~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Show Biz

Ellen DeGeneres opens up about sexual abuse

Chat show host Ellen DeGeneres has spoken about how she was sexually assaulted as a teen by her stepfather.

DeGeneres said the abuse took place when she was 15 or 16, after her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.

"He told me... he'd felt a lump in her breast and needed to feel my breasts," she told interviewer David Letterman.

DeGeneres first spoke about the abuse in 2005, but said she was now going into more detail "because I want other girls to not ever let someone do that".

Speaking on Letterman's Netflix show My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, the 61-year-old explained that her late former stepfather had first assaulted her when her mother was out of town, telling her he needed to check for lumps.

"I didn't know about bodies. I don't know that breasts are all different," she said.

"Anyway, he convinced me that he needs to feel my breasts and then he tries to do it again another time, and then another time he tries to break my door down and I kicked the window out and ran 'cause I knew it was going to go more to something."

'I should've protected myself'

The comedian said she did not tell her mother at first because she didn't want to upset her.

"I should never have protected her," she said. "I should've protected myself, and I didn't tell her for a few years and then I told her, and then she didn't believe me and then she stayed with him for 18 more years.

DeGeneres explained that her mother did ultimately leave her husband after he kept changing his version of events. The TV star hopes other young girls will benefit from hearing her tale.

"That's the only reason I think it's important to talk about it," she said. "Because there's so many young girls and it doesn't matter how old you are.

"When I see people speaking out, especially now, it angers me when victims aren't believed, because we just don't make stuff up.

"And I like men, but there are so many men that get away with so much."

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/entertainment-arts-48443974

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New Zealand

Male sexual abuse advocate honoured for work with fellow survivors

by Kim Nutbrown

Ken Clearwater has been the manager of the Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust for the past 20 years.

Opening up about being raped as a 12-year-old saved Ken Clearwater from killing himself or somebody else.

Since first publicly sharing his own story nearly 30 years ago, Clearwater has helped countless males all over the world get the support they need to survive their experiences of sexual abuse.

He has now become an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for this work.

"Nobody does this work for the recognition and it's humbling to be acknowledged for it," Clearwater said.

"I think what I'm most proud of about it is it brings the issue of male sexual abuse to to the fore."

Clearwater has helped countless numbers of men and boys all over the world find the support they need to overcome sexual abuse.

Clearwater attended his first peer support meeting for male survivors of sexual abuse in 1991, which was run by Iain Bennett.

In 1997, Bennett started the Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust in Christchurch and asked Clearwater to be on the board.

He juggled volunteering at the trust with his freezing works butchery job until community grant funding allowed him to become the trust's full-time manager in 2001.

"I've never seen it as a job. I had to do it and I had to do it for me."

Since then, Clearwater has pushed the Government and ACC for recognition of male survivors of sexual abuse to be eligible for support, initiating the conversation that later resulted in changes to legislation.

Victims had to prove their abuse caused a mental illness to receive ACC compensation, he said.. Because many presented with other issues, such as drug and alcohol addiction, it was hard to prove the condition stemmed from the abuse.

Clearwater said while there had been much change in the way male survivors were treated, there was still a long way to go.

"We need to normalise the discussion around male sexual abuse. If we as adults can't talk about it freely, than how on earth do we expect children to be able to come forward and report it?"

Clearwater began working with abuse victims in prison in 1999 and the programme he established continues to be used. More training and education at Corrections level was needed, he believed.

"We punish boys and men, we don't help them. Statistics show around the world that 65 per cent to 68 per cent of men in prison have experienced childhood sexual abuse."

Clearwater is not sure how he did not end up one of those prison statistics.

He started getting in trouble with the law around the time the abuse started. He appeared in youth court and his most serious offence was assaulting two police officers.

"I was always picking fights and looking for trouble ... my temper would just go like a switch. I was always looking at ways to prove I was tough and strong.

"But I hated the person that I was, I hated behaving like that and I can see so much of that in these guys who are behind bars."

Clearwater has lifted the profile of New Zealand as a leader in supporting male survivors.

He is a national advocate for Male Survivors Aotearoa, which he helped establish in 2013, and also helped establish the South-South Institute on Sexual Violence Against Men and Boys (SSI) in 2013, which is now a recognised international movement to better represent male survivors in countries around the world.

https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/health/113188535/male-sexual-abuse-advocate-honoured-for-work-with-fellow-survivors

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vatican

New global Catholic rules against sex abuse build on decades of work

by Kevin J. Jones

Vatican City, May 31, 2019 / 03:05 pm (CNA).- The Vatican's global norms mandating sex abuse reporting take effect June 1, but two North American archdioceses say their recent decades' work against clergy sex abuse means they are largely already compliant with the new global requirements for the Catholic Church.

“We recognize that trust needs to be regained and that we must work every day to earn that trust. That's why viewing this from a global perspective is important,” Neil MacCarthy, director of public relations and communications at the Archdiocese of Toronto, told CNA. “It's not just about Toronto having a responsible approach in place. It's trying to ensure that this is a priority of the global Church – that we are all concerned for the safety and well-being of those involved in our ministries.”

“When any diocese experiences a case of sexual abuse, it is a wound to every one of us. People don't tend to distinguish between one diocese or another so it really is a ‘Catholic Church issue',” MacCarthy added. “That's a huge challenge and in our own dioceses we need to do all that we can to regain that trust, one day at a time.”

Pope Francis promulgated the new norms May 9 in a document titled Vos estis lux mundi, or “You are the Light of the World.”

The norms establish that clerics and religious are obliged to report sexual abuse accusations to the local ordinary where the abuse occurred. Every diocese must have a mechanism for reporting abuse.

When a suffragan bishop is accused, the metropolitan archbishop – that is, the head of the region's archdiocese – is placed in charge of the investigation.

Sexual abuse of minors is not the only focus. With the new norms, the coercion of seminarians and religious into sexual activity through the misuse of authority is placed in the same criminal category as abuse of minors and vulnerable adults.

The document is a motu proprio, a Church instruction that reflects the Pope's personal judgement. The norms of Vos estis lux mundi are approved for an experimental basis for a period of three years.

“The crimes of sexual abuse offend Our Lord, cause physical, psychological and spiritual damage to the victims and harm the community of the faithful,” Pope Francis said in the document. “Therefore, it is good that procedures be universally adopted to prevent and combat these crimes that betray the trust of the faithful.”

The Toronto archdiocese is reviewing the document and believes that “key elements” of the norms are already present in archdiocesan procedures.

“We don't view these as new responsibilities. Rather, they are building on what has been in place for us since 1989. We must foster a safe environment for every person who interacts with the Archdiocese of Toronto,” MacCarthy said.

MacCarthy pointed to the Canadian bishops' 2018 document “Protecting Minors from Sexual Abuse: A Call to the Catholic Faithful in Canada for Healing, Reconciliation, and Transformation.” It has over 60 recommendations for dioceses on how to implement their protocols on sex abuse.

The Archdiocese of Denver said its initial review of the document concluded that the mandatory reporting policies and reporting mechanisms are already part of the archdiocese's code of conduct and its Office of Child and Youth Protection.

The new norms “mirror many of the policies put in place in the United States by the 2002 Dallas Charter,” said the archdiocese, referring to the Charter for the Protection of Young People approved at the U.S. bishops' spring 2002 assembly held in Dallas in the wake of widespread reports of clergy sex abuse of children and failure of Church authorities to keep known abusers away from minors.

“In Denver, we have had mandatory reporting and strict sexual misconduct policies since 1991, that were further strengthened by the 2002 Charter, and consistently updated every few years,” the Denver archdiocese said.

It suggested that the main change required by the document is the establishment of reporting and investigating procedures for allegations against bishops. Such discussions began at the US bishops' fall assembly in November 2018, and “will no doubt be resumed at the next bishops' meeting in June.”

“We would echo what Cardinal Daniel D. DiNardo has said, that we too are grateful for the opportunity to build upon the excellent foundation and existing framework already in place here in the United States,” said the archdiocese.

“Protecting our children and our most vulnerable is a sacred responsibility of the Catholic Church, and the Archdiocese of Denver is committed to seeking justice and healing for survivors and to restoring the trust of people to live their faith in the Church,” the archdiocese added.

It cited Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver: “May Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life guide us, and may we keep our eyes fixed on him who alone can bring healing and peace.”

MacCarthy said the new norms are “a positive step forward for the global Church,” adding, that there are many countries around the world with “no policies or procedures in place whatsoever.”

“It is important to view this document in the context of the global Church and the impact it can have in bringing everyone up to a minimum standard,” he said. “In North America, we have been deeply immersed in trying to address the abuse crisis for decades. We must remember this isn't the case in many jurisdictions and hopefully the collective effort can have an impact.”

“The Archdiocese of Toronto has had a policy and procedure relating to allegations of abuse in place since 1989,” MacCarthy explained. The policy has been revised multiple times, with the last revision in October 2018.

“Every employee of the archdiocese has a responsibility to report any credible allegation of abuse,” said MacCarthy. “In the case of minors, our policy explicitly states that we must inform the appropriate civil authorities ‘within one hour within one hour or as soon thereafter as circumstances will reasonably permit'.”

The mechanism for reporting abuse and communicating with any victim is “very clear.” Victims are told that going to civil authorities is always an option.

“In the case of bishops, they are subject to both civil law and canon law as they relate to the issue of abuse or misconduct,” said MacCarthy, who stressed the importance of continuing education about sex abuse protection.

“We are one of the largest groups in the country involved in police background checks and screening clergy, staff and volunteers in ministry,” he said. “The more education we can do with our clergy, staff and volunteers, the more effective we will all be in ensuring that a safe environment is a priority for every parish.”

In the U.S., clergy sex abuse of minors peaked in the mid-1970s before going into a long decline which some researchers say mirrors a general countrywide decline in sex abuse of children.

Father D. Paul Sullins, a Catholic priest and retired Catholic University of America sociology professor, has warned that there are signs of a new rise in the rate of sex abuse by clergy and warns of possible complacency among bishops and dioceses.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/amp/news/new-global-catholic-rules-against-sex-abuse-build-on-decades-of-work-17942

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scotland

Children in Sisters of Nazareth Homes Were Beaten and Sexually Abused

The abuse was perpetrated over 50 years

by Alison Lesley

A judge-led official inquiry discovered thousands of children from four homes administered by Sisters of Nazareth (SoN) were subjected to humiliation and sexual abuse. There were times when the children of both sexes staying in Lasswade, Aberdeen, Kilmarnock, and Cardonald were forced to endure degrading emotional abuse, systematic violence and sexual abuse which authorities described as of “utmost depravity.” Children were abused by the Catholic order for more than 50 years, from 1933 to 1984. The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry published its findings on May 30.

Children in Sisters of Nazareth Homes Were Beaten and Sexually Abused

One survivor recalled to the inquiry board of priests raping her, and a nun repeatedly abusing her at the Kilmarnock Nazareth House. Another witness said that a girl was left with no choice but to jump from as building to her death after a nun “battered” her. The inquiry was soon filled up by a narrative of alleged abuses perpetrated by nuns at the now-defunct four institutions. The list of abuses included humiliation, physical abuse, and force-feeding.

Lady Smith, the chair of Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, said Scotland's Nazareth Houses were for most children, places of confusion, fear, and hostility and locations where children were systematically subjected to emotional degradation and physical abuse. She pointed out that children need kind and warm, loving care which SoN never provided. The children were instead deprived of comfort, compassion, dignity, and care. The inquiry collected evidence from a total of 39 witnesses concerning their experiences during their time in the Nazareth Houses. The study was done over 27 days, and two witnesses spoke about the experiences suffered by their family member. She found the order imposed a culture derived on abuse, obedience, and intolerance.

Our moral leaders, the One True Church

The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry report was 140 pages long. Lady Smith, in her second summary, mentioned particular institutions, and the detailed cases of persistent sexual abuse of both sexes at all the four homes. One nun was explicitly mentioned, who facilitated a girl being abused by priests. The children were routinely punished by using hairbrushes, belts, sticks, crucifixes, broom handles, and canes. The inquiry also revealed those children who wet their beds were beaten and had to wear the stained sheets. Children were force-fed even when the food they were having was vomited back up, and runaways suffered beatings if they returned.

https://www.worldreligionnews.com/religion-news/children-sisters-nazareth-homes-beaten-sexually-abused/amp/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Australia

Investigation team rescued 85 South Australian children from sexual abuse

Joint federal-state team relied on international collaboration to identify victims and arrest sex offenders

In the past four years 85 South Australian children have been removed from harm thanks to a joint federal-state investigative team working to combat the scourge of child sexual abuse.

Since the Join Anti Child Exploitation Team was established in 2015, it has launched 508 investigations.

Its work came into sharp focus recently with the arrest of Adelaide serial sex offender Ruecha Tokputza.

The 31-year-old was recently jailed for more than 40 years for his abuse of 11 babies and children in the worst case of its kind in Australia.

JACET identifies, investigates and charges those offending against children, predominantly those involved in online sexual exploitation.

In SA, the team has 15 specialist investigators from the local force and the Australian federal police.

In the Tokputza case, their investigations began in November 2017 after exploitation videos were linked to a server in Bulgaria, which linked to an IP address in Adelaide.

In January, 11 children were rescued once their location was identified in Thailand.

Search warrants were executed globally, including one for Tokputza's home, and he was connected to the IP address.

A member of the SA JACET, Sergeant Stephen Hegarty, said on Sunday that sharing child exploitation material was not a victimless offence.

“Our priority is to identify children who are in the worst possible scenarios and rescue them wherever they are in the world,” Hegarty said.

It was “powerful and moving” knowing international collaboration was at the forefront of the investigation, he said.

To prosecute Tokputza, he had to analyse nearly 900,000 videos, files and images to identify the victims.

“It's by far the most difficult case I've had to work through,” he said. “Our focus may be on the protection of children in SA but if there's a nexus with crimes overseas then we will hunt you down and we will catch you.”

Last week, Interpol confirmed the two-year SA investigation led to referrals to 60 countries, 50 victims being removed from harm, an additional 100 children were identified as suffering abuse, and nine sex offenders being arrested.

https://amp.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jun/02/investigation-team-rescued-85-south-australian-children-from-sexual-abuse

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michigan

Michigan creates online system for child abuse reports

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — People who are legally required to report suspected child abuse and neglect in Michigan may now do so online.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services recently launched the Michigan Online Reporting System for use by mandated reporters such as physicians, teachers and clergy. Previously, they had to call to make a verbal report to Children's Protective Services and follow up with a written report.

An amendment to Michigan's Child Protection Law allowed the department to create an online reporting system for mandated reporters as an option. The department says that more than 15,000 mandated reporters have registered to use the online system since February.

A toll-free hotline remains available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For emergencies, mandated reporters must call 911 and then the hotline.

https://upnorthlive.com/news/local/michigan-creates-online-system-for-child-abuse-reports

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

United Nations

The UN's unyielding effort to tackle sexual abuse and exploitation: our quarterly update

REPORT from UN News Service Published on 30 May 2019

In the first quarter of 2019, according to latest figures released on Thursday, the United Nations recorded a total of 37 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) against UN personnel, including civilian and uniformed personnel from peacekeeping operations, agencies, funds and programmes. So far, most of these allegations remain under investigation.

To date, only one of the 37 allegations has been substantiated through an investigation, and referred to the relevant Member State for follow-up; four were not substantiated by the investigation that ensued; 26 are still under investigation; and six are still in the preliminary assessment phase to determine if there is enough information to investigate.

Sixteen of these allegations are categorized as sexual abuse which, in UN terms, constitutes “the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force, or under unequal or coercive conditions”.

Another 27 are categorized as sexual exploitation, defined as “any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another”. In addition, four are of an unknown nature, and two cases have been categorized as “other”, of which one was closed.

Of the 49 people who made these 37 allegations against UN personnel, were 28 women, 11 girls, one boy, seven females of unknown age, as well as one adult and one child whose genders are unknown.

Measuring progress is a complex matter that cannot be examined through numbers alone: for example, an entity that does not report any allegations may not yet have solid reporting and prevention systems in place.

Outside the UN, 33 allegations have been recorded involving organisations mandated by the UN to carry out its programmes (known as “implementing partners”). They involve 37 alleged victims and 38 alleged perpetrators.

A full range of initiatives to tackle SEA at the UN The Secretary-General's strategy launched in 2017, focuses first on addressing the issue within the UN system, including peacekeepers, as well as those mandated by the UN to carry out programmes (implementing organizations and Security Council-authorized non-UN military). This covers more than 90,000 personnel in over 30 entities as well as more than 100,000 uniformed personnel.

The numbers show that the UN's victim-centred approach is paying off, as there seems to be increased trust among the victims and survivors to come forward and report incidents.

Various concrete initiatives have been put in place to date, including:

Transparent and harmonised quarterly reporting by the UN chief on the matter.

Improved support to survivors with the appointment of a global Victims' Rights Advocate, as well as several field-based ones, and the setting-up of a Victims Assistance Tracking database to ensure services are provided to survivors and victims, adequately and systematically.

Strengthened Member State engagement with the creation of: a Voluntary Compact which more than 100 countries have adopted; and the Circle of Leadership, launched in September 2018 and which has been endorsed by 74 members so far.

Mandatory training sessions for staff across the UN system.

Community-based complaint mechanisms in all UN humanitarian and peacekeeping operations.

And the launch in 2018 of a system called “Clear Check,” to prevent UN staff dismissed as a result of substantiated SEA allegations – or those who resigned or were separated during an investigation – from being re-employed.

A complete list of all the initiatives undertaken can be found here.

The question of prosecution

As the UN does not have the authority or a legal mandate to criminally prosecute individuals, criminal accountability of individuals continues to rest with each UN staff member's home country.

In cases where the alleged offender is a civilian, the UN conducts administrative investigations, the staff member is dismissed when the allegation is substantiated, and if the UN concludes that a crime may have been committed, it refers the matter to relevant national authorities for further action.

In cases involving uniformed personnel, the contributing State has exclusive jurisdiction to investigate, but the UN works in close partnership with that State to expedite the investigation, and take the necessary measures.

https://reliefweb.int/report/world/un-s-unyielding-effort-tackle-sexual-abuse-and-exploitation-our-quarterly-update

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Japan

Lower House passes bill to tackle child abuse

Japan's Lower House unanimously passed a bill to revise the country's child abuse prevention law on Tuesday. The bill has been sent to the Upper House, and will be enacted during the current Diet session.

The bill was approved by a Lower House committee last Friday after it was modified to reflect proposals from opposition parties.

The bill bans parents from physically punishing children as a means of discipline. It requires doctors to be stationed at child welfare centers to share their expertise.

The modified bill incorporates additional measures to tackle child abuse. These include urging experts to offer advice to abusive parents, and increasing child welfare officials in each municipality based on population and number of abuse reports.

The move by the legislature comes after a series of high-profile cases of child abuse. Last year, a 5-year-old girl died in Tokyo after her parents allegedly neglected to feed her or provide medical care. In January, a 10-year-old girl was found dead at her home near Tokyo, a suspected case of physical abuse by her father. Her mother allegedly failed to stop it.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190528_29/amp.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Baptist Missionaries

Abused by missionaries

Baptist leaders stayed quiet after trail of abuse

by Lise Olsen and Sarah Smith

George Thomas Wade Jr. had been spreading the gospel as a missionary on African training farms and in bush villages for six years when his Southern Baptist supervisors learned a horrifying secret: The supposedly devout man of God was molesting his own daughter.

A supervisor met once privately with the girl, who was attending boarding school in Johannesburg, and later consulted leaders based 7,500 miles away at the Richmond, Va., headquarters of what's now called the International Mission Board. Wade promised to stop, the supervisor said. His daughter said she was told to forgive Wade and was sworn to secrecy.

No one told Wade's wife, also a missionary, what he had done, court records show.

His daughter was never again asked about the abuse, which continued, even after she attempted suicide at 15.

“I felt stupid for having told anything to anybody,” she later testified. “The concern was for my father. ... It didn't matter what happened to me.”

The practice of the Southern Baptist mission board — the world's largest sponsor of Protestant missionaries — has been for years to keep misconduct reports inside the hierarchy of the organization, a Houston Chronicle investigation reveals. The board is a massive charitable organization that as of 2018 fielded more than 3,600 missionaries and “team associates” overseas and managed an annual budget of $158 million or more, nearly all tithes from members of churches that belong to the Southern Baptist Convention.

Anne Marie Miller told the International Mission Board in 2007 that one of their top missionaries allegedly abused her. The board did not notify police.

By the time Wade's wife, Diana, finally learned of the cover-up, her husband had abused three children, causing what she described in a letter to her employers as the “most shattering and devastating time in my life.” Wade was prosecuted and went to prison for child abuse in Alaska. He was later arrested again in Georgia in 1997 and remains a registered sex offender.

The Chronicle found a long trail of alleged cover-ups involving sexual misconduct or crimes committed abroad by a small number of Southern Baptist missionaries, all salaried employees of the mission board. Collectively, five men were credibly accused or convicted of abusing about 24 people, mostly children, court records, documents and interviews show.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/Abuse-of-Faith-Missionaries-left-trail-of-abuse-13904418.php

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Italy

Italy Bishops Adopt New Measures on Sexual Abuse, Victims Skeptical

by PHILIP PULLELLA

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Italy's Roman Catholic bishops on Thursday enacted a new policy on reporting suspected cases of sexual abuse by priests, but they stopped short of making it mandatory to inform police at first instance.

Under the policy, church authorities would carry out a preliminary investigation then decide whether to refer it to police.

The measure drew a skeptical response from victims' groups mindful of past Church cover-ups of abuses by clergymen.

The policy does however go further than that laid out by Pope Francis earlier this month which mandated the world's one million priests and nuns to report all suspicion of sexual abuse by clerics of any level to their superiors.

The papal document left it up to individual national bishops conferences to decide whether to report suspected abuse to police, depending on local law.

Bishop Lorenzo Ghizzoni hailed the Italian policy, made at a four-day bishops' meeting, as going beyond what was required by universal Roman Catholic Church law.

"We think this is an important step forward," he told a news conference.

Ghizzoni said Church authorities would first carry out a preliminary investigation to determine if the accusation against a priest was credible and, if so, inform police and the Vatican at the same time. The Church would also encourage victims to go directly to police, he said.

The pope's move was an attempt at taking forceful action against the sexual abuse of children by priests in thousands of cases across the world dating back at least three decades.

The abuse and cover-ups by authorities have battered the Church's credibility and forced it to pay billions of dollars in settlements to victims.

Victims and their advocates have long called for Church law to be changed to make reporting to civil authorities mandatory.

"I don't find this terribly reassuring," Anne Barrett-Doyle of U.S. abuse tracking group BishopAccountability.org, told Reuters. "We have had many examples of bishops withholding allegations that later proved to be true."

Francesco Zanardi of the Italian victims group Rete L'Abuso, was also skeptical.

"If the pope really wanted to do something, he would just change Church law to order all bishops to report all suspected cases directly to police for them to investigate," he told Reuters.

In February, a report by the United Nations Commission on the Rights of the Child criticized Italy for what it said was a low number of investigations and criminal prosecutions of child abuse by clergy in Italy.

The commission asked Italy to establish an independent body to investigate suspected sexual abuse by clergy. This has not yet happened.

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2019-05-23/italy-bishops-adopt-new-measures-on-sexual-abuse-victims-skeptical

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Poland

Polish priest blames 'devil' as he's confronted by alleged victim whose life was ruined

by Antonia Mortensen

(CNN) "Father, I wanted to look you in the eye ... I wanted to ask you why?" demands Anna Misiewicz as she confronts the parish priest she says abused her when she was just 7 and 8 years old.

"You touched me where you were not supposed to, my private parts," Misiewicz says, matter-of-factly, telling him that his actions "really scarred my adult life deeply."

"I still have nightmares ... I am unable to sleep at night," she tells her alleged abuser. "I still carry it inside me."

The elderly man she is addressing exhales and shifts in his orange-and-brown-striped chair, as a religious service plays out on a TV nearby, in a home for retired priests in Kielce, central Poland.

The priest, identified only as Father Jan A., has never been charged with abuse. He pauses briefly, before saying: "I should never have done it, I should not have touched or kissed you ... I know I shouldn't have."

"I regret it profoundly," he says, insisting that he has reformed in the three decades since the alleged episode detailed by Misiewicz. "It was the devil who took his toll."

The pair's troubling meeting was captured on secretly filmed footage that is at the heart of "Tell No One," a new documentary that has sent shockwaves through the Polish Catholic Church and wider society in the deeply religious nation.

Since its release on YouTube on May 11 the film, which details decades of sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Poland and shows victims confronting their alleged abusers, has been viewed more than 20 million times.

'Erosion' of Catholic Church

The Catholic Church -- and its priests -- enjoys a revered status and wields serious influence in Poland, where more than 90% of the country's population is registered as Catholic.

The Church has long held powerful ties to politics; together with the late Polish Pope John Paul II, it is widely hailed for its opposition to the Communist regime that collapsed in 1989.

Marcin Zaborowski, political analyst at Visegrad Insight, told CNN the Catholic Church has been "fundamental" to Polish society. "The Church is part and parcel of Polish politics," he said.

"The current government will find it difficult to distance itself from the Catholic Church," Zaborowski added. Only a week before the film was released, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the conservative ruling Law and Justice Party, said: "Anyone who raises his hand against the church, wants to destroy it, raises his hand against Poland." After seeing the documentary, he clarified his remarks at a rally, saying: "That does not mean that we support or tolerate pathology in the Church."

But Zaborowski said the film "could be a game changer," adding that it had "started the erosion of the position of the Catholic Church in Poland."

The case that's created the biggest outcry since the film's publication is that of Father Franciszek Cybula, the priest of Lech Walesa, leader of anti-Communist movement Solidarity in the 1980s.

Confronted on the doorstep of a small, white house in Gowidlino, a village in northern Poland, Cybula is accused of abusing a 12-year-old boy, decades earlier. Cybula, who is unaware he is being filmed, admits he touched the boy in a sexual manner but tries to downplay his actions.

"There was a moment of caressing and then we went back to our daily business," he says, arguing that "it never exceeded any inappropriateness," and suggesting that the pair had "fondled" each other mutually. Cybula died before the documentary finished production.

Poland's prosecutor general has issued an investigation into the alleged crimes detailed in the film.

"Tell No One" director Tomasz Sekielski told CNN he felt compelled to bring the sexual abuse to public attention after meeting several victims during his career as a journalist.

"The horror of their stories stayed with me, and I knew that I wanted to do something more on the subject; that's why my brother and I decided to make the film."

Taboo subject in Poland

It was difficult to find traditional investors willing to back the film because of its polarizing subject, Sekielski said.

Ultimately, he and his brother raised more than $100,000 to shoot the documentary via crowdfunding websites.

Sekielski says the response to it has far exceeded their expectations: "This film has been like a shock to Polish society and has managed to create real social awareness of a subject that has been very taboo in Poland."

Sekielski says he does not know if Pope Francis has seen the film, which is available online with Spanish and English subtitles.

When CNN asked the Vatican if they had a comment on the film, they said they "would look into it."

In response to the film, the Vatican's ambassador to Poland, Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, told CNN: "The Pope is very concerned, and we express sympathy and solidarity."

The Vatican has announced plans to send Malta's Archbishop Charles Scicluna, the Vatican's top sex crimes investigator, to Poland on June 13 to host a "study day" on abuse for Polish bishops on how to protect minors from abuse within the Church.

Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, president of the Polish Bishops' Conference, said he had been "deeply moved and saddened" by the film.

"On behalf of the entire Bishops' Conference, I would like all the victims to accept my sincere apologies; I realize that nothing can compensate them for the harm they have suffered," he said in a statement, adding that the film would "definitely contribute to an even more severe condemnation of pedophilia, for which there can be no place in the Church."

Following the film's release, the Polish government proposed raising the maximum prison sentence for convicted pedophiles to 30 years.

But that's insufficient, says Polish foundation Have No Fear, which helps victims of child abuse committed by the Catholic Church. The organization worked with the Sekielski brothers, helping to find victims who were willing to participate in the film.

Anna Frankowska, a board member of the organization, told CNN it had been "completely overwhelmed" by the reaction to the film: "It has generated a tsunami of calls from new victims to our charity."

Since the film's release more than 100 new cases have come to light, according to the charity. "On one hand it is wonderful, but on the other it is overwhelming as we do not have the resources to process all the cases," said Frankowska.

"The government increase in jail time is not an effective tool," she said, arguing that "it is more symbolic than anything, the courts need to actually start implementing these harsh sentences."

'Gesture gave me huge hope'

In February, representatives from Have No Fear delivered a report to Pope Francis in Rome, accusing 26 bishops in the Polish Catholic Church of concealing the perpetrators of sexual abuse of minors.

Marek Lisinski, a co-founder of Have No Fear, was one of those who met the Pontiff.

"The Pope took my hand in his hands and looked at me and ... grew sad. It had a huge impact on me. Then ... he kissed my hand. That gesture gave me huge hope," Lisinski said.

An abuse survivor himself, Lisinski told CNN how he had been groomed by a young vicar when he was a 13-year-old altar boy living in Poniatowo, in central Poland.

"It was in 1981 ... You must remember these were totally different times in Poland, there was a shortage of almost everything. But he had everything, sweets, food. It's important to understand what it meant in those days to get a sweet from someone," he said, explaining that "times were tough."

"He followed me into the toilet one day and started doing bad things to me," Lisinski said.

When he tried to tell his mother about the abuse -- on the same day that martial law was declared, in December 1981 -- he said she was "more worried about the political situation in Poland rather than me."

Lisinski said the sexual abuse "really hurt my life" and led him to become an alcoholic. Now sober, he now dedicates his time to helping other victims of abuse.

Have No Fear says it has yet to hear back from the Vatican about the report; its members are extremely frustrated at the way the Polish Catholic Church is dealing with what they see as a huge crisis in the country.

In March, Poland's Catholic Church released a long-awaited report on the numbers of sexual abuse cases there in the past 28 years -- the first time it has presented data on the scale of the problem.

According to data compiled by the church's statistics institute and child protection center, 382 clergymen were reported for sexual abuse involving 625 minors between January 1990 and June 2018. Of these 58.4% were male, while 41.6% were female; more than half of the victims were under the age of 15, the report said.

Have No Fear says the numbers do not tell the whole story; they want access to church documents detailing the nature of the abuse, and to find out what -- if any -- punishments the alleged abusers faced.

In the absence of those records, the accounts of victims like Anna Misiewicz, who are willing to speak up about the abuse they say they faced as children, are all-important in helping to raise awareness of the issue.

Standing outside the pretty wooden church she attended as a child, Misiewicz tells the filmmakers about the day of her first communion, pointing out where she stood alongside her alleged abuser for a photograph to mark the occasion.

Dressed all in white, with a lace headdress in her hair and a half-smile on her face, there is little trace of the turmoil she was going through but, she says, "I was under great stress because ... as a little girl I feared the photo would show that there was 'something between us,' as teenagers say now."

"He destroyed my life," Misiewicz says of her alleged abuser. "For me he does not even deserve to be called a priest."

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/05/26/europe/poland-catholic-church-abuse-intl/index.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

United Nations NEWS

Thursday's Daily Brief: the European Charlemagne prize, sexual abuse, transgender rights, Somalia and Libya updates

by D. Palanivelu

UN Affairs

UN Secretary-General António Guterres receives the Charlemagne Prize in Aachen, Germany on 30 May 2019.

With the post-world war international institutions eroded and under threat, a “strong and united Europe” standing alongside the United Nations, has never been more essential, said UN chief António Guterres in Germany on Thursday.

The Secretary-General was in the ancient continental capital of Aachen, close to the French border, where he received the Charlemagne Prize, awarded each year since 1950, for services towards European unification.

UN's women's health agency ‘strongly' condemns gang rape of child in Somalia

The UN sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, has issued a statement “strongly” condemning a gang rape of a nine-year-old girl on Wednesday, in the central Somali town of Bulo-Burde, some 425 km west of the capital, Mogadishu. UNFPA said that it stands with the girl's family and called for a speedy investigation into the “grave crime”.

Calling the violation a “gruesome act”, the agency reaffirmed its commitment to the Government and people of Somalia “to ensure that sexual and gender-based violence is eliminated”. Moreover, it underscored it stance that girls and women must “experience their fundamental dignity, human rights and equality”. UNFPA urged everyone to work together for “adequate protection measures for girls and women in Somalia”.

The UN's unyielding effort to tackle sexual abuse and exploitation: our quarterly update

Promotional materials meant to highlight the “no excuse, zero tolerance” approach to sexual exploitation and abuse by United Nations personnel.

In the first quarter of 2019, according to latest figures released on Thursday, the United Nations recorded a total of 37 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) against UN personnel, including civilian and uniformed personnel from peacekeeping operations, agencies, funds and programmes. So far, most of these allegations remain under investigation.

To date, only one of the 37 allegations has been substantiated through an investigation, and referred to the relevant Member State for follow-up; four were not substantiated by the investigation that ensued; 26 are still under investigation; and six are still in the preliminary assessment phase to determine if there is enough information to investigate.

A major win for transgender rights: UN health agency drops ‘gender identity disorder', as official diagnosis

Discrimination remains a major barrier to people accessing prevention services, #HIV testing and treatment and care, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

“To reflect critical advances in science and medicine”, the World Health Organization, WHO, has removed so-called “gender identity disorder” from its official manual of diagnoses, which is being hailed as a major win for transgender rights.

The update to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) has reclassified gender identity disorder, or identifying as transgender, in terms of sexuality, not a “mental disorder”.

Libya: Close to 150 refugees and asylum-seekers evacuated to safety

Detainees at a detention centre in Tripoli, Libya, waiting for safe settlement supported by UNHCR. Here, a 19-year-old Eritrean girl talks to a UNOCHA staff member, while waiting her turn to get on the bus for transit to the UNHCR gathering center. She will then be flown to Niger to a safe settlement supported by UNHCR.

Against of backdrop of violent clashes in Libya's capital, Tripoli, 149 vulnerable refugees and asylum-seekers trapped in the hostilities were safely evacuated to Rome on Thursday, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. The evacuees – nearly half of whom are children – are from Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan and Ethiopia, and many need medical treatment after months of dire living conditions in detentions centres in Tripoli.

More than 1,000 refugees and migrants have been evacuated or resettled out of Libya by UNHCR in 2019, while more than 1,200 others have been returned to Libya by the Libyan Coast Guard in just May alone after being rescued or intercepted while attempting to flee by boat.

“More humanitarian evacuations are needed,” said Jean-Paul Cavalieri, UNHCR Chief of Mission in Libya. “They are a vital lifeline for refugees whose only other escape route is to put their lives in the hands of unscrupulous smugglers and traffickers on the Mediterranean Sea.”

Violence in Libya has uprooted the lives of 83,000 civilians, and hundreds have been killed. This week, six health workers were killed and seven injured when two clearly-marked ambulances were hit by shelling on Tuesday and Wednesday.

A new leader for the UN mission in Somalia, and other appointments

Secretary-General Guterres announced on Thursday the appointment of James Swan of the United States as his Special Representative for Somalia and new Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM). He succeeds Nicholas Haysom of South Africa, to whom the Secretary-General expressed deep gratitude.

In addition, Anita Bhatia of India has been appointed as Assistant Secretary-General for Resource Management, Sustainability and Partnerships and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women; Najat Maalla M'jid of Morocco will be the new Special Representative on Violence Against Children; Gilles Michaud has been appointed Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security; Tatiana Valovaya of Russia, as Director-General of the UN Office in Geneva.

https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/05/1039521

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cyber Security

Snapchat Has Become A 'Haven For Child Abuse' With Its 'Self-Destructing Messages'

by Zak Doffman

Not a good week for Snapchat. On Thursday, Motherboard reported that “several departments inside social media giant Snap have dedicated tools for accessing user data, and multiple employees have abused their privileged access to spy on Snapchat users.” And now the Sunday Times has published an investigation into allegations that predators are ”flocking” to the social media platform, which has become a “haven for child abuse.”

Motherboard's article cited two former employees who claimed that “multiple Snap employees abused their access to Snapchat user data several years ago.” This included the use of ”internal tools that allowed Snap employees to access user data, including in some cases location information, their own saved Snaps and personal information such as phone numbers and email addresses.”

SnapLion, one of the tools referenced in the Motherboard article, was designed to gather information for “valid law enforcement requests. Claims that this tool was involved in the alleged misuse have not been verified.

A Snap spokesperson told me that “any perception that employees might be spying on our community is highly troubling and wholly inaccurate. Protecting privacy is paramount at Snap. We keep very little user data, and we have robust policies and controls to limit internal access to the data we do have, including data within tools designed to support law enforcement. Unauthorized access of any kind is a clear violation of the company's standards of business conduct and, if detected, results in immediate termination.”

Ironically, it is this limited user data that is central to the Sunday Times investigation. The newspaper's investigation has uncovered ”thousands of reported cases that have involved Snapchat since 2014,” including “pedophiles using the app to elicit indecent images from children and to groom teenagers,” as well as “under-18s spreading child pornography themselves.” This has now resulted in U.K. police ”investigating three cases of child exploitation a day linked to the app, [with] messages that self-destruct allowing groomers to avoid detection.”

The Sunday Times quotes Adam Scott Wandt from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York calling Snapchat a “haven” for abusers, arguing that the “self-destruct” nature of Snapchat's messages “makes it difficult for the police to collect evidence.”

Wandt claims that in this way “Snapchat has distinguished itself as the platform where abuse of children happens… The problem was that adults realized you could do a simple Google search and find out that most Snapchat messages are unrecoverable after 24 hours, even by law enforcement with a warrant.”

The U.K. children's charity, the NSPCC, rates Snapchat as a high risk, with a spokesperson for the charity explaining that predators intent on grooming children “cast the net wide in the expectation that a small number of children will respond.”

The charity has also warned on self-generated images taken and shared by children themselves. ”As soon as that image is shared or screenshotted, the child loses control over it… those images may start on a site like Snapchat, but they could very easily end up circulating among technologically sophisticated offenders, making their way onto the dark web.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2019/05/26/snapchats-self-destructing-messages-have-created-a-haven-for-child-abuse/amp/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Glasgow & West Scotland

Celtic confirm sex abuse probe and deny 'doing nothing'

Celtic FC has been conducting its own two-year investigation into historical child sex abuse, according to its chief executive.

In letters to two MSPs, Peter Lawwell hit back at "misconceptions" the football club had been "doing nothing".

He said the club's insurers had appointed a "wholly independent and experienced lawyer" to investigate.

Last month the club expressed "regret and sorrow" 10 days after an ex-youth coach was jailed for child sex abuse.

Jim McCafferty, 73, was the fourth man connected to either Celtic or Celtic Boys Club to be convicted of child sex offences in the past year.

The club's response to the crimes involving the former boys club coaches was last week criticised by two MSPs.

And both have issued fresh criticism after receiving a letter from Mr Lawwell.

James Dornan, the SNP MSP for Glasgow Cathcart, told BBC Scotland he wants more clarity on what the investigation has involved.

He said: "If nobody has spoken to victims about their experiences and what they would like to see to overcome those experiences and how those experiences came about then that's not an investigation.

"If what the investigation is about is how they can legally prove that Celtic Boys Club and Celtic Football Club are separate entities then that's a sham."

'More than a club'

Asked about his reaction to the scandal as a fan of the club, Mr Dornan said: "I would much rather be here having this conversation about any other club in the world than having it about Celtic.

"I grew up to believe that Celtic was more than a football club, and I like to believe it still is, but this and the way the board have handled this.

"In one way, I'm glad that my dad is not here to see that Celtic are behaving in this way on what is probably the most important issue that club has ever faced."

Conservative MSP Mr Tomkins tweeted his reaction to the letter.

He wrote: "I know of no reason why legal investigation into what Celtic FC knew about the abuse at the boys club (and when they knew it) needs to be in secret.

"Nothing in Celtic's letter to me undermines my belief that these matters require to be 'independently' investigated and that, if necessary, Celtic will have to establish and administer a compensation scheme for victims of abuse.

"Finally, having an unnamed lawyer secretly investigating a matter does nothing to help, guide or support the victims and their families. It is their rights and interests that no one should overlook in this matter."

Mr Lawwell has written to both MSPs, saying it is "important that we clarify a number of issues which appear to be misconceptions at present".

And he told Mr Dornan: "We believe that your criticisms, which suggested that we were not a caring club and that we were not taking our responsibilities seriously was both unfair and misguided".

In the letters released to the Press Association, Mr Lawwell stated: "The first misconception is that the club is doing nothing and abdicating responsibility. That is simply not true."

Instead he claimed legal processes meant the club was "constrained" in what it could say publicly, describing it as being "highly frustrating for all".

'Proper manner'

But he also insisted it was not appropriate to discuss sensitive legal matters "through newspapers or on social media".

The Celtic chief executive said: "Some time ago our insurers appointed a wholly independent and experienced lawyer who is investigating and dealing with this matter on behalf of the club.

He added: "We respect any claimants' rights and out advisers will communicate with them and their representatives directly in the proper manner, respecting their rights to confidentiality."

Celtic will "ensure that we continue to meet all our obligations", Mr Lawwell stressed.

The chief executive also claimed that in the "very delicate and of course tragic set of circumstances" Mr Dornan's letter had "appeared to disregard the importance of the due process of law".

Sympathy for victims

He added: "Unfortunately legal processes are slow, and are also generally confidential. We have had to balance all of these factors in how was have addressed the issues to date.

"While we recognise that this issue is in the public domain we do not consider that means that we should deal with the matter through the media, but rather through the legal system.

"We would stress that we regret that the incidents took place and reiterate our sympathy for all victims who suffered abuse. We are following legal advice and respecting an ongoing process.

"The matter continues to receive our full attention and that we take all our obligations, including legal, very seriously."

But solicitor Patrick McGuire, who represents survivors of abuse, again accused the club of "too little, too late".

He said: "If Celtic have been carrying out a covert investigation why did it take the intervention of two MSPs to bring it to light?

"Why did they not set the record straight when survivors and campaigners started demanding answers and actions more than a year ago?"

He also asked why such an investigation was needed given the outcome of the court cases.

Last November Celtic Boys Club founder Jim Torbett was jailed for six years for sexually abusing three boys over eight years.

After his conviction Celtic took two days to issue a statement , which expressed "deep regret".

Earlier this year, the boys club's former chairman, Gerald King, was given a three-year probation order for sexually abusing four boys and a girl in the 1980s.

And in February Frank Cairney, a former manager of the boys club, was jailed for four years after being convicted of nine charges of sexually abusing young footballers.

Last month McCafferty admitted 12 charges related to child sex abuse against 10 teenage boys between 1972 and 1996.

He was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison.

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-48483874

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

France

Versailles priest charged with rape, child abuse

A Catholic priest in Versailles, west of Paris, has been charged with rape and the sexual abuse of a minor, the regional diocese said in a statement Monday.

Father Laurent Thuillier was charged on Friday with raping an adult and sexual abuse of a minor as well as "psychological harassment" and "sexually soliciting a minor under the age of 15," the local church authority added.

An enquiry had been opened in late 2016 after a complaint by a female parishioner and her then 13-year-old daughter.

Bishop of Versailles Eric Aumonier said Monday that he had "taken the necessary measures as soon as he was aware of the accusations," made against Thuillier.

The accused priest has been banned from contacting the complainant or her family members. He has also been relieved of all his parish duties, including conducting mass or hearing confessions.

The priest's lawyer Frederic Landon confirmed the indictment to AFP but said Thuillier "fiercely contests the facts alleged against him".

The lawyer said he would ask for the case to be dropped.

In May 2016, a group of Catholic women in Versailles decried the "silence" and "dysfunctioning" of the Versailles diocese over the matter. They subsequently set up the "Like a Loving Mother" support group for victims of abuse by catholic clergy.

The group said in a statement Monday that the charges against Thuillier "are a relief after a two-and-a-half year process".

However it was "regrettable", the group added, that the victims should learn of this through a statement by the Versailles diocese.

The Catholic Church worldwide has been hit by a series of sexual abuses scandals, not least in France where French cardinal Philippe Barbarin was handed a six-month suspended jail sentence in March for failing to report sex abuse by a priest under his authority.

Last week Pope Francis passed a landmark measure to oblige those who know about sex abuse in the Catholic Church to report it to their superiors, in a move which could bring new cases to light.

https://www.thejakartapost.com/amp/news/2019/05/14/versailles-priest-charged-with-rape-child-abuse.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sports

Addressing sexual harassment & abuse in Sport

by Anand Rampersad, PhD

There's hardly a day that goes by without media reporting claims of alleged sexual harassment, sexual misconduct and abuse. Apparently, it has come commonplace in our society and the environment of sports is not immune and is perhaps one of the most prevalent places for such evil acts to take place.

According to IOC (2007), “sexual harassment and abuse happen in all sports and all levels. Prevalence appears to be higher in elite sport. Members of the athlete's entourage who are in positions of power and authority appear to be the primary perpetrators. Peer athletes have also been identified as perpetrators. Males are more often reported as perpetrators thanfemales.”

A sporting culture that is rooted in winning at all costs ripens the environment for sexual harassment and abuse of athletes. Sexual harassment and abuse affect victims physically and psychologically. Some athlete's performance may decline which may result in dropping out of the sport. Additionally, others may suffer from anxiety, depression and substance abuse (IOC, 2007).

Both male and female athletes, officials and administrators may be victims of sexual harassment and abuse. Whereas some victims may speak out others may not reveal their sordid situations due to shame and the fear of jeopardizing their careers due to victimization and reprisal from the perpetrators who operate from positions of power.

There are a number of 'famous' cases of sexual abuse that have rocked the sporting world. In 2017, former USA gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar was jailed for 60 years for child pornography charges after being accused of sexual abuse by more than 100 girls. American swimming coach Andy King was sentenced to 40 years after being accused of three decades of sexual abuse. Penn State University assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was sentenced to 30-60 years after he was convicted in 2012 of 45 counts of abuse relating to 10 boys.

Sporting organisations in T&T through the directive of the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs (MSYA) should heed the call from UN Women in implementing several measures to prevent and address sexual harassment and abuse:

* Develop policies and procedures for the prevention of sexual harassment and abuses;

* Prepare and implement codes of ethics and conduct for coaches, whether they work with adults or children;

* Monitor the implementation of these policies and procedures;

* Evaluate the impact of these policies in identifying and reducing sexual harassment and abuse;

* Provide training on how sexual harassment and sexual relationships can negatively influence coach-athlete relationships;

* Develop complaint procedures that ensure privacy;

* Protect legal rights of athletes and coaches, and protect against retaliation;

* Screen all applicants for coaching staff and volunteer positions;

* Foster strong partnerships with parents/care givers in the prevention of sexual harassment and abuse;

* Promote and support research on these issues;

* Foster a climate of open discussion about the issues of sexual harassment and abuse so that athletes with problems feel confident enough to speak out; and

* Develop athlete autonomy wherever possible including adopting coaching styles which give optimum autonomy and responsibility to athletes.

The key to addressing sexual harassment and abuse at all levels of sport is disclosure. One case of sexual harassment and abuse is too many! Victims must believe that the environment that they are operating in is supportive and will facilitate timely action against all perpetrators regardless of where they are placed in the power structure. Sporting administrators have to take full responsibility for all persons (players, officials and administrators) within its ambit by ensuring that they are aware of their parameters of expected behaviour and the consequences for violation.

"I don't feel it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not in the beginning." Michel Foucault.

http://www.guardian.co.tt/sports/addressing-sexual-harassment--abuse-in-sport-6.2.858869.fb43d780d3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OPINION

Comey's FBI Ignored Sexual Abuse Victims To Play Politics

by Julie Kelly

As the political world anticipates an internal Justice Department review of misconduct by James Comey's FBI related to the Trump campaign probe, hundreds of American parents await another report: Why Comey's FBI delayed an investigation into one of the country's most notorious child sex abusers, former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar. The Michigan State University osteopathic physician now is serving a 100-year minimum prison sentence for numerous crimes, including sexual assault of minors, sexual assault, and possession of child pornography.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Justice Department's inspector general is looking into how the FBI handled the initial sexual abuse allegations made against Nassar in 2015 and 2016.

“The gymnasts' complaints languished for at least nine months before an FBI office opened a formal investigation,” the Journal reported. “In their probe of the bureau's handling of the matter, Justice Department investigators have conducted interviews with several people, including athletes and gymnastics officials. The investigation could lead to disciplinary action and criminal charges.”

Lawmakers also have questions. Senators Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray with questions related to the agency's handling of the case in 2015 and 2016. “We have met several gymnasts who expressed concern about FBI delays in responding to their allegations against Nassar,” they wrote in July. “Our staffs have also reached out to the FBI for information related to these requests, but were not provided any information.”

No Action Until It Was Too Late

The Nassar case was a shameful display of failure at every level. It‘s earning newfound attention due to a documentary now available on HBO—”At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal.” The documentary tells the girls' shocking story. (It airs again Tuesday. Warning: It's not easy to watch.) While coaches, parents, USA Gymnastics executives and Michigan State University officials turned a blind eye to Nassar's deviancy, hundreds of the world's most talented female athletes were physically tormented for years as the doctor traveled with them across the country and around the world.

And the powerful agency assigned with protecting the most vulnerable from the most predatory—the Federal Bureau of Investigation, led by the preening, moralistic James Comey—took no action until it was too late.

In 2015 and 2016, as Comey's FBI connived to downplay the Clinton email investigation and concocted the Trump-Russia election collusion scheme, Nassar's victims continued to be sexually abused even after the FBI had been warned of his behavior.

A February 2018 analysis by the New York Times identified “at least 40 girls and women who say that Dr. Nassar molested them between July 2015, when he first fell under F.B.I. scrutiny, and September 2016,” when the Indy Star reported on lawsuits filed by Nassar's victims.

Throughout 2016, while Trump campaign volunteer Carter Page was under intense surveillance by Comey's FBI, Dr. Larry Nassar was not.

In fact, Comey's FBI didn't arrest Nassar until December 2016, after Michigan law enforcement officials charged Nassar with a variety of crimes. FBI agents then found 37,000 images of child pornography, including girls as young as 6 and dating back to 2003, on Nassar's home computers.

“He consumed child pornography on a massive scale,” U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge said after Nassar was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison. “Insatiable hunger of that nature simply encourages those who produce such images to continue to sexually exploit children. Compounding his danger to the public, Nassar was an insidious hands-on child predator in his own right.”

Real Evidence Ignored

If only the accusations against Nassar had been included in some kind of dossier produced by powerful political interests, then maybe Comey's FBI would have taken immediate notice.

Larry Nassar was not some random creep sexually molesting girls in a trailer park. Nassar was employed by a Big 10 public university; he worked for an elite sports organization. In addition to traveling between Michigan State and the Texas ranch of Bela Karolyi, the famous gymnastics coach who hosted intense training camps for elite gymnasts each month, Nassar also attended four Olympic games with the team.

His decades-long crime spree that crossed state and international boundaries should not have gone unnoticed by federal law enforcement officials. Comey's FBI should have been alerted that something was up even before girls started coming forward, given that there was already an internal investigation by Michigan State in 2014 into accusations of assault, or when Nassar suddenly retired as the team doctor in September 2015 as more allegations began to surface.

USA Gymnastics brass first contacted the Indianapolis field office of the FBI in July 2015. FBI agents were given the contact information of some of the sport's brightest stars—including Olympians Ali Raisman and McKayla Maroney—who had been assaulted by Nassar.

At the time, the organization also turned over videos produced by Nassar that showed his grotesque intravaginal “technique” to alleviate pain from any injury, including a twisted ankle or pulled hamstring. The videos, according to New York Times reporters who viewed them, “show [Nassar] kneading the legs of girls before his ungloved hands begin to work under a towel, between the girls' legs.” Nassar then explains how he does “the hand-shaky thing, demonstrating how he shakes his hand vigorously when it is deep between a girl's legs.” Some of the therapy sessions, according to the girls, would last hours.

But that wasn't enough to prompt an FBI investigation into Nassar. The allegations were bounced to the FBI's Detroit office, which also took no action.

Perhaps if Nassar had discussed Russian sanctions instead of molesting hundreds of young athletes while pretending to be a serious doctor, Comey's FBI immediately would have sent FBI agents to interrogate him.

Finally, the Los Angeles FBI office opened a formal investigation in the spring of 2016, around the same time Comey and Andrew McCabe, his deputy, were deeply immersed in how they could exonerate Hillary Clinton and target the Trump presidential campaign.

Then, 17 months after two female Olympic athletes notified James Comey's FBI about allegations of sexual assault—and 10 months after James Comey's FBI opened up an official case on the matter—the feds arrested Nassar at his Michigan home in December 2016.

Perhaps if Nassar had been a quirky political consultant working for a candidate Comey didn't like, Comey's FBI would have acted faster.

The human wreckage that Larry Nassar caused cannot be underestimated. The testimonials from the victims, their families, coaches and others either complicit or caught up in this tragedy are heartbreaking and infuriating at the same time. (The father of one victim, who testified that Nassar's abuse began when she was six, committed suicide for not believing his daughter's claims at the time.) USA Gymnastics is bankrupt, its former president now faces felony charges for witness tampering, and three Michigan State University officials, including its former president, are in legal trouble connected to the Nassar case.

Yet James Comey continues to insist he is a victim while preening about his integrity, his morality, and his duty. The Nassar fiasco didn't even merit a mention in his self-indulgent book.

For all the misconduct and malfeasance that happened under Comey's watch, his agency's gross negligence (not extreme carelessness) on the Nassar case could be his most damning legacy.

https://amgreatness.com/2019/05/27/comeys-fbi-ignored-sexual-abuse-victims-to-pursue-political-foes/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Australia

Investigation rescues scores of SA children from abuse

In the past four years, 85 South Australian children have been removed from harm thanks to a joint federal-state investigative team working to combat the scourge of child sexual abuse.

by Emily Cosenza

An SA investigation into child sexual abuse led to referrals to 60 countries.

Since the Join Anti Child Exploitation Team was established in 2015, it has launched 508 investigations.

Its work came into sharp focus recently with the arrest of Adelaide serial sex offender Ruecha Tokputza.

The 31-year-old was recently jailed for more than 40 years for his abuse of 11 babies and children.

JACET identifies, investigates and charges those offending against children, predominantly those involved in online sexual exploitation.

In SA, the team has fifteen specialist investigators from the local force and the Australian Federal Police.

In the Tokputza case, their investigations began in November 2017 after exploitation videos were linked to a server in Bulgaria, which linked to an IP address in Adelaide.

In January, 11 children were rescued once their location was identified in Thailand.

Search warrants were executed globally, including one for Tokputza's home, and he was connected to the IP address.

A member of the SA JACET Sergeant Stephen Hegarty said on Sunday that sharing child exploitation material was not a victimless offence.

“Our priority is to identify children who are in the worst possible scenarios and rescue them wherever they are in the world,” Hegarty said.

It was “powerful and moving” knowing international collaboration was at the forefront of the investigation, he said.

To prosecute Tokputza, he had to analyse nearly 900,000 videos, files and images to identify the victims.

“It's by far the most difficult case I've had to work through,” he said.

“Our focus may be on the protection of children in SA but if there's a nexus with crimes overseas then we will hunt you down and we will catch you.”

Last week, INTERPOL confirmed the two-year SA investigation led to referrals to 60 countries, 50 victims being removed from harm, an additional 100 children were identified as suffering abuse, and nine sex offenders being arrested.

https://indaily.com.au/news/2019/06/03/investigation-rescues-scores-of-sa-children-from-abuse/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Australia

60 Minutes: 'Army' of personalities helped Australian woman survive child abuse

by Liz Little

As a young girl, Jeni Haynes was subjected to extreme and unimaginable horror. To withstand it, her brain conjured up multiple personalities. In one body lived two and a half thousand different characters, who stepped in at various times to help Jeni deal with the unbearable pain she was suffering. Then, Jeni's army of strangers decided to take on her enemy, fighting extraordinary battles to convince the world she wasn't crazy, and then bringing the man responsible for all her torment to justice.

A decade-long investigation has made history, with Australian woman Jeni Haynes' multiple personalities granted permission to testify in court.

The landmark case is believed to be a world first, which resulted in bringing Ms Haynes' abusive father Richard Haynes to justice.

From the age of four, Ms Haynes was tortured by her father. The sickening sexual abuse occurred daily, continuing until she was 14. It was so horrific and violent, her very survival was against the odds.

But incredibly, her young mind created multiple personalities, which allowed her to cope with the physical and emotional pain she experienced. In essence, she was protected by a psychological army – 2500 different ‘alters' who would take over her body during the abuse.

"My dad inflicted, chose to inflict, severe, sadistic, violent abuse," Ms Haynes told Liz Hayes in a 60 Minutes exclusive interview.

"[The abuse] was completely unavoidable. Inescapable. And life-threatening. And he chose to do this every day of my entire childhood."

Ms Haynes – and her multiple personalities – told Hayes how her 'army' within saved her life.

Multiple Personality Disorder, also known as Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), was once viewed with disbelief – including by the psychiatric profession.

But as psychiatrist Dr George Blair-West explained to 60 Minutes, it is now not only considered a genuine medical condition but an ingenious one.

"There is nothing wrong with Jeni's human mind or any other person who suffers from DID," Dr Blair-West told Hayes.

"Their mind is just coming up with an incredibly sophisticated, clever solution to a scenario that most of us could not begin to understand or relate to."

As a young girl, Jeni Haynes was subjected to extreme and unimaginable horror. To withstand it, her brain conjured up multiple personalities. In one body lived two and a half thousand different characters, who stepped in at various times to help Jeni deal with the unbearable pain she was suffering. Then, Jeni's army of strangers decided to take on her enemy, fighting extraordinary battles to convince the world she wasn't crazy, and then bringing the man responsible for all her torment to justice.

Dr Blair-West has been treating Ms Haynes for over twenty years. He told 60 Minutes that when children like Jeni are subjected to significant traumas prior to the age of eight, they are able to split off parts of their mind into multiple personalities.

"The thing that seems to push the mind to do this more than anything else is realising you have no way out," he told Hayes.

"Nobody's there to save you, you're on your own, and you have to come up with a solution that is entirely of your own."

To endure the trauma of her father's abuse, Ms Haynes created personalities to cope with not just the pain, but the smells, tastes and sounds she experienced during the abuse.

As a young girl, Jeni Haynes was subjected to extreme and unimaginable horror. To withstand it, her brain conjured up multiple personalities. In one body lived two and a half thousand different characters, who stepped in at various times to help Jeni deal with the unbearable pain she was suffering. Then, Jeni's army of strangers decided to take on her enemy, fighting extraordinary battles to convince the world she wasn't crazy, and then bringing the man responsible for all her torment to justice.

She spent years trying to report her father's abuse and seek help, but was consistently faced with ridicule and disbelief.

But as Liz Hayes reports, it didn't stop her. She was determined to bring her father to justice.

She spent 18 years at university, graduating with a degree in psychology, a masters in legal studies and criminal justice – and a PhD focusing on victims of crime.

Then finally in 2010, Ms Haynes met Detective Sergeant Paul Stamoulis who was prepared to investigate her allegations of childhood abuse by her father. She now describes Det Sgt Stamoulis as "God on legs".

"Finally someone believed me," Ms Haynes said.

"Finally somebody who was in a position that could actually impact on my dad."

Ms Haynes documented her father's repulsive crimes in an incredibly detailed 900,000 word statement that was shocking even to Det Sgt Stamoulis.

"It did take a toll," an emotional Det Sgt Stamoulis told Liz Hayes.

"A lot of people who have read that document have been seriously affected by it."

As a young girl, Jeni Haynes was subjected to extreme and unimaginable horror. To withstand it, her brain conjured up multiple personalities. In one body lived two and a half thousand different characters, who stepped in at various times to help Jeni deal with the unbearable pain she was suffering. Then, Jeni's army of strangers decided to take on her enemy, fighting extraordinary battles to convince the world she wasn't crazy, and then bringing the man responsible for all her torment to justice.

Assisting the police investigation was the fact that each of Ms Haynes' personalities lived different aspects of her trauma – meaning that she has extraordinary recall of her father's abuse.

"She has a memory unlike yours or my memory," Dr Blair-West explained.

"Her alters are living in different time space realities, effectively. Particularly those younger ones. What Jeni does, is she can go to the part that was there then and that part will tell you exactly what happened, like it was yesterday."

What made this case more difficult was the lack of a physical crime scene. But, Det Sgt Stamoulis told Hayes, Ms Haynes' body was a crime scene. Major surgeries on her bowel, coccyx and anus were required to repair the physical damage caused by her abuse.

In 2017, 74-year-old Richard Haynes was extradited from the United Kingdom and charged with multiple counts of rape, buggery and indecent assault of his daughter.

It was agreed that the evidence in the case against Haynes would be too traumatic for a jury, and would be heard by a judge alone. Haynes pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Det Sgt Stamoulis and Dr Blair-West worked as a team to prepare Ms Haynes for her landmark appearance in court. Both agreed she should give evidence as her multiple personalities despite the challenges it presented. It would be a legal first.

"When you decided to give evidence, how did you decide between all of your alter personalities who was going to do and say what?" Hayes asked Ms Haynes.

"We didn't," she laughed.

"The plan is whoever has the right answer will come out and tell it."

On February 21 this year, Symphony – a four-year old girl – was the first of Ms Haynes' personalities to take the witness stand in the NSW District Court. Symphony's testimony lasted barely two hours before Richard Haynes crumbled. The man who destroyed Ms Haynes' young life finally pleaded guilty to his heinous crimes.

As a young girl, Jeni Haynes was subjected to extreme and unimaginable horror. To withstand it, her brain conjured up multiple personalities. In one body lived two and a half thousand different characters, who stepped in at various times to help Jeni deal with the unbearable pain she was suffering. Then, Jeni's army of strangers decided to take on her enemy, fighting extraordinary battles to convince the world she wasn't crazy, and then bringing the man responsible for all her torment to justice.

As a victim of childhood sexual abuse Ms Haynes was entitled to anonymity. She waived it, determined the world would not only hear her story, but know who her abuser was.

"I didn't want, 'A 74-year-old man was in court today'," she told 60 Minutes.

"I wanted 'Richard John Haynes was in court facing 75 charges in relation to rape, sodomy, and sexual abuse of his daughter, Jennifer Margaret Linda.' I wanted him to walk into prison with everybody knowing what he did."

Jeni Haynes' successful quest in the courts to bring her father to justice has not only validated her condition but opened the legal channels for others like her to tell their stories.

Richard Haynes will be sentenced next week.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Human Trafficking

Marriott Training All Employees to Recognize Human Trafficking

(Oct 2018) -- Marriott International is in the middle of a huge effort to make sure all employees at each of its properties are trained to recognize human trafficking.

Brijae Sledge, a bartender at the Renaissance in downtown D.C. recently completed the training.

"I definitely keep a close ear and a close eye on things that are going on," she said.

She's one of almost a half-million Marriott employees who have completed mandatory training.

Employees learn the classic signs of human trafficking, like guests paying in cash one day at a time and various men being escorted to a room. They also learn about disturbing real-life situations that happened on Marriott properties where trained employees saved people.

The message is clear: They have to be vigilant and involved.

“As a hotel company, Marriott International is taking a proactive approach on this,” Director of Social Impact and Global Responsibility Tu Rinsche said. “We're not ignoring the issue; we're not denying it. We accept that, and unfortunately it happens in hotels.”

And it's happening at record rates, according to Ending Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT), a global network working to end the exploitation of children.

“This training is extremely urgent,” said Michelle Guelbart, of ECPAT. “This is the most important industry to train on this issue, period.”

But according to ECPAT, only three major hotel chains worldwide — Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton — make the training mandatory for all employees.

ECPAT is building a database where guests can see whether the hotel they book makes the grade.

“You'll be able to see in the first year what companies have policies, how many are training, who's training, what is that training, what does it look like,” Guelbart said.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Marriott-Training-All-Employees-to-Recognize-Human-Trafficking-494980021.html