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	Grown Victim Seeks Action on Child Sexual Abuse Issue By Joe Belanger London Free Press [Canada] June 24, 2006 http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/CityandRegion/2006/06/24/1650414-sun.html A London man sexually abused as a child by a priest is calling for a provincial round table of experts to get more help for victims. "As a society, we haven't addressed this issue and it's like ignoring the symptoms of an epidemic," said John Swales, who has the financial backing of one of London's largest law firms, Harrison Pensa. Swales said there's little counselling, treatment and legal help for men and women who were sexually abused as children. "The responsibility for recovery is being placed on the shoulders of the victims," said Swales, a client support worker with the law firm. Dave Williams, Harrison Pensa's managing partner, said the needs of childhood sex abuse victims are a growing issue. "Aside from the legal issues, there are all these other ills the victims are dealing with themselves and affecting all of society," Williams said. "It's deep-rooted and it's something that's not being dealt with." Swales has maintained a high profile on the issue of child sex abuse since he and two brothers were awarded more than $2.7 million in damages in 2003 after suing the Roman Catholic diocese of London. The brothers were abused by Rev. Barry Glendinning, a retired priest who taught in the 1970s at St. Peter's Seminary. Glendinning had pleaded guilty in 1974 to abusing six children. Peter Jaffe, a University of Western Ontario professor and academic director of the Centre for Research on Violence Against Women and Children, lauded Swales's efforts. "As more and more media reports come out about historical abuse victims, more and more people are looking for help -- and there's certainly not enough resources out there. There's definitely a need." Jaffe said the cost to society of not helping victims is placing extra burdens on social service agencies and the health-care system. "It costs society over and over and over again. There's no quick fix and no one answer, but you need people working together." Swales said he's still trying to work out details of the first round table, adding he expects there will be more than one. Anyone looking for more information on the round table can call 661-6757 or 200-3347. The round table will include clinicians, therapists, victims and agencies.
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