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Child Abuse Survivor: We Must Expose Horrors
Yahoo! News
Laurence Wheeler, a 61-year-old survivor of sexual abuse from Kent, explains what the inquiry into historical child abuse within the British Establishment means to him: As an adult survivor of childhood abuse, I am pleased that an inquiry into historical child abuse allegations has at last been set up. With a background of cover-ups and deception, it is essential to have an open and independent panel and chair, to fully publish their findings with complete clarity. For this to happen it is essential that the inquiry has statutory powers to compel witnesses to give evidence, and that exemption from the Official Secrets Act and other impediments are removed. This inquiry is groundbreaking in its scope. It is a very important step towards the de-tabooing of a taboo subject that ruins so many lives. The exposure of child abuse within the Establishment sector is something that had previously been considered as unthinkable. In reality it is more than thinkable - it is a fact. The assumption that child abuse doesn't, and would never, happen in the upper echelons of society has, at long, long last, been exposed as a complete fallacy. After so many years and so many denials, we now know it did happen and it happened big time. Now we have the opportunity to expose it fully. The present Establishment needs this to happen in order that they can clean out their historical horrors to maintain their credibility. It needs to happen, so that confidence in the process of protecting our children can be maintained and improved. It needs to happen for the survivors who need to see the perpetrators of this insidious crime punished. And it needs to take place in the public domain and to be as open as possible. The Home Secretary's statement to the House was full and encouraging. The appointment of Justice Lowell Goddard to head the inquiry is a welcome step forward. She would appear to be well qualified and has the support and experience to carry the job through. The concern from a survivor's viewpoint is that everything contained in the statement now happens and that justice is done and seen to be done. Child abuse is a crime that inflicts long-term, permanent injury on its victims for which there is no cure. Survival is a question of degree and survivors often face an uphill struggle to come to terms with what has happened to them. Many struggle without ever getting resolution or recognition of their problems. They need to know they are not rejected and discarded, as so many have experienced, and that their plight and injury is recognised as being serious, damaging and life altering. Because of the present culture of more openness, many victims of abuse are now coming forward with disclosures where previously they would not have done. I have suffered from the effects of childhood abuse from the age of four and know first-hand how destructive and negative a force it can be. This is, to quote the Home Secretary, a "once in a generation opportunity" and it is vital that we get it right. What survivors want is the recognition that wrong was done to them and that help is available. Obviously there are concerns about how this inquiry goes forward and it raises many questions but we should wait and see how it develops before judging. That said, issues like limiting the inquiry to 1970, missing files and previous cover ups all need addressing urgently. I personally know two people whose abuse occurred in the 1950/60s whose experiences will not be considered with the present remit. One can only hope that this inquiry will actually do what it says on the tin.
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