French Paedophilia Trial

[Gladys]

Observer

 

I understand your explanation of the percentages perfectly; it is just a matter of understanding what the percentage relates to, not too difficult for even me as definitely not a figures person! It seems that some people take in these statistics and interpret them wrongly as they back up their own unsubstantiated view and then cannot budge from their own misconception as they have found "proof". I am also sorry that such misguided interpretation has the effect of unjustly tainting those who happen to fall within the erroneuos assumption; remember the campaign of naming and shaming paedophiles by the News of the Wrold after the Sarah Payne murder? In the lynch mob frenzy after that it was reported that the house of a paediatrician had been targetted. Talk about being given the facts and coming to the wrong conculsion!

 

I do not know anyone who has been abused, that's not to say that some people I do know have been abused, but it is not the kind of thing that will come out in every day conversation, obviously, and that is why it is so difficult to try to get a feel for the scale of the problem. But these cases do show that it is perhaps more widespread than we know.

 

What I do know is that if anyone ever did disclose to me that they had been the victim of such vile abuse my first reaction would be of intense pity and bewilderment at how someone could strip away the joy of being a child so callously, not suspicion that I may be looking a potential abuser in the eye! I think the majority of sane, thoughtful people would have the same reaction.