Positive Stories in the War on Child Sexual Abuse > Penalties; Barnahus; Super-Marathon; Haredi Orthodox; Ermonela Jaho; Georgia; Wales; Inquiries

Germany seeks to toughen penalties for child sex abuse, child porn

by: Associated Press/KTLA

Posted: Oct 21, 2020 / 09:09 AM PDT 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends the weekly cabinet meeting of the German government

at the chancellery in Berlin, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, Pool)

Germany’s Cabinet on Wednesday approved draft legislation that will allow for tougher punishment of sexual abuse of children and the possession of child pornography.

The government initiated the bill in the wake of prominent recent child abuse cases in Germany that feature large numbers of suspects.

It uses the term “sexualized violence against children” instead of the current “sexual abuse” and raises the potential sentence to between one and 15 years in prison. At present, sentences range from six months to 10 years.

Distributing child pornography will draw a sentence of one to 10 years, up from the current range of three months to five years, and in some cases 15 years. Possession and procurement of the material will be punished with one to five years in prison, up from the current maximum of three years.

And in the future, the statute of limitations will only fall on the production of child pornography when the victim turns 30.

Is that an improvement? Because it's not much of one! Why the Statute of Limitations at all? Child sex abuse images won't disappear from the internet because the child reaches 30.

The legislation also calls for the production and distribution of child sex dolls to be punished with a fine or up to five years in prison, while buying and possessing such dolls would bring a sentence of up to three years in prison.

It foresees special qualification requirements for judges handling child abuse issues. - Excellent!

“Perpetrators fear nothing more than being discovered, so we must massively increase the pressure in tracking them,” Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht said in a statement. “The terrible injustice of these acts must also be expressed in the sentences.”

The legislation requires parliamentary approval.

Slovenia: draft law on Barnahus will better protect children from sexual abuse

COUNCIL OF EUROPE STRASBOURG

6 NOVEMBER 2020

The results and key recommendations of the public consultation process of the draft law on Barnahus in Slovenia are being discussed today at an online event. Barnahus (“Children’s House”) is a leading European model for a child-friendly multidisciplinary and interagency response to child sexual abuse. 

The main focus of the draft law is to provide a framework for the establishment and operations of a Slovenian Barnahus. The draft law seeks to regulate in more detail all aspects of interacting with children and their families in such houses: hearing (forensic interviewing of the child), physical medical examination, providing crisis support and psycho-social services for child victims and their families.

The Slovenian Ministry of Justice opened the draft law for public consultation on 4 June 2020, and it is scheduled to be submitted to Slovenia’s National Assembly by the end of the year. The draft law represents a major step towards the establishment of a first Barnahus in Slovenia by 2021. At international level, it is the first attempt to comprehensively regulate the establishment and operations of “Children’s Barnahus” in a single act.

Slovenia’s Minister of Justice of Slovenia, Mag. Lilijana Kozlovič, the Council of Europe Coordinator for the rights of the child Regina Jensdottir and the Deputy Head of Unit for governance and public administration (EU DG Reform) Sebastien Renaud, as well as Bragi Gudbrandsson, member of the UN Committee of the Rights of the Child and “founding father” of the Icelandic Barnahus model, are among the webinar’s keynote speakers.

During the public consultation process a study “Perceptions of child sexual abuse in Slovenia” was commissioned and presented in Ljubljana in early October. The survey found that for a majority of Slovenians, sexual abuse of children is a serious problem, and nearly one in five had experienced at least one form of sexual abuse, but the awareness of this type of abuse in Slovenia is low.

Both the webinar and the study have been conducted under the joint EU-Council of Europe project on supporting the implementation of Barnahus (Children’s House) in Slovenia and implemented in close collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and co-financed by the European Union Structural Reform Support Programme.

San Antonio man to run 223 miles in 3 days to raise money

for child sex assault victims

Sexual abuse survivor Kenneth Anderlitch turns his healing into advocacy

SAN ANTONIO - – According to Childsafe, 90% of child sex assault victims stay silent -- something that Kenneth Anderlitch understands.

It took years for Anderlitch to come forward with his painful story. “A little over five years ago, coming to terms with that,” he said.

Anderlitch said he never had access to an organization like Childsafe in Bexar County.

“Last year we saw 5,200 plus clients, and 76% of them were sexual abuse cases,” said Maliha Imami of Childsafe. “Our services are forensic interviews, wrap-around services, advocacy, case management and clinical therapy.”

As Childsafe’s chief advancement officer, Imami leads the organization’s financial and fundraising teams. She is working hand-in-hand with Anderlitch, who is about to run 223 miles to raise money for the care center.

“Each child takes close to $1,000 to get them through services, a full year. So, I would like to raise $10,000 to help at least 10 children start their path towards recovery,” Anderlitch said.

Over the last four months, Anderlitch has juggled a full time job, part time school and training.

He said the run wouldn’t be possible without his Road 2 Healing support team, which includes Roel Gonzales and Ben Adan, who have also run routes hundreds of miles long.

Anderlitch will take off at 4 a.m. Thursday from the Capitol building in Austin and plans to finish at the Lexington Bridge in Corpus Christi on Saturday afternoon.

He said the work and planning will be worth it, knowing he is helping break the cycle of sexual abuse, stigma and unearned shame. “The shame and guilt lives with you into your adulthood, and most of the time, especially for men, it’s difficult for them to come out and speak about sexual abuse,” Imami said.

Imami said just like domestic violence, reports of child sexual assault have dropped off during quarantine. “In the initial stages of the pandemic, the reports went down because 20% of reports are made by teachers, physicians, people who have access to children. Children feel safe they can report it,” she said.

When lockdowns were lifted, domestic abuse reports skyrocketed. Imami said child sex assault reports spiked, just not as much, citing the difficulty for children making an outcry to family members who usually know the perpetrator.

“99% of the perpetrators are known and trusted by the child,” Imami said.

According to RAINN, it is 8 out of 10. However, RAINN does not count peer-on-peer child sexual abuse in their statistics, unfortunately. 99% is probably an exaggeration, but certainly, the vast majority of abusers are known to their victims.

Anderlitch said that’s why he tells his own story and advocates for children, knowing the pain of silence and the relief of freedom. “Hopefully somewhere down the line those 10 children, one of them, will carry the torch and help out another individual,” he said.

Anderlitch hopes to create a ripple effect of healing, love and inner peace.

To find out more about Anderlitch’s run or to donate to his cause, head to his website.

Anyone is also welcome to follow along as he runs, through his Facebook page.

God bless you Ken! Have a great run.

This American immigrant to Israel is fighting sexual abuse

among the haredi Orthodox

BY LARRY LUXNER 

NOVEMBER 18, 2020 12:28 PM

Debbie Gross founded the Tahel Crisis Center for Religious Women and Children to address what she considered rampant child sexual abuse in the Orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem where she once lived. (Larry Luxner)

ASHKELON, Israel — Not long ago, an 18-year-old girl from a haredi Orthodox family in Jerusalem anonymously called a hotline for victims of sexual abuse, suspicious that her father was molesting her 10-year-old sister.

Representatives of Tahel, a crisis center for Orthodox women and children, reached out to the mother and escorted her and her two daughters to the police. The father was arrested, convicted and sent to prison.

In another case, three Orthodox men in their late 20s approached Tahel after a Jerusalem psychologist they had consulted for so-called “conversion therapy,” which claims to reverse homosexual urges, had emotionally, sexually and financially abused them.

“This case would have been closed by the police, but we kept pushing it,” said Tahel’s founder, Debbie Gross. “That man is now sitting in jail.”

Gross, 64, has been running Tahel since she founded the center in 1993, when simply talking about sexual abuse within Israel’s highly insular Orthodox community was even more taboo than it is today.

“I spent a lot of time that first year going from rabbi to rabbi. In public, they would say there was no sexual or domestic abuse,” Gross said in a recent interview at her Ashkelon apartment overlooking the Mediterranean. “It took the Orthodox community a long time to realize the depths of the abuse. They considered it a ‘chilul Hashem’ — that if you say something bad about a religious Jew, it’s like you took the Torah and rolled it in pig manure.”

Today, Tahel not only maintains a 24-hour hotline for women and children facing any type of crisis, but also escorts sexual abuse victims to the police, hospitals and through the court system. In addition, Tahel offers culturally and religiously sensitive workshops in haredi schools aimed at preventing abuse.

“We use language these children know, and we don’t expose them to anything that would be considered forbidden in their world,” said Gross, who also has pioneered programs on sexual abuse for traditionalist communities in Johannesburg and in the East Indian community in Australia.

Among haredi children, for example, Tahel never uses the term sexual abuse. “Instead, we explain that not everybody is nice and good, and that’s why it’s a mitzvah to protect yourself,” Gross said.

In addition to its work among the haredim, Tahel also does trainings, runs post-trauma workshops and develops safety protocols for businesses, workplaces and schools throughout Israel. Last month, it ran a course for five local high-tech companies, including a medical equipment manufacturer and several digital software firms.

Gross was born in Syracuse, New York, and grew up in New England. She attended Barnard College in New York City, immigrated to Israel in 1978 and studied developmental psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The idea for Tahel took shape around Gross’s kitchen table in 1992 after she and two other women decided that something had to be done about what they considered rampant child sexual abuse in Har Nof, the Orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem where they all lived. Israel had rape crisis centers, but few Orthodox Israelis turned to them. With their unique cultural background, Orthodox Israelis needed a different kind of approach, the women believed.

“These women are afraid they’ll be shunned by the community, and that it’ll be harder to make shidduchim [matches] because nobody wants to deal with families that have problems,” Gross said. “Before we opened our center, people still believed that nice Jewish men don’t hurt their wives.”

An Israeli interfaith coalition to confront sexual violence against women included Tahel, which focuses on sex abuse among Israeli haredim. (Elana Wahlhaus/Tahel)

There is more to this story at jta

Albanian Soprano Speaks Up Over Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation

From: Alice Taylor

12 hrs ago

World-famous Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho has declared her support against child sexual abuse and exploitation and has been made an Ambassador of the CRCA/ECPAT child rights organisation in Albania.

In honour of the World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse which takes place today and tomorrow, she said:

“Violators are stealing the innocence and brittleness of our children but they will never succeed in silencing them. Children and young people all over the world are suffering because of sexual exploitation online and offline. Let’s become the voice of those who do not have one!"

She is the first Albanian personality to engage in the fight against child sexual violence at a time when globally, rates of such abuse are going up. According to CRCA, Albania declared a 1000 fold increase in reports of child pornography during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The announcement coincides with an apparent increase in cases of sexual violence against women and girls in Albania. A number of disturbing cases have been made public in the last few weeks. Barnahus Albania, a local NGO reports it has saved around 30 girls from abuse in the last months.

In communications with Exit, CRCA Albania said that one in 10 Albanian children are victims of sexual abuse but only 42% of cases are found guilty. This is the lowest rate of conviction in Europe.

These are only the cases known to police, I believe. It is probably a very small percentage of the real number.

Thank you, Ermonela for speaking out. God bless you.

Georgia participating in European Day against Sexual Abuse of Children

Child abuse cases have decreased in Georgia by almost 30 per cent, with 1,146 cases reported in January and August 2020

Agenda.ge, 18 Nov 2020 - 15:46, 

Tbilisi, Georgia

On the occasion of the 6th European Day on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, the Council of Europe has raised the topic of preventing risky behaviour by children related to self-generating sexual images and/or videos especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejcinovic Buric said that during the Covid-19 related lockdowns children tend to play and chat online more than before which gives child offenders online more opportunity for phishing via email or unsolicited contacts on social media. 

In addition, travel restrictions have pushed a lot of child sexual abuse online... Children have little knowledge of the risks they are exposing themselves to. Once online, images and videos deleted are very hard to fully remove from the web. Children can easily fall into the trap of online child sex offenders who solicit their victims to post more images or videos”, she said.

Spokesperson of the Council of Europe Daniel Holtgen shared some of Buric's quotes on his Twitter account:

Georgia is a signatory country of the Council of Europe’s Lanzarote Committee, the body in charge of monitoring the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.

Georgia became a party of the convention in 2015 and is one of the 47 countries that have ratified the Council of Europe’s Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (the Lanzarote Convention).

About 1,146 Child abuse cases were reported in Georgia in January-August 2020, according to the Agency for State Care and Assistance for the Victims of Human Trafficking.

Child abuse cases down 30% in Georgia in Jan - Aug 2020

This is not really good news. It would be, of course, if it were true. But as it says above, the pandemic has pushed a lot of child sexual abuse online, and hidden much of it behind closed doors. I fear the drop in cases is just a reflection of the inadequate systems for reporting such abuse. 

The Public Defender's report says that almost every day, one child becomes a victim of sexual abuse in Georgia.

How North Wales’ children are being helped to rebuild their lives

after sexual abuse

By Steve Craddock

Chief Reporter - The Leader

Emma Roberts, Children's Service Practitioner

   

ACROSS North Wales, children as young as four whose lives may have been turned upside down by sexual abuse are being helped to rebuild their lives with the support of a dedicated team of NSPCC Cymru workers.

The charity’s Letting the Future In programme helps children and young people who have been sexually abused come to terms with what has happened to them and support them to move on in a positive way.

In 2019/20 there were more than 3,700 child sex offences recorded by police in Wales – the equivalent of 10 a day, highlighting the need for a Welsh Government Child Sexual Abuse Strategy beyond 2021 and therapeutic support programmes like Letting the Future In.

Every week children’s service practitioners like Emma Roberts work with families across the six northern counties.

Since 2013, the Letting the Future In team has supported 229 children, young people and safe carers in North Wales.

“When children come through our door they either want you to fix them or think that because they have lived with this abuse that they are damaged or broken and that there’s nothing that can be done,” said Emma.

“What we do is provide a safe space for children and young people to explore, question and understand the past events of their lives so we can support their emotional and developmental recovery.”

Reflecting on the children and young people she has worked with over the course of almost seven years, she said: “Shame is one of the biggest emotions we help children and young people to overcome, but also vulnerability, embarrassment, anxiety and anger.

“Parents and carers might comment that their child is very aggressive and angry, but when you start to unpick it, it is actually hurt, disappointment and upset.

“Whilst some children display a lot of emotion, others are completely withdrawn and dissociating. You would look at them and think that everything was fine. They nod and smile and present like there is nothing about the world that frightens them.

“It’s only by developing a trusting relationship with children over time that you can start to understand and discover that there is an awful lot more going on for that young person.”

Practitioners work with children aged between four and 17 in weekly sessions for up to a year, but it can be longer depending on the child’s needs.

Opening up about how the therapeutic sessions run both remotely and at the children’s charity’s Prestatyn base, Emma said: “Often children don’t have the words to express how they are feeling or what has happened to them.

"Sometimes they have been shut off from their emotions for such a long time because they are trying to self-preserve and they haven’t been able to address their trauma.

“We can help by teaching them more effective coping strategies to help them develop a healthy sense of self and a feeling of well-being.

"We use toys, sand trays, puppets and creative arts to enable children to express how they are feeling, and at the moment because of the pandemic we have an individual resource pack for each child.”

The life-changing work has not stopped during the pandemic and it is anticipated the need for the service will grow as disclosures are made following extensive periods at home for many children and young people.

“For me, one of the most worrying things is that lots of people still think that being at home is safe,” said Emma. “We are hearing this a lot around the pandemic – stay home and stay safe.

"Unfortunately staying home for some children doesn’t mean staying safe. We need to be looking at the emotional wellbeing of children and young people in our communities because we all have a responsibility to keep children safe.”

Even before the pandemic, research in the UK evidenced that one in 20 young people has been forced or persuaded to take part in sexual activities, often by someone they know.

Sometimes children won’t understand that what’s happened to them is sexual abuse. It isn’t always physical – it happens online too – and children may not realise it is wrong.

Children can be referred to the Letting the Future In programme via professionals as well as the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC).

A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We are committed to working with safeguarding partners to do everything we can to prevent and tackle child sex abuse, in all its forms, and to support children who have been subjected to such abuse.

“Our national action plan sets out clear actions to prevent child sexual abuse, to protect children at risk and to support abused children. It was published in 2019 and actions are to be completed by 31 December 2021.

"The existing plan sets out the next steps which would then be taken, including considering evidence from a review of its implementation, in consultation with stakeholders, to decide on next steps.”

For more information about the Letting the Future In programme in North Wales contact northwales@nspcc.org.uk or 01745 772100.

Anyone concerned about a child can contact the NSPCC Helpline for advice on 0808 800 5000. Adult victims of non-recent sexual abuse can also get in touch for support.

Childline is available for young people on 0800 1111 or at www.childline.org.uk.

Tasmanian Premier Announces 3 Inquiries into

State Child Sexual Abuse

Peter Gutwein, Premier

I want to use my opening statement today to speak about a matter of great importance to all of us– the safety of our children.

As Members will be aware, there has been significant community concern and public angst quite rightly – over recent matters that have come to light where historically children have not been safe in our Government institutions.

The vast majority of people who work, or have worked, in our Government Agencies – in these positions of great trust – do the right thing and place children’s safety as their highest responsibility. Unfortunately, there have been occasions when that trust was breached.

My Government has taken decisive action and is progressing three investigations that have relevance to child sexual abuse. Each Department involved is responding to different historical issues and circumstances:

The Attorney-General, and the Minister for Health, implemented an independent investigation into the systems (including legislation, policies, practices and procedures) of the Tasmanian Health Service, Department of Health and other relevant Government Agencies in relation to the management of historical allegations of child sexual abuse particularly in the matter of deceased former nurse James Geoffrey Griffin;

The Minister for Education commissioned an independent inquiry to examine whether the legislation, policies, practices and procedures (‘systems’) utilised by the Department of Education now, operate in a way that minimises the risk of child sexual abuse within Tasmanian Government Schools; and

The Department of Communities became aware of historical allegations of abuse against current employees of the Ashley Youth Detention Centre through information provided to the State under the National Redress Scheme for people who have experienced institutional child sexual abuse (and / or through a common law negligence claim). This material identified issues with three staff who have been stood down pending investigation.

It’s very unfortunate that since these three separate bodies of inquiry have been instigated, on Friday last week I was briefed on further cases of historic allegations of child sexual abuse involving current Government employees.

I want to be very clear that the allegations are historical. They involve a teacher at a Northern school who has been stood down and charged; and a Statewide Mental Health services staff member who has been stood down subject to the outcome of criminal proceedings relating to an historic allegation that did not occur in the work environment.

Furthermore I expect that as more claims for redress are progressed there will be more shocking examples come to light.

It was expected that the National Redress Scheme established as a result of the Royal Commission could provide redress to up to 60,000 people nationally who are estimated to have been abused in institutions. It has been forecast that Tasmanian claims for redress could be around 2000 people of which around half are expected to relate to Tasmanian Government institutions.

Already more than 200 Tasmanian survivors of abuse have been offered payments of redress under the national scheme. Tasmanians must be aware and we should brace ourselves, that unfortunately we will see more examples of historic allegations of abuse relating to children come to light. This is the system working and we should welcome the fact that after so long a light is being shined on our unfortunate past.

I have great faith that our current processes and practices ensure higher safeguards and swifter action than was historically the case. Over a number of years significant systems have been implemented to protect our children and young people, for example in Tasmanian Government schools, including:

 

Introducing the Registration to Work with Vulnerable People Registration Process and requiring all people who work in the Department of Education to hold a valid registration.

Requiring teachers to be registered with the Teachers Registration Board, with teachers only gaining (and retaining) registration if they are of good character and fit to teach.

Introducing legislative amendments to child safety legislation that provides all Department of Education employees with mandatory reporting obligations.

Introducing a policy of reporting all allegations of inappropriate sexual activity with children and young people in Tasmanian Government schools to the Police, with staff under investigation being suspended from duty, pending the outcome of any investigation.

This is not the best possible outcome as each of the investigations are limited in scope. A Royal Commission would have been a better decision, but they are very expensive to run. Nevertheless, this is progress, even if somewhat limited. 

There is more on this story on Mirage News.

Girl Found Naked and Half-Dead in the Snow Awakes, Smiling and Asking for Santa

Some really good news for a change:

The six-year-old Alberta girl who was nearly beaten to death on the Paul Band First Nation awoke on Christmas Day and asked for Santa Claus, family members say. 

The girl had been unconscious since she was found lying naked and severely injured on the reserve west of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on Dec 20.

More than 100 people from Paul Band huddled together on Christmas Day near the property where the girl was found to hold a candlelight vigil to pray for her recovery. Members of the girl's family sang through their tears, asking the Creator to watch over her.

Elder Kirby Bird told the group that their prayers were being answered.

“The prayers that you have been doing over these past couple of days has brought the spirit back in [the little girl],” he said.

“Just the other day, when I was there, I could see the beauty in her face and the glow.”

A family member said the girl is still a long way from recovery, but her smile is encouraging.

James Clifford Paul, 21, is charged with kidnapping, sexual assault and attempted murder.

He's set for a court appearance Jan. 7.

We thank God for answered prayer and ask that you keep praying for her physical and emotional recovery.

Merry Christmas

GCHQ Will Target Child Pornography on the 'Dark Net'

LONDON — UK intelligence agency GCHQ is joining a new unit, which will target the large volumes of child abuse images available on the "dark net."

GCHQ = Government Communications Headquarters

The unit, made up of GCHQ and the National Crime Agency, will focus on the increasing number of people who are turning to the "dark net" — a network of sites only accessible through the use of anonymising browsers — to find this type of content.

The announcement was made at the #WeProtect Children Global Summit, which took place in London Thursday, where representatives of 50 countries came together to look at measures to tackle child abuse online.

"We've seen an increasing and alarming phenomenon of paedophiles contacting children online over the internet or on their mobile phone," UK Prime Minister David Cameron told the conference.

"There can be no grey areas here — If you ask a child to take their clothes off and send a picture, you are as guilty as if you did that in person."

Cameron said a new law is being introduced that will make it illegal for adults to send these types of messages to children.

"There is nowhere to hide," he said. "Child exploitation online is a real crime for which there is real punishment."

Thousands of people in Britain are using the "dark net" to find images of child sex abuse. A BBC investigation earlier this year found that one site trading images got 500 page views per second.

Meanwhile, a number of companies, including Google, Facebook and Twitter, unveiled measures for blocking and removing child abuse material from the web. They say this will be done by using the "digital fingerprints" of known child sex-abuse images, identified by the Internet Watch Foundation.

However, some have said the measures revealed Thursday are already in place and Cameron's announcement merely rehashes them.

The former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, Jim Gamble, told Channel 4 News the Prime Minister was electioneering.

"When I was with CEOP, we had a seconded member of GCHQ. We looked at the technology offenders were using. If they are saying that, for the past three and-a-half years, that has not been happening, then they need to say why," Gamble told Channel 4 News.

Since the start of this year, the IWF has already processed 70,541 reports, of which 27,850 URLs were determined to contain images of child sex abuse, it said in a statement released Thursday. This is an increase of 109% from 2013.

The foundation said in 1996, 18% of the world’s known child sex-abuse imagery was hosted in the UK, but in 2014, that has been reduced to less than 0.3%.

Changes to Google’s search engine has led to a five-fold reduction in searches for images of child sexual abuse, a major London conference has been told.

Although the fall in search numbers is welcomed, the majority of searches for child abuse occur on “the Dark Web”, which hosts thousands of websites that use anonymity tools to hide their address.

There is Hope for Sexually Abused Children - Even the Worst Cases

BAY MINETTE, Alabama - The 16-year-old victim who underwent years of sexual abuse and torture has "hope," like thousands of other victims of sexual abuse, experts in the field of sexual abuse counseling say.

Chances are, the typical person might have doubts about whether the victim can recover. The girl who testified in the Wendy Holland jury trial this week in Baldwin County will need to be surrounded by positive influences and believe that she can recover from years of sexual torment suffered at the hands of multiple adults, experts say.

Gemma

An excellent example is the story of Gemma Schembri. Raped by her father for more than a year when she was just 12 & 13, Gemma acted out for some years before she got help, but then, what a change! Please read the two links in this paragraph and watch the short video clip.

She'll have plenty of resources, all of them free. Child advocacy centers in Mobile and Baldwin counties provide a variety of counseling services. The Mobile region has advocates and therapists who specialize in sexual assault and abuse against children. If needed, there are shelters.

"She is definitely going to have effects, there is no doubt about it," Debra Nelson-Gardell, associate professor at the University of Alabama's School of Social Work said. "But her life is not over. Lay people will think ... (victims) are forever broken. She is not broken."

Demand rises

Demand for services, not only in Alabama but throughout the U.S., has risen in recent years as statistical estimates show that 1 in 4 girls are sexually abused before the age of 16, and 1 in 6 boys are victimized.

In other words, chances are that you will walk by a victim of sexual abuse the next time you are at the mall or grocery store.

Demand is also rising at the CACs in Mobile and Baldwin counties. At the Baldwin County Care House, 368 children were served during fiscal year 2014 - which ended on Sept. 30 - compared to 341 during the same time period in 2013.

"For whatever reason, there tends to be a lot of sex crimes here," Niki Whitaker, executive director of Care House, said. "It's something that every year, we've increased the number of interviews we've done. Unfortunately, it's one of those things that happen more frequently than we like."

At the Mobile County Child Advocacy Center, approximately 100 to 125 child sex victims are seen each month.

"We have definitely not seen a decrease," said one clinical therapist who wished to not have his name revealed because of involvement with the victims in the Holland case.

Public awareness of child sex abuse has helped, he said, in getting more children to report the crime.

The awareness rose in the 1980s amid the sex abuse scandal involving the Roman Catholic Church and was heightened about a dozen years ago after the Boston Globe won a Pulitzer Prize for its critical look at decades of abuse within the church.

Other high-profile cases, including the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal at Penn State University and recent allegations against comedian Bill Cosby, have kept the issue in the forefront.

"There needs to be even more awareness," the Mobile County therapist said. "There are so many cases where the abuse is not reported. Oftentimes, kids don't talk about the abuse. It's prevalent."

Generations of unreported abuse existed in the family sex ring involving Wendy Holland and her late husband, Donnie. It wasn't until the disappearance of a teen, Brittney Wood, that an investigation ensued and a child victimized by the family came forward to tell her story.

She spoke about the atrocities during what prosecutors described as a "difficult" trial that concluded on Wednesday with a conviction on four counts of sex crimes.

"We have generations of people who were abused and never disclosed," Nicki Patterson, an assistant district attorney in Mobile County who helped prosecute the case against Holland, said. "Their lack of disclosure, unfortunately, allowed the next generation of kids to be abused as well."

She added, "This was the first victim to tell. The good news is that by coming forward, these children ... have put an end to the generational abuse. These kids are in counseling and I suspect they will do fine."

'There is absolutely always hope'

But can a child victimized by years of sexual torment become a productive adult? The answer is a definitive "yes," according to counselors.

Two things are required in the early stages: belief in their accusations and support from family members or guardians.

"It is courageous for any child to step forward and share what they've gone through."
 - Niki Whitaker with the Care House in Baldwin County

Holland, 35, argued that the victim wasn't to be believed. Her attorney, during the three-day jury trial, attempted to cast the victim as someone who made false accusations against others.

But the victim's story was corroborated by other family members who said that Holland was an active participant in the abuse. The jury convicted her of sodomy, sexual torture, criminal sexual abuse, and endangering the welfare of a child. Holland will be sentenced up to life in prison on Jan. 15.

"Someone believed (the child) when she told," Nelson-Gardell said. "That is the single, most powerful thing that helps people become healthier is when they are believed. When people are told and not believed, it makes it much more difficult."

Patrick Guyton, executive director of the Mobile County CAC, said that counseling is required in order for hope to be realized. Without it, the weight of the psychological baggage will be like an "invisible bag of rocks on their backs" that they'll carry throughout their lives, he said.

"It's a whole process and it's also helping children realize that they are not damaged and they can be OK and heal," Guyton said.

Providing care to victims

There are 27 child advocacy centers in Alabama, including those located in Mobile and Baldwin counties. Almost all of the centers, according to Guyton, are different in what they offer with regards to therapy, investigation, courtroom preparedness, etc.

At Mobile County's CAC, treatment is provided by trauma focused cognitive-behavioral therapy, which is designed to reduce negative emotional and behavioral responses from child sex abuse and other trauma.

The CAC contracts with Lifelines Counseling Services, a Mobile-based non-profit company with four therapists assigned to Mobile County cases involving children suffering traumatic experiences from sexual abuse.

Bay Minette, Alabama

"We teach them to manage stress through breathing exercises, recognize and express feelings and cope with negative thoughts and feelings and help them get through the traumatic narrative," the Mobile County therapist said. "We help them work past the trauma."

One way is through art. The CAC program offers children, ages 3 up to 18, opportunities to "tap into their feelings" non-verbally through drawings and other artistic displays.

"Sometimes they draw out their feelings and sometimes they will elect to draw out the abuse," he said. "It may be a lot easier to draw (than to verbalize the experience)."

Treatment varies from child-to-child. Timelines within the program also vary. Typical sessions, which are free for children, occur weekly to monthly.

Rebecca Washburn, a counselor at Care House for the past three years, said the Baldwin County organization will apply pieces of the structured therapy and utilize them as needed.

"We assess where they are at and what we can use where they are at that particular time," she said.

What Washburn said she finds effective is to address the educational component of treatment first.

"Then we start identifying their feelings and emotions and help them to process that," Washburn said. "At the same time, we work with the parents (and analyze) what kind of symptoms they are experiencing and that lets us know where they should go next."

When the abuse involves family members or someone close to the child, a grieving process must also be incorporated, she added.

"It's the grieving the loss of the family they have and what they believed the people are capable of," Washburn said. .

Counselors say that the children who come forward with their accusations, especially those against adults they have long trust, need to be celebrated and praised as "courageous."

"It is courageous for any child to step forward and share what they've gone through," Whitaker said. "It's absolutely courageous in every way."

Nelson-Gardell said there is always hope for victims, even in the worst of situations.

"One of the things I'll encounter working in this area is that when I tell someone I study child sex abuse, (people) will look at me and (say) 'that must be awful,'" Nelson-Gardell said. "It's not. I get to watch people who have had these terrible things happen in their life to bounce back, grow up, marry and have kids."

The Remarkable Story of Gus, Apostle to the Andes

Only once before have I posted the same story on both of my blogs, but this one is well worth it.

Over the past week or so, I have begun to realize that only by major acts of God can child sex abuse be significantly reduced. It is so incredibly prevalent all over the world. 

35 million children, 30 million of them girls, are sexually abused every year globally. Most are repeatedly abused resulting in the total number of child sexual abuses rising into the hundreds of millions, and possibly billions over an 18 year generation.

To my mind, significantly reducing CSA is completely impossible the way we are going about it. But, with God, anything is possible. 

The following story gives me hope that it is possible to do what seems almost impossible. Gus is a friend of mine with a remarkable story of God's leading and provision. Please read and pass it on.

Gus, Apostle to the Andes

La Paz, Bolivia

Gustave Schlamp, was born in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, in November of 1941, but was raised in the small logging town of Vanderhoof, in central British Columbia, Canada. He remained in Vanderhoof and worked in the forest industry for twenty five years, and another two years in Edson, Alberta.

From those humble beginnings, Gus could never have imagined that he would one day be responsible, in partnership with God, for delivering the Gospel to 7,000,000 people.

Life was good for Gus. He met and married a beautiful woman named Martha, and they began having children.

One Saturday, Gus was in town where he bumped into an acquaintance who was a night watchman at a sawmill. They weren't that acquainted with each other, but they knew each other somewhat and had a casual chat.

Monday morning, while Gus was working in the bush, word came from town that the mill where this man was a watchman burned down, and the night watchman died of a heart attack. He was somewhere in his 50s, but he dropped dead.

This really shook Gus up as he began to question the meaning of life and the meaning of death. His questions soon led him to the Bible where he found the answers and committed his life to Jesus Christ. Gus was 31 when he received the assurance of salvation; he had been married about ten years.

Gus wasn’t long going to Bible College even though he had a wife and children. He graduated from Prairie Bible Institute in beautiful, downtown Three Hills, Alberta, in 1980. He then returned to his first occupation – logging. Soon, child number six was born.

Gus Schlamp and some schoolchildren

Gus’ marital relationship deteriorated over the years to the point of an official divorce in the year 2000, after which he retired. But divorce and retirement left Gus experiencing a very empty life. Also, he didn’t feel that in his case he had a right to start another relationship.

Determined to start life over again, Gus didn’t move down the road, or to another part of B.C., He decided that he was going to do it in another country, Gus investigated Costa Rica. However, he ended up moving to Bolivia where he bought ‘farm’ land consisting of 247 acres of heavy jungle, with a river bordering the north end, and a lake on the south end. He then bought a bulldozer and built seven kms of road to the property.

The first year he lived in a tent under a straw roof, in the yard of the people from whom he bought the land. After the road was built and some clearing done, Gus built his house, shop and garage all under one large metal roof. He then started clearing the jungle and planting rice. He also had some pasture with cattle.

During his time on the farm, Gus attended a Spanish church in a village called Santa Maria 20 km away. But to get there he had to reach the main highway, which meant crossing the river by ferry for the first 2 1⁄2 years before a nice bridge was built.

For about six years, Gus developed his farm quite successfully, but during this time he became rather concerned about the salvation of the many children throughout Bolivia. When he would see children the question that would always come to mind was this: “What opportunity will these children ever have to come to know God and His eternal salvation?”

The Lord developed that question to a very specific call and led Gus into His ministry to bring the Word of God to all the public schools throughout Bolivia.

About the end of those six years, Gus found that had some of the Lord’s funds on hand, tithe money that he hadn’t yet disbursed, and he did not know where to designate it. Then it came to mind that he should purchase some children’s Bible story books and give one to each family in his church. He did.

After that, he felt like the Lord was saying, (that’s fine but there are more children). So he thought maybe he should do this to other churches as well. But then the question came to mind saying, “Gus, why do you only think of the children in church?”.

That question hit fairly hard because Gus felt that the Lord wanted him to do this over all of Bolivia, and that was a much bigger project than he could even imagine. There were so many questions like; where would the material come from, where would the funds come from to purchase the material, how would it get distributed, what material should be distributed?

While thinking on all this the Lord gave him the Bible verse: 1 Thessalonians 5:24 “Faithful is He who calls you who also will do it”. By now you have probably figured out that Gus doesn’t do anything half-way; perhaps that’s why God chose him for this great challenge. So, Gus sold his farm and all that he had and bought a vehicle to transport the material. He also purchased two apartments for rental purposes to generate some income, and he rented a room together with a secure car garage in the city of Santa Cruz.

Then he ordered 500 children’s Bible Story Books from Ohio, USA for $700.  Gus distributed these to schoolchildren and teachers in a town north of Santa Cruz called Rurenabaque where he had done a survey to get an idea of the number of students in schools. Gus was very excited to have completed such a neat project, but the feeling was very short lived.

Unloading a container of booklets

After some time, a friend came from Paraguay with some written material and asked Gus if he could store it in his garage for a while. Two weeks later, the friend asked if Gus had looked at the material yet which he had not, but as he looked at it he knew immediately this was what he was looking for, what he was needing, and it just happened to be in his garage.

This was enough to give him a really good start. Montero was a smaller town North of Santa Cruz where he knew a pastor who was very excited about this mission. He would provide him with a bed for the night and also arrange for either himself or another pastor to go with him for the day as he distributed the booklets. During this process he met up with many pastors, and this is where he met with Rene Estevez Ordonez who has been with this work ever since.

Following up on where the material came from, Gus found that David Klassen from Canada was instrumental in directing the material to Paraguay from World Missionary Press and was more than willing to arrange for us to receive this material as well.

Gus soon realized that his funds would run out and that funds would have to come in from outside sources. Therefore, he felt the need to make himself accountable somehow and, so, developed a board of directors consisting of some Canadians and some Bolivianos.

He also realized that support would likely come from Canada and, so, he also formed a board in Canada consisting of persons who have been in Bolivia and have seen the work first hand. Since then they have become a charitable organization known as Next Generation Ministries Inc. (NGM).

NGM is committed to the following ministries in Bolivia:

Bolivian Board

1. Presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every school, student and teacher.

2. Work together with evangelical pastors to bring this about.

3. Supply each student with the Word of God.

4. Supply each teacher with Bible study booklets.

5. Encourage these helping pastors to follow up on all these students and teachers.

The country schools only go to grade six. This means that every six years they will all be new students. So it would be good to cover Bolivia every three to six years.

What do the materials consist of and how are they produced?

The material is in booklet form and it is mostly Scripture. Actually it is the Bible in condensed form with all the major doctrines of the Gospel. They are printed and shipped for free from WMP (World Missions Press).
 

This is the cover and second page of the booklet.

NGM’s access to Bibles has been very limited, but when they have Bibles or New Testaments they try to leave at least one with each school and, if possible, with each teacher. Their next shipment is going to have 1,250,000 Scripture Booklets.

What has happened as a result of this mission in Bolivia?

Since this mission started in 2005 the gospel has been presented to more than 7,000,000 teachers and students, and will soon exceed 7,000,000. Almost every schoolchild and teacher in Bolivia has received the booklet. Today NGM has workers in Cobija, Trinidad, Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, La Paz and Sucre.

Recently the door has opened to Peru, but with our existing mission, we are not able to use funds that are given to NGM for the work in Peru.

NGM has contacted WMP who are contemplating shipping a small container to Lima, Peru, if Gus can coordinate the work there to unload and distribute the material. As of this writing, WMP are still considering the Lima project.

This container of Scripture booklets would be placed into the hands of the Assemblies of God, which is a very large organization in Peru. Gus spoke to a leading pastor in Lima who told him that he has the oversight of 6,000 pastors in Peru. So, it appears that they have all their workers in place and will make good use of the material, with God’s blessing.

Recent events
This summer (2015) Gus made a trip into northern BC and Alberta to secure more funding for the ministry. He spoke in churches and small groups and found many new supporters. However, when Gus returned home (Abbotsford, BC) he realized that he was $1000 short of his target. The next morning a check for $1000 showed up in the mail. God does this kind of stuff all the time with Gus.

His co-workers in Bolivia received a large container of scriptures that was destined for the hard-to-reach northern part of Bolivia. Roads are poor and often impassable in rainy season. They had been given a quote of $3000 for shipping the scriptures by truck to the north. While Gus was raising the money here in Canada, his co-worker in Bolivia found a trucking company that travels to the north every day, and they were willing to deliver the scriptures for $400. Consequently, the ministry can afford to replace a badly needed computer in Bolivia and pay the full-time employees. It's amazing how God provides to those doing His work.

It is just amazing how God can use one humble but determined man to begin and run a work whereby the Gospel reaches 7,000,000 people – perhaps an entire generation of an entire country have the opportunity to receive the assurance of salvation in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Is it any wonder that they call him the Apostle of the Andes.

But Gus would want to make sure you know that this is not a story about him; it’s a story of what God can do, and he would give Him all the glory which is right. But I would like to point out that for God to glorify Himself He needs servants who listen, are willing, have faith, and are courageous. Gus is such a man. God bless him.

If you would like to be a part of this incredible ministry, please visit NGM’s website: www.nextgenerationbolivia.org

 You also have the opportunity to support NGM’s Supplier: www.wmpress.org

Corporation Schools Overcomes Taboo, Talks about Child Sex Abuse

This report is from Chennai, Tamil Nadu state, India. Chennai, formerly called Madras, recently expanded their metropolitan area which is known as Chennai Corporation. Thus, corporation schools refers to all schools in the Chennai metropolitan area.

CHENNAI: While child sex abuse is a taboo topic for some parents and schools, Chennai Corporation is breaking the silence over this distressing issue. 

Display boards written in Tamil with illustrations to create awareness about child sexual abuse among children have been put up at all 284 schools run by Chennai Corporation schools.

Soon, teachers will be trained to talk to students about sexual abuse in classrooms. The initiative being implemented jointly by Tulir - Centre for Prevention and Healing of Child Sexual Abuse and Friends of India was inaugurated on Monday at the Corporation Higher Secondary School in Kolathur by Mayor Saidai S Duraisamy. "Corporation schools have been engaged with child welfare organisations for almost eight years now. But with increasing reports of child abuse in Bangalore and other cities we decided to expand the awareness programme," said an education official of the corporation.

The pictorial boards, one for each school helps children identify their private parts, distinguish between good and bad touch and tells children how they should react if they are being abused. It tells children to scream loudly, firmly say no or leave the place, tell their parents or other trusted adults about the incident. Most importantly it teaches them that when such an incident occurs it is never their fault. "The boards are age appropriate with different set of pictures and explanations for children in kindergarten up to Class 3 and for students from Class 4 to 12," the corporation official said.

"Children spend most of their time in schools so their safety is priority and their welfare is important at all times," said a statement from the civic body. "This awareness programme is not only for schools but also for parents so they can establish a safe and supportive environment."

Child rights activists have lauded the civic body's efforts but say more work needs to be done on this issue. "A counseling team who can handle a couple of schools must be established. Children need a grievance system, they may not be comfortable sharing with their teachers who are seen as authoritative," says K Shanmugavelayudam, convener, Tamil Nadu Child Rights Observatory. "Awareness on sexual abuse must be made part of teacher training and the school management committee should also include parents in this programme."

Kapaleeshwar Temple

Nevertheless, this is a good step for the third largest city in India. It's one piece on one edge of a very large puzzle. There are pieces showing up in spots around India, but they are far from linking together yet.

Canada Offers $10 Million for Treatment of Sexually Abused Victims of IS

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, right, and Iraq's then deputy prime minister Rowsch Nuri Shaways toured a Kurdish bunker in Kalak, Iraq, last month, coming within eyeshot of ISIS's front lines. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)

The Conservatives offered additional humanitarian aid Monday for the battle against ISIS, anticipating opposition MPs' arguments against sending Canadians into air combat in Iraq, but that failed to stem the criticism.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird pledged up to $10 million to provide services and treatment for Syrian and Iraqi refugees who have been victims of sexual abuse as he kicked off debate.

I am so impressed, and that doesn't happen very often. $10 million can help a lot of sexually abused women and children make some progress toward recovery. 

The House devoted most of the day Monday to discussing the government's plan to deploy six fighter jets and 600 troops in a six-month air combat mission against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS. The Canadian mission would target ISIS in Iraq but not Syria, something the opposition NDP fears could change.

Baird also announced a joint Canada-U.K. assessment mission in Iraq to identify what else can be done to help victims of ISIS, as well as the deployment of an expert to work with the UN Human Rights Council on a fact-finding mission to Iraq.

A National Child Sex Abuse Investigation Unit to be Set Up by Police Scotland

The new task force is designed to help protect people like Lucy, now 25,
who was groomed to be a rape victim when she was 12 and
was attacked by groups of men of Pakistani origin. 

A NATIONAL child abuse investigation unit to co-ordinate inquiries into online grooming and child sexual exploitation is to be launched by Police ­Scotland.

The move comes amid growing concern about the kind of systematic sexual abuse of young teenagers recently uncovered in Rotherham. Child protection authorities believe the problem is far more widespread than previously thought. So do I!

It seems Pakistani men have introduced their 'Culture of Rape' to the UK. Or perhaps it simply developed when Pakistani men were exposed to white-skinned girls. I don't know, but I know their attitude has to change, quickly and dramatically. Jail followed by deportation with no right to appeal would expedite that change.

As revealed by Scotland on Sunday in August, 23 people in Scotland, including a significant number from ethnic minorities, have been reported to the Crown in connection with 53 alleged offences. One offender is due to be sentenced on Thursday.

The new unit will take a similar approach to the national rape task force which has seen specialist officers brought in and rape investigations put on a par with murder.

“Both the rape task force and the domestic abuse task force have been successful in terms of identifying the skills needed to target these specific [crimes] and in working more closely with a range of partners,” Assistant Chief Constable Malcolm Graham told Scotland on Sunday.

Assistant Chief Constable Malcolm Graham

“We need to work in a more structured way in relation to child abuse and to recognise that it is not confined by geographical boundaries.”

Graham said the new unit would build on the work of Operation Dash – the force’s ongoing investigation into Rotherham-style child sexual exploitation (CSE) in the west of Scotland – and the broader efforts being made to tackle the problem nationally.

Speaking exclusively to Scotland on Sunday, Graham said Operation Dash had uncovered evidence of CSE involving the use of “party flats”, with young people lured in through social media.

Officers had also identified city-centre hotspots and increased patrols at those locations. In Glasgow, as in Rotherham, some CSE was linked to the night-time economy (fast food restaurants, taxi services etc).

“We found evidence of it being associated with particular occupations and some, more limited evidence of it being associated with particular premises,” Graham confirmed.

On other occasions, groups of young people were simply being approached on the streets.

The assistant chief constable said threats of violence had been used to prevent victims from reporting their abusers, and there was evidence of girls recruiting other girls as victims, as well as boys recruiting male victims.

Separately, it is understood third-sector organisations have anecdotal evidence of the trafficking of children from city to city within Scotland.

“What we are finding is that the means by which people associate is quite dynamic and loose,” Graham said. “It doesn’t seem to be the case that there is an orchestrated and well-­defined attempt to sexually exploit a specific group of people, but there undoubtedly is a group of people who are loosely affiliated and that changes quite quickly; it seems to develop and evolve through networking in social media.”

CSE has been the focus of public attention as a result of high-profile cases in Rochdale, Derby and Rotherham where more than 1,400 young people were said to have been abused over a 16-year period.

After an inquiry, the Scottish Government backed the setting up of a national working group and the development of a national CSE strategy.

On Tuesday, the justice committee at Holyrood will take evidence on the effectiveness of the Protection of Children and Prevention of Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2005 – legislation designed to tackle grooming – after Barnardo’s Scotland raised concerns it had led to fewer than anticipated prosecutions.

Police Scotland is asking the Scottish Government to consider changes to make it easier for them to secure Risk of Sexual Harm Orders (RSHOs) against those suspected of targeting youngsters. Since the enactment of the legislation, just 31 RSHOs have been granted. Graham says the reason they are not used more frequently is that they can only be sought if a suspect has contacted someone under 16 on at least two occasions and their conduct is considered to be sexual.

“We are suggesting that test is sometimes quite difficult to meet,” said Graham, who would like to see the age limit raised to 18 and the number of required contacts cut to one.

One of the reasons for the low number of prosecutions may be that the act was designed to fill a narrow legislative gap or that some offences are prosecuted under the Sexual Offences Act 2009, but Barnardo’s Scotland would like to see further investigation into possible deficiencies.

Another area of concern is the high correlation between young people who run away from children’s homes and victims of CSE.

Historically, Graham concedes, officers may have been guilty of returning children to their carers without probing the reasons for their disappearance. But, he said, much emphasis was now being placed on “return interviews” conducted every time a missing child is brought back to their place of residence. Since some young people run away regularly, it would be easy for these interviews to become tick-box exercises. But Graham says officers are now more aware of the need to explore the background to absconding.

In a pilot scheme in Renfrewshire, return interviews are also being carried out by Barnardo’s Scotland in the hope that young people might feel more comfortable disclosing to a charity than to police.

Graham said the complex nature of CSE – in which young people are offered alcohol, cigarettes drugs or other inducements by older men in exchange for sex – has required a shift away from traditional policing.

“Many of those affected by CSE do not identify as victims,” he said. “That means we have to be proactive; to go looking for signs it might be taking place rather than waiting for complaints to be made to us.”

Another difficulty is that CSE doesn’t fit into any of the neat narratives society might like to impose on it. Graham said one of the purposes behind Operation Dash had been to try to identify an offender profile, but that there were many types of perpetrators and forms of CSE. Though around a third of victims were known to social services, they came from all sectors of society. And, while a significant proportion of suspected offenders were from ethnic minorities, they were not all from the same ethnic minority, and there were also a number of white Scots.

Despite the challenges, Graham said tackling CSE was a priority. Asked if he could be sure police officers in Scotland had not been guilty of failures, he said: “In the past? No. I think improvements we have put in place now are getting us into a position where we are satisfied we can protect children and young people who we have believe to be at risk and we do everything we can to gather evidence to bring the perpetrators to justice. But we know there is still more work to be done.”

Great decision, Police Scotland! I love it when police are proactive rather than reactive in the area of child sex abuse/grooming. I wish you great success.