America for Purchase
December 2, 2011
http://www.americaforpurchase.com/american-injustice/massive-abuse-of-children-non-issue-for-gop-and-religious-right/
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It has been long appropriately stated that children are our future and they need to be protected from those who would do them harm. Ironically, this idea has become more of a political, right-wing, religious right talking point when politically advantageous than actually protecting the sacred trust of our children.
Sexual abuse of children by those claiming to be 'christians' and many of those institutions claiming to support children have become nothing more than rhetoric when several facts prove this claim.
The sexual and physical abuse of the innocent take a back seat in America by Christian conservatives, religious leaders and Republicans who ignore this plague yet propagate the claim that same sex marriage will destroy the family. No one is standing up for the children for these most heinous offenses.
Religious leaders, scout leaders, the clergy, politicians, universities, educators, camp counselors and local authorities attempt to cover-up, hide or protect the perpetrators of our kids. Religious institutions, non-profits and priests have for decade's systematically concealed sexual abuse to avoid disclosure and scandal. It is no wonder that in the recent Penn State scandal where coach Jerry Sandusky has been charged with 40 criminal accounts of alleged sexual abuse, that football coach Joe Paterno and others did not report the crime to law enforcement; similarly alleged sexual abuse by coach Bernie Fine at Syracuse University.
There is no outrage by these individuals 'in authority' until a scandal breaks. This issue is not a daily, weekly or monthly news story, yet extremists crowd the media for attention to demonize gay Americans, Muslims, women's rights and abortion, as sex crimes of kids take a back seat to 'moral' men who use kids as pawns to sell Americans on the safety of oil drilling, prescription drugs or selling products by tugging on the heartstrings of ignorant citizens.
Who are the perpetrators of abuse? More than one-half (53.7%) of sexual perverts are White, one-fifth (20.7%) are African-American and approximately 20 percent (19.5%) Hispanic; nearly 80 percent (79.9%) of perpetrators are parents. And the overwhelming majority of child sex abusers are heterosexual men, with only 3% being gay. Of course hate filled zealots like Pat Robertson and Tony Perkins believe if they lie long enough people will believe that 'gays' cause these problems in America.
Sexual Abuse:
- A report in 2005 revealed that in the United States alone 4,450 of the 110,000 Roman Catholic clergy (4%) who served between 1950 and 2002 have been accused of molesting 11,000 minors. That number could be 10 times higher worldwide. Also see Roman Catholic Sex Abuse by country.
- When leaders of the Boy Scouts of America were found guilty of sexual crimes against their members, rather than supporting the abused boys the leadership was more concerned about the financial award stating they were "gravely disappointed with the verdict." The Boy Scouts of America has been accused of covering up decades of child abuse in order to protect the reputation of what is now a billion-dollar organization, and kept hidden over 1,200 records of sexual abuse. As recently as September 2011, more scouts have come forward with claims of sexual abuse by scout leaders.
- The website Clergy Gone Wild published 410 articles about Clergymen in America (non-Catholic) who were caught sexually abusing children
- Additionally another website documents 838 Protestant ministers, (147 are Baptists) who have been arrested for child sexual abuse. The Mormon (LDS) church clearly engages in child abuse cover ups, which is relatively easy since 70% of the inhabitants in Utah are Mormon and law enforcement rarely initiates investigations in abuse cases. Just like the Catholic Church, Mormons have been caught up in wave of pedophile accusations and the 'church' does not report on them.
- Pope Benedict's 2010 Christmas message he claimed that child pornography was increasingly considered "normal" by society, seeking to normalize pedophilia. He further stated "In the 1970s, pedophilia was theorized as something fully in conformity with man and even with children." Even the Pope's own child pedophile investigator, charged with investigating sexual abuse of children, was recently jailed for 12 months after police found more than 4,000 child porn images on his church-supplied computer
- More children are abused by Protestant ministers than by Catholic priests. In 1990, the Freedom From Religion Foundation issued a study on pedophilia by clergy. At that time, two clergy per week were being arrested in North America for sex crimes against children, 58% of them were Protestant
- Jehovah Witnesses have more than 6,000 sexual abuse claims
Child Abuse: (also see US Census statistics, and US Dept. of Health and Human Services)
- more than 1.25 million, or 1 in every 58 children in the United States, were abused in 2006
- 1,500 children die each year in the United States from child abuse and neglect
- 905,000 children were the victims of child abuse in 2006
- 70 percent of child abuse victims are under age three years old
- over 80 percent of the abused children were abused by one the child's parent
- An average of nearly four children die every day as a result of child abuse or neglect (1,760 in 2007) (also see GAO Report)
- Over the past 10 years, more than 20,000 American children are believed to have been killed in their own homes by family members
The death of outrage over the abuse of children continues to be swept under the rug as time goes by. It is only front and center when politically expedient for religious nuts and lying politicians to score points to further their selfish agendas. Sexual abuse victims need advocates to report these crimes and they need support by honest, caring people who have no political or spiritual agenda.
Responsible people should contact the local police department and child protective services when sexual or physical abuse of a child occurs. Children need to feel secure, safe and understand they are not to blame for the abuse. Should police fail or cover-up these crimes, contact the local media to ensure law enforcement and the judicial system does its job.
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