Abuse, opinions

Aleccia, Jonel, The threat of child abuse typically lurks close to home; Spokesman Review, April 8, 2007  
While popular perception warns of "stranger danger" and urges society to protect children from outsiders, law enforcement experts and advocates for abused children say the real threat most often lurks close to home. Nearly 85 percent of abused children are hurt by a parent acting alone or with another person, according to the federal Child Welfare Information Gateway. That includes about 80 percent of sexual abuse cases and nearly 90 percent of neglect [...]

Finkelhor, David, The Prevention of Childhood Sexual Abuse; Preventing Child Maltreatment Volume 19 Number 2 Fall 2009 
David Finkelhor examines initiatives to prevent child sexual abuse, which have focused on two primary strategies: offender management and school-based educational programs. [...] 
Although [offender management strategies] win approval from both the public and policy makers, little evidence exists that they are effective in preventing sexual abuse. 
Moreover, these initiatives, cautions Finkelhor, are based on an overly stereotyped characterization of sexual abusers as pedophiles, guileful strangers who prey on children in public and other easy-access environments and who are at high risk to re-offend once caught. 
In reality the population is much more diverse. Most sexual abusers are not strangers or pedophiles; many (about a third) are themselves juveniles. Many have relatively low risks for re-offending once caught. [...] 
Finkelhor explains that school-based educational programs teach children such skills as how to identify dangerous situations, refuse an abuser’s approach, break off an interaction, and summon help. 
The programs also aim to promote disclosure, reduce self-blame, and mobilize bystanders. 
Considerable evaluation research exists about these programs, suggesting that they achieve certain of their goals. [...] 
Finkelhor also points to evidence that supports counseling strategies both for offenders, particularly juveniles, to reduce re-offending, and for victims, to prevent negative mental health and life course outcomes associated with abuse.

Daily Mail, How the NSPCC faked child abuse stories to generate cash; Daily Mail (UK), 11th September 2007  
Children's charity the NSPCC has become the latest high profile organisation to be involved in a faking scandal - this time with made-up examples of child abuse.  In a letter sent out to generate donations, the society used a number of shocking examples of cruelty to young people. These featured a young girl who rang the service and talked of a baby-sitter "doing things to her she didn't like". [...] But the NSPCC used made-up stories to get donations. 

Gieles, Frans,  Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? (Who shall guard the guards?) In memoriam: Edward Werner, 11 years And the well-being of Sam Manzie, 15 years, translated from the Dutch NVSH Lwg JORis Newsletter

Muskogee Phoenix, Righteous anger often clouds right reasoning; The impulse to lock up every child sex offender and throw away the key is getting out of hand; December 18, 2005 (www)
We are not proposing that child sex offenders get off easy, nor that children are not protected from people who would abuse them. We are proposing that we approach the problem of child sexual abuse with reason as well as with righteous anger. Longer prison terms are not the only answer to preventing child abuse. 

Nair, Preetu, Media reports on paedophilia in Goa; on a blog, 9 Feb, 2007 
I am a journalist working in Goa and would like to bring to your attention two stories which appeared recently one the BBC report which goes like this: "Goa - new paedophile's paradise?" and another story which appeared in Times of India , Mumbai edition issue dated 30 November 2006: "Paedophilic activities in Goa" 
First, I would like to bring to your kind attention the sensational statements made by BBC