hidden reports about the Artane Industrial School (Irish Independent, August 18).

Heart rending reading in 2007, to think that the majority of the Irish population had a vastly different opinion of the conditions pertaining there.

The boys of those years are now older men, and many must have had a very difficult life.

The fact that the reports of 1936 and 1962 were covered up, is a far greater tragedy when we learn of the accomplices -- civil servants.
continue: http://www.paddydoyle.com/difficultlife.html

In the MIND of a child MOLESTER
EMILY WATT - The Dominion Post | Saturday, 18 August 2007

The paedophile has a favourite saying: "I see the world, but not as you see it."

When he looks at children, they are in a bubble of light, highlighted and more vivid than the rest of the world. But more: the paedophile is two people, a real-life Jekyll and Hyde. Logically, he knows what he did was wrong, or as he says, "served no purpose". Instinctively, he thinks it did no harm - that his scores of victims enjoyed it.

"Did I think it was naughty? Yeah. Did I think it was wrong? No. Even now, I don't."
continue: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dominionpost/4168488a6479.html

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