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The Alleged Child Victim and Real Victims of Sexual Misuse
Conclusions
The real victims of sexual abuse of children include all of us, because the system we have set up to eliminate abuse of children may be doing more damage than good.
Children may be harmed by the intervention.
Families, including extended family members, may be destroyed.
Grandparents may never see their grandchildren again.
Occupations that involve work with children become suspect: Teachers, preachers, boy scout leaders, big brothers, athletic coaches, day care workers, counselors, mental health professionals, and others are watched suspiciously by a society that asks why they choose to work with children.
Lonely people learn quickly to avoid all friendly actions toward children (Weinbach 1987).
Men learn that in spite of twenty years of rhetoric telling them they can have feelings and be gentle, if they are affectionate with children they can go to prison.
[...]
It must be possible for all who are concerned with reducing the abuse of children to agree cognitively that increasing the accuracy of the process is both desirable and attainable. There is more credible and reliable information now than a few years ago. It is possible now to assert [...]that there is a general consensus in the scientific community about some basic facts. Potentially this information can be used to develop a more accurate and reliable way to make decisions about child sexual abuse which will result in greater protection of abused children and less harm to innocent persons.
Conclusions
The real victims of sexual abuse of children include all of us, because the system we have set up to eliminate abuse of children may be doing more damage than good.
Children may be harmed by the intervention.
Families, including extended family members, may be destroyed.
Grandparents may never see their grandchildren again.
Occupations that involve work with children become suspect: Teachers, preachers, boy scout leaders, big brothers, athletic coaches, day care workers, counselors, mental health professionals, and others are watched suspiciously by a society that asks why they choose to work with children.
Lonely people learn quickly to avoid all friendly actions toward children (Weinbach 1987).
Men learn that in spite of twenty years of rhetoric telling them they can have feelings and be gentle, if they are affectionate with children they can go to prison.
[...]
It must be possible for all who are concerned with reducing the abuse of children to agree cognitively that increasing the accuracy of the process is both desirable and attainable. There is more credible and reliable information now than a few years ago. It is possible now to assert [...]that there is a general consensus in the scientific community about some basic facts. Potentially this information can be used to develop a more accurate and reliable way to make decisions about child sexual abuse which will result in greater protection of abused children and less harm to innocent persons.