Positive Stories in the War on Child Sexual Abuse - Episode XXVII

The first three stories on this post were gathered in March. April is child abuse month and I could not find a significant story for number four until April 22. With physical, emotional and sexual abuse likely to increase considerably under CV19 lockdowns, there has been extremely little done by any government to alleviate or mitigate the abuse.

Senate moves to protect Nigerian children

against rape, abuse

By Senate President Media Office

The Senate on Tuesday considered two critical bills aimed at strengthening Child Rights laws and the protection of older persons in Nigeria.

Both bills were sponsored by Senators Ibikunle Amosun (APC- Ogun Central); and Ezenwa Francis Onyewuchi (PDP – Imo East).

Leading debate on the Child Rights Act 2003 (Amendment) bill, 2020, Senator Amosun, said the piece of legislation seeks “to protect the Nigerian child by excluding certain categories of persons from being employed either as care givers, teachers or in any other circumstances that may expose or make such a child vulnerable or susceptible to sexual assault or sexual exploitation.”

According to the lawmaker, the Bill, which is an amendment to the Child Right Act 2003, seeks to declare and prohibit persons convicted of attempted Rape among others, unsuitable to work with children.

The first amendment to the Child Right Act in 17 years??? Nigeria has some serious catching-up to do.

Amosun added that, “recent developments in our society underscores the need to take a second look at the Principal Act with a view to providing stringent provisions that would guarantee the safety of the Nigerian children from defilement or other forms of sexual exploitation, in view of the rising cases of sexual violence suffered by Nigerian Children in the hands of caregivers and others, whom for lack of appropriate legal restrictions, have found themselves in positions that give them undue advantage and access to the children.”

The lawmaker stressed that, “apart from the existing punitive measures in relation to sexual offences against children, the thrust of the Bill is preventive in nature.”

“Mr. President, Distinguished colleagues, sexual assault is fast becoming a cankerworm in Nigeria, as a day will hardly pass without reading or viewing in the media, cases of sexual assault suffered by Nigerian children in the hands of people, who ordinarily should not be allowed to have custody or access to them for whatever reason,” the lawmaker said.

“Accordingly, if this Bill is passed, the Senate would have given a nod to the declaration that the following categories of persons are unsuitable to work with children: Persons convicted of murder, attempted murder, rape, indecent assault or assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm with regards to a child.“

Others on the prohibition list are: Persons declared mentally unstable and thus unable to enter defence in court against violent offences such as murder, attempted rape, indecent assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm with regard to a child; and Any person who has been convicted of murder, attempted rape, indecent assault with intent to do bodily harm with regards to a child, in the last five years preceding the commencement of the Bill.”

Similarly, the Upper Chamber also on Tuesday considered a bill for older persons in Nigeria to have right to social protection, including income security without discrimination on the basis of age or age.

Sponsor of the bill, Senator Onyewuchi said the legislation under consideration will address rights issues, systemic and interpersonal prejudice, and all forms of stereotype and discrimination.

The lawmaker added that the bill if passed, will prescribe punitive measures where rights are deprived, and make provisions for the integration of older persons in development and ensure an age friendly environment in the Nigerian society.

Both bills after scaling second reading on the floor were referred by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to the Committee on Women Affairs and Youth Development.

The Committee which is Chaired by Senator Betty Apiafi (PDP – Rivers West), is expected to turn in its report in four weeks.

Power of play - How can the healing process begin for children who have been abused?

Photos: brac

Luba Khalili
The Daily Star, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Play is an integral companion of childhood. Little brains grow with the help of their play time, learning colours and creativity, allowing children to better understand themselves and their world. Because playing comes naturally to children, even in the worst of circumstances, we will see them huddled together and break into play.

The resilience and agility of children's minds are remarkable. Given the right support and environment, children can bounce back from adversity. When thinking about helping children who have been abused, play's incredible ability in healing from trauma cannot be overlooked.

A child's brain will be approximately 80 percent the size of an adult brain by age three. By six years of age, the most significant part of one's cognitive development will have happened. While play can work wonders in helping children learn, it also plays a remarkable role in helping them heal.

The healing process for a child who has experienced abuse begins from reasserting the sense of security that was lost. How caregivers respond to a child's abuse has a tremendous impact on the potential for healing. A child's sense of safety and trust can be strengthened if their disclosure of abuse is accepted in a compassionate and supportive way. Play has shown to strengthen the parent-child bond, and when there is active participation from the child's caregivers during their play time, it can help bring back the feeling of being safe.

There is also play therapy, which utilises play time to gain insight into a child's mental state. Therapists can help the child explore their feelings and unresolved trauma. Healthy coping mechanisms are learned through the help of the therapist, as well as maneuvering around inappropriate behaviours.

In play, there is freedom. With so much of a child's day controlled by routine, how do they learn to exercise their own agency and creativity? The freedom in play time has immense positive effects in building - and rebuilding - young brains. This makes it a perfect ingredient to the healing process. Children not only experience an increased capacity to regulate their emotions and curb their undesirable behaviour, play time helps neutralise excess energy, enhance imagination and creativity, acquire trouble-shooting skills, and regain confidence. Best of all, play time lets children be children.

BRAC Institute of Educational Development (BRAC IED), in partnership with Lego Foundation, currently operates 304 Humanitarian Play Labs in the camps of Cox's Bazar, where children from the Rohingya refugee community learn and heal through play. These children had witnessed horror of unimaginable proportions. With careful planning and designing of the curricula, the Humanitarian Play Lab model was developed—giving the children plenty of time to play, sing, and learn in their native language. Evidence that the model was working was clear in the children's self-esteem, and how they engaged with others. And their drawings - some of which were once of the violence they had seen—were full of flowers, family, sunshine, and beautiful colours.

Abuse can leave scars to last an entire lifetime. When we're young, however, our ability to bounce back is much better than when we're older—but we need to receive an environment that nurtures that recovery. To be able to play and relax is not only crucial for our development, but is also the right of every child. When helping children heal from abuse, let them know that they are not at fault, that they are now safe, consider bringing them to see a specialist to help express themselves. And give them lots and lots of free, unstructured play time.

Barred: New laws in Idaho BAN transgender athletes from competing in female sports

And from changing their birth certificates

© Getty Images / Photofusion/Universal Images Group

Idaho has become the first state in the US to ban transgender athletes from taking part in female sports leagues, after a two new laws were passed to prevent it.

Idaho's newly-enacted "Fairness in Women's Sports Act" bans trans girls and women from competing in girls' or women's sports leagues affiliated with the state's educational establishments. In addition, law was passed stopping transgender citizens from changing their birth certificates.

Idaho governor Brad Little passed the two bills into law on Monday, sparking criticism from the LGBT+ community.

The topic of transgender athletes in sporting competition has been a hot-button topic across the sporting world, particularly in the United States, with the safety and integrity of sports competition perceived to be under threat from the inclusion of transgender athletes in female sports.

"It is a sad day in the United States when lawmakers are more determined to stop trans young people from playing games than to provide them with the care, support, and opportunities they need to survive and thrive," said Sam Brinto, the head of The Trevor Project, which advocates for LGBT+ youth.

State lawmaker Barbara Ehardt, who introduced the bill, explained the new legislation thus: "Under this bill, boys and men will not be able to take the place of girls and women in sports because it is not fair."

The law preventing transgender people from changing their gender on their birth certificate, could face a legal challenge from LGBT+ groups, who have strongly opposed the move.

"Transgender people need accurate identity documents to navigate everyday life, and this gratuitous attack puts them back in harm's way for harassment and even violence," said Kara Ingelhart, a lawyer at Lambda Legal, in a statement.

The company, which has worked with LGBT+ groups on a variety of cases, has highlighted the fact that a federal court had ruled in 2018 that Idaho was violating the US constitution by not allowing trans people to change the gender on their birth certificates.

Two other US states, Ohio and Tennessee, already have the law on their statute books.

UPS Trains 97,000 Delivery Drivers To Spot Signs Of Human Trafficking

UPS-trains-drivers-spot-sex-trafficking.jpg

In the last month, we’ve seen society collectively respond to the threat of coronavirus. Seeing how important community-wide action is in responding to this challenge can shed some light on how a similar response is needed for other large-scale problems that are less visible, yet equally, impact everyone.

What are we talking about here? Ask Danelle McCusker Rees, Human Resources President for UPS’s domestic operations. Her statement on recent action UPS has taken on one issue—sex trafficking—shows how some issues go beyond employees. “It’s truly about our community,” she said. And when an issue is about a community, it’s going to take the entire community to tackle it.

UPS makes a dent in the fight against sex trafficking

At the end of January, UPS announced that it would begin training its delivery drivers to detect signs of sex trafficking. This policy would extend to both neighborhood and freight drivers, reaching a total of 97,000 drivers and supervisors nationwide. Cool, right?

This started back in 2016, when UPS teamed up with Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT), an organization that assists law enforcement by training transportation professionals to recognize and report signs of sex trafficking.

To date, TAT has trained almost half a million professionals, and UPS is just one company that is benefitting from the training programs available.

How can drivers be part of the change?

These efforts show how community-wide action really can have an impact. It has transformed a transportation company’s daily business into a targeted tool for change.

According to anti-human trafficking organization Polaris, truck and rest stops, and highway motels can often be hubs for human trafficking; for traffickers, they mean convenient access to many transient buyers, and, as they are typically in secluded locations, imply little risk in losing track of their victims. Trucking companies and drivers are on the “frontlines of this global epidemic,” according to American Trucker, and can do a lot to help if they are trained.

The training drivers like those from UPS receive help them detect red flags when identifying victims of this $150 billion business. Markings like tattoos (which can indicate trafficker branding), or hints of abuse or drug addiction can be signs of human trafficking. Trained drivers know to take notes on specifics: vehicle color, time, exact location—and notify the National Human Trafficking Hotline.

Over the last decade, almost 2000 calls to the Hotline have been from callers specifically identifying as drivers. However, that’s only about 1% of calls the Hotline has received in a similar time period, which means there’s a lot of work yet to be done.

Implementation across borders and industries

Legislators are working to have programs like those TAT offers be required as part of all entry-level or commercial driving certifications. TAT programs are currently implemented in twelve states’ certification processes, and being considered in others’, as the value of the trucking industry in combating human trafficking is increasingly recognized.

But thankfully, the trucking industry isn’t the only one making changes in a community effort.

Hotel and motel chains, also hubs for human trafficking crimes, are making changes to make their contribution. Last year, Marriott International hit a milestone: it successfully trained 500,000 hotel workers across almost 7,000 hotels to recognize the signs of sex trafficking in just two years. They have been taught to detect warning signs of trafficking which can look different from what appears in the trucking industry—guests with, ***Removed***.

Polaris states that it is a, “popular misconception,” to believe trafficking can only occur in sketchy motels. It’s as likely to occur in mainstream hotel chains. Other hotels like Wyndham group and Hilton have also made efforts to combat human trafficking,

What’s all this got to do with porn?

National Human Trafficking Awareness Month may only be in January every year, but the challenge to fight against trafficking is daily. It’s great large companies like UPS are making key efforts, but what can we, as individuals, do? After all, these large-scale problems require the help of everyone.

The first step is awareness. It’s challenging to defeat an enemy you don’t know. And one of the less commonly known aspects of the human trafficking problem is its relationship to porn.

People tend to picture these industries as separate spheres, when in fact the reality looks more like a Venn Diagram. There’s more overlap than is commonly known, and some of the most basic ways they are connected are these: Reports have shown that in many countries, those who were sold for sex have had pornography made of them while they were sexually exploited in almost 50% of cases.

What’s more? Victims of sex trafficking are often groomed for abuse using pornography. They are “taught” what they are expected to perform, usually at the request of the buyer who comes with expectations, also from porn.

Porn warps potential sex buyers’ expectations and creates unhealthy ideas about women and sex. A Call to Men, a violence prevention organization and leader on teaching about healthy manhood, says, “The driving force behind the human trafficking industry is men…and there’s a real necessity to change the way men view women…porn plays a big role in shaping the minds of young men.”

This brings us to the next way porn fuels trafficking: porn can fuel the demand for sex trafficking. Often, those seeking sex want to act out what they’ve seen on screen. Even consumers who don’t seek out sex drive the demand in real life of what’s on screen.

When it comes to issues like sex trafficking, the challenge is often more complex than meets the eye. Unexpected industries, like porn, can actually factor in as an important player. Likewise, when it comes to the solution, we have to consider all the actors involved. Companies that are seemingly completely unrelated to the problem now become part of the solution.

As individuals, we can do the same. Let’s be part of the solution, and refuse to click.

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‘May justice prevail’: Litzman departs Health Ministry
'For a Change'

MK Yaakov Litzman, head of ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, tells PM Netanyahu of his decision to leave the Health Ministry

It shouldn't be his decision. He should have been fired years ago.

By AJN STAFF

Controversial Israeli MK Yaakov Litzman, who is accused of aiding alleged child sexual abuser Malka Leifer, has informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he will step down as health minister.

Litzman is set to head an expanded Housing portfolio instead, according to multiple media reports on Saturday night (Israel time).

Including expanding into Judea and Samaria? What could possibly go wrong there?

The announcement has been welcomed by child sexual abuse victims’ advocate Manny Waks, who said this was a “positive development” in the Leifer case.

Malka Leifer and Yaakov Litzman.

Litzman has faced criticism for allegedly using his position as Health Minister to interfere in attempts to extradite Leifer to Australia, by pressuring psychiatrists to state she was unfit to stand trial. Litzman denies the allegations.

Israeli police have recommended he face charges over the alleged interference.

“Based on the police recommendation to indict Litzman on a range of serious charges … it seems a significant barrier for Leifer’s extradition has now been removed,” Waks said.

“May justice finally prevail!”

According to a report on Channel 12, Litzman asserted that his decision was not tied to recent public criticism of his handling of the coronavirus crisis.

Litzman came under heavy criticism when a television report said he took part in group prayers in violation of his own ministry’s guidelines shortly before he was infected with the coronavirus.

Litzman had reportedly been instructed by Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter, the head of the Gur Hasidic sect, to change ministries.

According to Ynet, ultra-Orthodox leaders believe Litzman could be helpful to the community’s needs from the Housing Ministry, while avoiding being scapegoated for any fallout from the pandemic.

Blue and White officials told the Ynet news site they would demand the Health Ministry be given to a health expert rather than a politician in light of the coronavirus crisis.

They added that they were willing to give up another ministry in exchange for control of the portfolio, noting that Likud had been willing to give them the health portfolio during coalition negotiations if Litzman agreed, but Litzman had refused.

Litzman said willing to leave Health Ministry for Housing portfolio

Minister reportedly offers switch to Netanyahu, though his motives are unclear after it was previously reported he was refusing to consider any change

Yisrael Beytenu party head Avigdor Liberman joined the call for the ministry to be led by a professional rather than a politician.

Litzman, who leads the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, has been the de facto head of the Health Ministry since 2009, except for a period between 2013 and 2015 when he was out of the government.

He has been largely absent from the public eye over the two months of the coronavirus crisis (some three weeks of which he spent being treated for a COVID-19 infection alongside his wife).

Though he appeared in some earlier briefings, the face of the Health Ministry’s response has been its director-general, Moshe Bar Siman-Tov, leading some to speculate on the level of Litzman’s involvement in the ministry’s decision-making.

Can we please move on with the very long-awaited extradition of that lesbian, child predator, Leifer, to Australia. Israel's Justice system has been laughed at and scorned long enough.

New drug 'cuts risk of men abusing children within weeks'

Study says volunteers reported a rapid reduction in desire

without impaired self-control

Nicola Davis
The Guardian

The risk of some men sexually abusing children could be quickly reduced by a drug that lowers testosterone levels, researchers have found.

The team behind the project, which was put up for crowdfunding four years ago, said the drug – degarelix acetate – produced the results in men with paedophilic disorder in just two weeks. The drug was developed as a treatment for prostate cancer treatment and blocks the production of testosterone.

“We finally have something to offer that has a quick-acting effect,” said Dr Christoffer Rahm, a psychiatrist and researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, who led the study.

Rahm said the project is aimed at preventing risk to children, as well as improving the lives of men experiencing attraction to minors – an approach he says complements the work of police and others.

While such interventions, sometimes known as chemical castration, can be controversial, Rahm said the most controversial thing was not to do research in the field. “I think we should put more energy into investigating this field from a scientific perspective and from a medical, psychiatric perspective,” he said.

The new study, published in the journal Jama Psychiatry, reports how the team recruited 52 men from callers to a national telephone helpline called PrevenTell, which helps people who self-identify as having unwanted sexuality, who were subsequently diagnosed with paedophilic disorder.

The team assessed the men’s risk of committing child abuse, using a mix of self-reporting and psychological testing, taking into account a range of issues from sexual preoccupation to impaired self-regulation.

The researchers then put the men into two groups, one of which received two injections of a placebo while the other group received two injections of degarelix acetate, with the men unaware of which they received. Two weeks later, the men’s risk of committing child abuse was re-assessed.

The team found that, relative to the placebo group, the men treated with degarelix acetate showed a fall in risk level, in particular showing a reduction in high sexual desire and attraction to children, although not impaired self-regulation. The effects were still present, if not stronger, at 10 weeks, with many men saying they wanted to continue with the medication.

The drop was only deemed clinically significant in the small number of participants who were originally classified as at high risk of child sex abuse.

Dr Michelle Degli Esposti of the University of Oxford, who was not involved in the work, said developing effective treatments for individuals with paedophilic disorder was important. But she cautioned that the study involved only a small, self-selected group of men.

Also the study did not look directly at whether the drug reduces the occurrence of child sexual abuse itself, said Degli Esposti, adding: “This limits the generalisability of the findings and its potential wider benefits in tackling child sexual abuse.”

She said the study also raised ethical questions, asking: “Should we be focusing on medicating individuals who have sexual desire for children and, if so, do we expect these individuals to take drugs that have known side-effects? Or should we instead be focusing on tackling the upstream societal and structural factors that place children at risk of being sexually abused?

“It may not be a question of either/or, and such questions go beyond the findings of this specific study, but it is important to consider the implications of medicalising profound societal problems such as child sexual abuse.”

Donald Grubin, emeritus professor of forensic psychiatry at Newcastle University, said other drugs are already used to reduce testosterone levels, while the findings of the new study need to be replicated.

But, he said, the trial is well designed and degarelix acetate appears to act faster than current drugs – although safety and efficacy must be explored further. Like Degli Esposti, he noted that the study looked at changes in sexual thinking, not sexual offending, saying: “While it is reasonable to expect the former to impact the latter, this is very difficult to demonstrate given the long follow-up time required to do so and a reluctance to prescribe high risk sex offenders with a placebo in a community setting.”

Indonesia Approves Chemical Castration, Capital Punishment for Pedophiles

© Darren Whiteside / Reuters

Convicted pedophiles in Indonesia could be subjected to chemical castration after the government approved a set of laws to better protect minors against predators. Additional punishments would include harsher prison terms and the introduction of tracking chips.

Despite a strong objection to the introduction of new punishments by the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), lawmakers from ten other parties represented in the government went on to adopt the regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) following President Joko Widodo proposed changes to existing law in May.

The Perppu adopted by the House of Representative allows judges to punish child sex offenders at their discretion. The amendments were included in the wake of the gang-rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl on the largest island of Sumatra in April, after which seven teenage boys were sentenced to 10 years in prison each – a punishment many felt was too lenient.

The changes introduce a 10-year minimum sentence for child sex crimes and expand punishments for sex offenders to include death sentences for convicted pedophiles. The possibility of chemical castrations is also on the list. Newly released prisoners will also be embedded with a microchip for tracking.

Chemical castration is the use of medication, such as injections or oral pills, to eventually null someone’s sex drive by reducing testosterone by injecting convicts with female hormones. It is currently used in Poland, some states in the US, including California, and on a voluntary basis in Russia.

Besides the two parties that opposed the amendments, the new measures have also been criticized by the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) on the grounds that such a punishment violates the Hippocratic Oath.

The National Commission on Violence Against Women (NCW) also voiced objections demanding that measures be re-evaluated each year to assess their effectiveness.

“Other countries that have chemical castration have not seen a reduction in sexual crime against children,” NCW said according to the BBC. “Also it’s a very expensive procedure and what we should be spending and investing our money in is services to support and help the victims.”

No word here on whether or not chemical castration can be used on those already imprisoned on charges of pedophilia, or on whether they could be used on non-nationals like Neil Bantleman, the Canadian school teacher who was rail-roaded by a pathetic third-world court system for crimes that never happened. 

Calls for Case into Child Sex Abuse Scandal at Prestigious Jakarta School to be Reopened

Only in Canada is it a Minor Offence to Destroy Dozens of Lives

Gordon Stuckless sentenced to 6½ years for sexually abusing 18 boys decades ago

'Their lives have been ruined by him, there's no doubt about it,'

defence lawyer says of victims

CBC News


Gordon Stuckless apologized in court earlier this year, saying he betrayed his young victims' trust and he alone should bear that shame. (Chris Young/Canadian Press)

Toronto: Gordon Stuckless, the man at the heart of the Maple Leaf Gardens sex abuse scandal, has been sentenced to 6½ years in prison for sexually abusing 18 boys decades ago.

Maple Leaf Gardens was the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL for many decades.

His sentence comes more than two years after he pleaded guilty to 100 charges for the crimes he committed.

Stuckless, 67, will receive six months' credit for time spent under house arrest, and so will serve six years.

"You ruined generations you f--king creep," one victim shouted as Stuckless was escorted out of the courtroom.

In handing down the sentence Thursday, provincial court Judge Mara Greene noted that Stuckless was a trusted figure for decades, working as a teaching assistant, a coach and at the Gardens. He took advantage of that trust to abuse his victims, Greene said, and structured his world to have access to boys.

His victims felt so much shame that it took them decades to come forward, the judge said. Some of the victims were as young as 10 and 11 years old.

Greene also noted that Stuckless had taken responsibility for his actions, is voluntarily submitting to chemical castration and has not re-offended. 

Stuckless's lawyer, Ari Goldkind, had argued that his client should face a five-year sentence, with two years of credit for time spent on house arrest and steps taken to prevent recidivism — namely the fact that he has voluntarily undergone chemical castration for more than a decade.

Outside court Thursday, Goldkind said Stuckless has turned his life around and "made a vow never to harm another hair on a child's head."

"While there may be child molesters in our midst, there may be criminals in our midst, it is not Gordon Stuckless," Goldkind told reporters.

He acknowledged, however, the damage that Stuckless did to his victims.

"Their lives have been ruined by him, there's no doubt about it," Goldkind said. "And I hope that they find, and many have found, the strength to continue."

The Crown, meanwhile, had argued for a 12-year sentence, saying Stuckless had not shown genuine remorse for his actions and could not be legally compelled to continue taking anti-libido medication.

Stuckless apologized in court earlier this year, saying he betrayed the trust of his young victims and he alone should bear that shame.

The Gardens scandal exploded in the early 1990s, when Martin Kruze became the first man to step forward to say he had been lured to the hockey arena with promises of free tickets, paraphernalia and player autographs only to be sexually abused. Police arrested Stuckless and part-time usher John Paul Roby. 

Roby was convicted in 1999 of sexually abusing dozens of young boys. He died in prison two years later.

In 1997, Stuckless pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting 24 boys while he worked at the Gardens between 1969 and 1988.

He was sentenced to two years less a day in that case, but that was later increased to six years less a year for pre-trial custody. He was paroled in 2001 after serving two-thirds of his sentence.

So four years in prison for sexually assaulting 24 boys. And it wasn't even a plea bargain, but it was certainly a bargain for Stuckless.

Stuckless, who is originally from Newfoundland but has lived in Toronto for decades, returned to the spotlight in 2013 when the charges he was sentenced on today were announced. 

In 2014, he pleaded guilty to 100 charges — including indecent assault, sexual assault and gross indecency — for offences that occurred between 1965 and 1985.

At his sentencing hearing earlier this year, it was noted that Stuckless was also convicted of two additional charges relating to two of the victims.

With files from The Canadian Press and CBC's Natalie Kalata and Ali Chiasson

Perhaps the sentences were restricted but what laws were in place at the time the crimes were committed, but it's just ludicrous that he will spend no more than 8 years total in prison for sexually assaulting 42 boys more than 100 times.

I'm glad that he has reformed himself and taken steps to prevent re-occurrence of his abuse; but in 4 years he will be able to get on with what is left of his miserable life, while his dozens of victims continue to struggle through theirs.

Girl Gang-raped & Murdered by 14 Men & Boys Sparked Castration Law

JAKARTA, May 26 (UPI) -- Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Wednesday signed an executive order declaring that child sexual abuse is punishable by chemical castration and death.

The new regulation follows the April brutal gang rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl, who was found naked and tied up in a forest in the island of Sumatra. A group of seven teenagers have been imprisoned for 10 years over the rape and killing.

Good for President Widodo for acting so quickly.

Yenni Kwok, Time of India, 4 May 2016

Outraged women's groups are urging the government to pass the long-awaited Elimination of Sexual Violence Bill

A brutal crime that snuffed out the life of a bright student has shocked Indonesia and galvanized public demand for the leaders of the world’s most populous Muslim nation to take violence against women seriously.

Yuyun — whose name has been released by her family — was a schoolgirl born to a poor family in the small village of Kasie Kasubun in Bengkulu province, Sumatra. Local media reports give her age as either 13 or 14, and she was a bright student, ranked third in her class. On April 2, going home from school she was gang-raped and murdered by a group of 14 men and boys. Her body was dumped at a rubber plantation and found two days later.

Police swiftly apprehended 12 of the 14 alleged perpetrators, which include her ex-boyfriend and two students from her school. Half of the suspects are aged 18 or younger.

As gruesome as it was, the news barely caused a blip in national media until feminist activists in Jakarta launched a social-media campaign. Last weekend, independent musician Kartika Jahja of Kolektif Betina (the Female Collective) kicked off a viral video campaign with the hashtag #NyalaUntukYuyun (which can be paraphrased as Light a Candle for Yuyun). Soon, Indonesian celebrities from singers Julia Perez and Kristina to movie directors Joko Anwar and Nia Dinata began to show their support.

On Wednesday morning, hours before women’s-rights activists are set to hold a candlelight vigil opposite of the presidential palace, President Joko Widodo made a statement. “We all mourn the tragic departure of YY,” he tweeted, using the victim’s initials. “Arrest and punish the perpetrators as severely as possible. Women and children have to be protected from violence.”

Violence against women out of control

Yuyun “is actually just one of 44 women and girls killed by men and boys in the first four months of 2016, but her case is certainly one of the most brutal,” says Kate Walton, a Jakarta-based women’s-rights activist who first brought Yuyun’s rape-murder to the attention of other feminists last weekend. She logs instances of Indonesian women killed by men, who are mostly their sexual partners.

By her count, 30 of the 44 females killed by males this year died at the hands of their current or former sexual partners. She points out that around the world, the vast majority of women are murdered by men they know, often their husbands or boyfriends — and Indonesia is no exception.

According to the National Commission on Violence Against Women, an average of 35 women are victims of sexual violence in Indonesia every day. Nearly 70% of cases of violence against women, be they fatal or nonfatal, are committed by family members or partners.

In the wake of the gang rape, the commission is pressing the government to pass the long-awaited Elimination of Sexual Violence Bill. “The state has to show a sense of urgency [on] the issue of sexual violence,” it said.

Women’s-rights activists hope that the outrage generated by Yuyun’s case can push for change in both legislation and also in daily life, and say that patriarchal culture is the root cause of violence against women.

Back in Yuyun’s village, her family is still reeling from the grief and shock. Girls in the village don’t dare to walk to and from home unescorted.

The trial of the seven underage perpetrators, who face 10 years in jail, opened on Monday under heavy security. “We want the perpetrators get the heaviest punishment,” her mother Yana told BBC Indonesia. “I want to ask for life.”

Indonesia To Use Chemical Castration to Punish Pedophiles: Attorney General

   Neil Bantleman, Canadian teacher in Indonesian prison for child sex abuse

Indonesia's president will soon sign a decree authorizing the use of chemical castration to punish pedophiles, the attorney general said, following a string of headline-grabbing child sex crimes.

Indonesia will join a small group of nations that allows such punishment, including Poland, Russia, and Estonia, as well as some U.S. states. In 2011, South Korea became the first Asian country to use chemical castration as a punishment.

"We are very concerned about child molestation abuse cases. This phenomenon has reached extraordinary levels," Attorney General H.M. Prasetyo told reporters after a cabinet meeting late on Tuesday.

"It has been agreed that there will be additional punishment in order to make people think a thousand times before doing this," he said.

President Joko Widodo is expected to issue a presidential decree soon approving the punishment after the cabinet agreed to the measure late on Tuesday, Prasetyo said.

Chemical castration would involve injecting convicted pedophiles with a female hormone in the hope "his sexual desire will vanish", he said.

The rape last year of a 6-year-old student by a group of janitors at the U.S.-embassy backed Jakarta Intercultural School rekindled calls for tougher punishments.

There have been a number of other high-profile child sex crimes since then. A 9-year-old schoolgirl was raped and killed in the capital, Jakarta, earlier this month.

A 39-year-old man has been arrested in relation to that case. Police believe the girl was strangled with a cellphone charger cable, Indonesian media has reported.

(Reporting by the Jakarta bureau; Writing by Randy Fabi; Editing by Paul Tait)

This is a scary thing for Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman who taught at the Jakarta International School, now the Jakarta Intercultural School. Bantleman was convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison for child rape. He was convicted even though there is not a shred of credible evidence against him. Bantleman was found guilty, then acquitted on appeal, then found guilty again when the state appealed.

Indonesia's courts system is very shaky and I have no confidence in their getting it right. Consequently, I expect a lot of innocent men will be castrated and microchipped.


Digital Journal also reports: Rapists to be fitted with microchips

Under a new law, Indonesia will plant microchips on all its convicted child rapists so that they can be monitored at all times.

The microchip will be fitted before the criminals are released from prison, and is needed to monitor and locate them after they are freed.The decree could be signed in the coming days.

'Chemical Castration' Trial Aims To Prevent Child Sexual Abuse

Scientists want to see if the drug degarelix can help the volunteers keep their sexual urges in check without causing unacceptable side effects

Belfast - Paedophiles not convicted of any crime are being recruited for a new research project aiming to show that men at risk of sexually abusing children can be identified and treated before they target a victim.

A clinical trial looking at the effectiveness of a "chemical castration" therapy that cuts levels of the male hormone testosterone is already under way in Sweden.

Around the world, drugs are widely used to suppress the urges of sex offenders and one pilot scheme in Nottinghamshire is now being rolled out across the country, co-managed by NHS England.

But the Swedish scientists are taking the controversial further step of looking at whether men in the general population who are worried about their sexual urges can successfully be treated to prevent them committing crimes.

They also hope to pinpoint "biomarkers" - tell-tale substances in the blood or brain wiring patterns - that mark out individuals who could pose a danger to children.

The researchers stress that if such biomarkers are found, there is no question of them being used to conduct population screening for paedophiles.

However they could help psychiatrists or prison governors decide if certain individuals can safely be allowed near children, or who might benefit from a drug treatment.

Dr Christoffer Rahm, from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, who heads the "Priotab" project, said: "One in 10 boys and one in 20 girls is sexually abused during childhood. This issue is hard to deal with but we must, because it affects all of us.

"Child sexual abuse causes a lot of suffering for the victims and their relatives ... it also has negative consequences for the perpetrator, who risks becoming totally isolated, depressed and sentenced to imprisonment.

"Up until now most of the attention has been on how to deal with perpetrators while they're protected by the police or by the authorities, but by this stage children have already been harmed.

"With this research project, I want to shift focus and explore methods of preventing child sexual abuse from happening in the first place."

Paedophilia also incurred a high financial cost, he stressed. According to Home Office figures, a single offence of sexual child abuse cost an estimated £37,000 taking into account the police investigation, legal proceedings, and victim support.

Dr Rahm said a "handful" of men with paedophilic tendencies - none of whom had been convicted of any offence - had already been recruited by his team through a Swedish help line for people who fear their sexual appetites are out of control.

They were taking part in a study testing the effectiveness of degarelix, a prostate cancer drug that blocks signals from the brain that switch on production of testosterone. The male hormone is known to fuel the disease.

The aim is to compare 30 men receiving the drug with 30 others given a "dummy" placebo treatment.

The scientists want to see if the drug can help the volunteers keep their sexual urges in check without causing unacceptable side effects.

Three days after receiving an injection of degarelix, 97% of treated men have almost no detectable levels of testosterone in their blood. Unlike some other hormone treatments, the drug does not cause an initial "flare" that actually boosts levels of testosterone.

"The hypothesis we are testing is that this medicine has a clinically significant risk-reducing effect," said Dr Rahm.

The biomarker study, which was still at a "very early phase", would find out whether men who sexually abused children have any measurable traits that distinguish them from members of the general population.

These could include molecules in the blood, or specific patterns of brain structure or activity.

Part of the research will involve showing participants pictures of adults and children in swim suits while they undergo functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scans, said Dr Rahm.

Demons don't generally show up in MRIs.

"In clinical cases where the interview-based risk assessment is deemed unreliable, a supplement with a biological marker for risk would be desirable, even if it only increases accuracy by a few per cent," he said.

The goal of Priotab was to establish an "evidence-based preventive treatment programme" that could be employed "before the damage is done", Dr Rahm added.

In 2008 a pilot project was established at Whatton Prison in Nottinghamshire which saw more than 100 convicted sex offenders receive medication to reduce their sex drive.

The scheme, co-funded and managed by NHS England and the National Offender Management System, is now in the process of being rolled out nationally.

Forensic psychiatrist Professor Donald Grubin, from the University of Newcastle, who is involved in the programme, said: "Typically we come in after an offence has been committed, and we try to pick up the pieces.

"It would be great if we could do something before that."

The Swedish scientists, who are in the UK to promote crowdfunding support for their work, acknowledge that the research involves serious ethical issues which will be explored as part of the project.

A UK organisation based in Wales, StopSO, already offers psychological therapy to paedophiles before they offend.

It has won the support of the father of murdered five-year-old April Jones, whose killer Mark Bridger is serving a life sentence.

Paul Jones, from Machynlleth, Powys, told the BBC's Eye On Wales programme: "It's a glimmer of hope in the future.

"They're trying to offer help to paedophiles before they become offenders - it's the way forward. Prevention has to be the key."

Indonesia to Chemically Castrate Child Sex Offenders

Jakarta - Indonesia will chemically castrate child sex offenders, the country's National Commission on Child Protection announced on Thursday.

President Joko Widodo is set to issue a regulation in lieu of law which stipulates a harsher sanction for anyone who commits sexual violence against children, which will involve injecting a hormone to reduce libido and sexual activity, in an attempt to minimise the chances of re-offending, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The president has agreed to include imposing chemical castration in the regulation in lieu of law which also stipulates sexual abuse against children as an extraordinary crime," said Aris Merdeka Sirait, the commission's head.

Extraordinary crimes in Indonesia include drug abuse, corruption and terrorism.

Indonesia has witnessed a string of headline-grabbing cases of child sex assault in recent years with many of them involving serial pedophiles.

One of them is a travesty of justice resulting in a Canadian teacher being jailed for 11 years with absolutely no evidence against him. Is Neil Bantleman in danger of being treated with these chemicals? Nothing seems below the dignity of the Indonesian courts. It would be an absolute travesty for Indonesia to start castrating child sex offenders when its justice system is such an abysmal failure. 

Malaysia and India recently announced that they also considered similar measures against repeat sexual offenders and convicted rapists, but South Korea was the first Asian country to permit the punishment in 2011.

Russia, Poland and some states in the US have long allowed such treatment.

Paedophiles Buying Lifelike Child Sex Dolls to 'Save Children from Sexual Abuse'

Can we possibly sink any lower than this?

A SELF-CONFESSED paedophile is manufacturing lifelike child sex dolls as young as five claiming he is helping those attracted to children control their sexual impulses.

By SELINA SYKES
Founder Shin Takagi, who struggles with paedophilic impulses but has never acted on them, has said the dolls could be a valuable weapon in the battle against the sexual abuse of children.

But many medical experts have warned the products are more likely to have a "reinforcing effect" for paedophiles and cause paedophilic desires "to be acted upon with greater urgency". 

His company Trottla has been shipping automatically-correct (anatomically correct?) imitations of girls to clients around the world for 10 years.

Mr Takagi said: “We should accept that there is no way to change someone’s fetishes.

“I am helping people express their desires, legally and ethically. It’s not worth living if you have to live with repressed desire.”

Not untypical of godless Japanese philosophy; he is wrong on both counts.

Recognised treatment for paedophilia intended to suppress urges includes cognitive therapy and chemical castration. 

Unrecognized treatment involves spiritual deliverance. It is far more effective than either of the above, but, of course, it's not scientific.

A meta-analysis by medical practice the Mayo Clinic found the treatments "do not change the paedophile's basic sexual orientation towards children".

Takagi believes the dolls he creates - sent mostly to "men living alone" - save children from sexual abuse.

A company makes lifelike sex dolls
 to help stop paedophiles from
committing sexual abuse

He said: “I often receive letters from buyers. The letters say, ‘Thanks to your dolls, I can keep from committing a crime.’

"I hear statements like that from doctors, prep school teachers—even celebrities.

“Being a pedophile is like living with a mask on."

Mr Takagi said many of his clients develop a deep bond with their sex dolls. 

He said: “While most people buy dolls for sexual reasons, that soon changes for many of them. 

"They start to brush the doll’s hair or change her clothing."

Good grief!

Michael Seto, a psychologist and sexologist at the University of Toronto, said: "For some paedophiles, access to artificial child pornography or to child sex dolls could be a safer outlet for their sexual urges, reducing the likelihood that they would seek out child pornography or sex with real children.

“For others, having these substitutes might only aggravate their sense of frustration.”

Nothing good can come out of yet another perversion. These dolls will not be used by men who are sexually assaulting children; they will be used by pedophiles who are viewing child pornography but are not ready to make the jump to outright molestation. It adds one more step, but will be a temporary step at best. Pedophiles will not be satisfied for long with dolls since there is no innocence to destroy. That is the essence of pedophilia.