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The Sunday News
May 19 1996
Sexual abuse challenge vindicated
by George Balani
I've been pilloried by some readers and listeners
because I've challenged the "sexual abuse industry".
It's never made sense to me we accept almost without question the
uncorroborated evidence of young children, elicited by so-called
"professionals" in videotaped interviews.
These are all too often leading and conducted by zealots whose sole purpose
is to prove sexual abuse took place, rather than ascertaining what - if
indeed anything - did take place. I often reflect on the words of an Auckland sexual abuse
interviewer who said she'd rather see 10 innocent men go to jail than one
abuser set free.
Now that's a balanced, impartial, logical and completely sane view, isn't it?
I feel vindicated about the stance I've taken on. At long last there's some
positive evidence children can and do make up some incredible stories (Sunday
News, May 12).
Dr Jane Rawls, a Hamilton
psychologist, has conducted a study in which she taped 30 five-year-olds
being questioned by a man.
Two weeks later, when she asked them about the sessions, 24 per cent said
they'd been inappropriately touched, 10 per cent reported being touched in
the genital area, 7 per cent reported having their bottoms touched and
another 7 per cent said they'd been touched under their clothes.
If this doesn't make the establishment sit up and take notice, what will?
It's never made sense to me and it doesn't now. No man should be found guilty
of any charge on the extracted videotaped evidence of a child without some
corroborating evidence.
In many cases, guys have gone down when there hasn't even been medical
evidence to support the allegations. Doctors sympathetic to "the
cause" simply say just because there is no physical damage doesn't
necessarily mean it didn't happen.
These attitudes make a mockery of the law, of common sense and of the
judicial system. Ironically, learned men and women throw common sense out the
window and buy into this garbage apparently without question.
I believe there are many men behind bars today who shouldn't be. A fair and
equitable society with gutsy leaders would at very least have a good look at
what's been happening - and maybe even at retrying all cases where there was
no corroborating evidence. Isn't it time blokes got a fair go
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