America's Sex Trafficking Victims and Transcendental Meditation

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America's Sex Trafficking Victims and Transcendental Meditation:

Children of the Night has rescued more than 10,000 American children from prostitution right here in the United States -- that is more children than all of the other sex trafficking programs combined.

Child prostitution starts at home, and most child prostitutes were sexually abused as young children -- often by their first caregivers. In response, the child learns to shut down feelings and not let anyone inside -- they learn to disassociate their feelings from their bodies. These children have had to learn how to manipulate people, how to read people, how to size up situations and how to outsmart others to survive.

This behavior presents a challenge to current social work practices and traditional cognitive therapists. The child who has suffered at the hands of vile, vicious pimps and sex predators often demeans or pushes away the do-gooder or person who is trying to help because the child does not believe there are "good" people in the world.

The child prostitute "acts out" to prove to the "do-gooder" they are not worth helping.

Providing America's child prostitutes with a stable, loving home, an education and nurturing staff is critical to their recovery. Teaching our children that there are good people in the world is essential to their recovery from horrific childhoods and requires their ability to realize they are not responsible for their own victimization.

Through Transcendental Meditation children victimized by prostitution begin to feel their inner strength and shed bad memories. The initial process often involves cognitive skills, but not like traditional cognitive therapy, where the child is required to relive trauma. By reaching inside their inner core the child experiences peacefulness, goodness and a childlike innocence that radiates out, much like a concentric circle.

When an abuser threatens a child prostitute with mean words or violence the child automatically runs toward the danger or acts out in a way that is harmful to the child. Through regular practice of Transcendental Meditation -- twice a day for 15 minutes -- the child learns to pause and process the abusive behavior and therefore is no longer vulnerable to the emotional manipulations of the abuser/manipulator.

The radiation of goodness from within the child creates an awareness of who is good and who is bad. The child, sometimes for the first time in his/her life, learns to "act" rather than "react" in response to harmful people. By reaching into the depths of their souls they find love, happiness and peace, and they attract more of the same.

My success with boys and girls who have been victimized by prostitution has come from a set of skills that allowed me to "share their reality" and accept that everyone in the world is not good. That process took a toll on me, as it does with others in the "caring profession," and it is often too easy to feel isolated and alone in attempts to change the world for those who are less fortunate.

Through my two years of practice of Transcendental Meditation I too have learned to accept the goodness from others who want to help me change the world for sex-trafficked children. Transcendental Meditation led me to abandon my restricted thinking that limited Children of the Night's services to American children across our nation who are under 18 years of age and live in the Children of the Night home.

Through my daily, routine meditations I realized that with my 33 years of experience and expertise could be shared with drop-in centers, outreach programs and other shelters throughout America to provide educational and mental health services to young people trapped on the streets.

Transcendental Meditation led me to an exciting and challenging cost-effective plan that will leave a permanent and indelible mark on the standard of care for young people forced to live outside their natural homes.

For other caregivers who want to help those less fortunate, whether it be with children who are sex-trafficked or victims of domestic violence, we must first heal ourselves and discover our inner strength and peacefulness from which all creativity, love and nurturing resides. Caregivers who have become so busy and stressed in their efforts to help others often block their own feelings in an effort to protect themselves, and they should not be overlooked in the process of helping others.

God gave me the gift to reach into the hearts of children and help them change their futures. That gift was both a gift and a burden until Emily Lynch reached out to me to tell me about the work of the David Lynch Foundation -- a foundation founded by David Lynch (a multitalented American filmmaker, television director, visual artist) and established to ensure that any child in America who wants to learn and practice the Transcendental Meditation program can do so.

The David Lynch Foundation has taught me that Transcendental Meditation can be taught to children -- children that so many people believe are unreachable and unchangeable.

Suspect in Tel Aviv pedophile case ran child prostitution ring By Yuval Goren.

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Suspect in Tel Aviv pedophile case ran child prostitution ring By Yuval Goren.

he primary suspect in a pedophile case exposed by police last week allegedly ran a children's prostitution ring, providing children for the other suspects embroiled in the case, police said Monday.

Police arrested a group of men last week on suspicion of sexually abusing a minor they met via the Internet. The suspects, who allegedly abused several other minors, include a senior Internet executive, a sports coach and a well-known attorney, Ari Shamai, whose name was released for publication Monday.

Shamai, who once defended Rabin assassin Yigal Amir and former minister Gonen Segev, was arrested in the home of one of the suspects and police at first said he was suspected of abusing a minor in the apartment. Later, police cleared Shamai of suspicion regarding child abuse and said he was only suspected of drug-related offenses.

Tuesday the police will ask the Tel Aviv District Court to rescind the gag order on the names of the nine suspects who allegedly had sexual intercourse with the principle victim. The attorneys of five suspects whose names have been released for publication will appeal to the court to uphold the gag order.

Police said Monday that the main suspect used to stalk children and youths near clubs in Tel Aviv, such as the TLV club at the Tel Aviv Port. When he detected youths with sexual-identity issues he, "took them under his wing" and turned them into prostitutes, a police source said, on the basis of gathered testimonies.

He pimped the youths to pedophiles for NIS 200 at a time, the source said.

The police Monday confronted the Internet executive and the principle victim in the case, who turned 17 Tuesday. Another minor, 14, told the detectives that the executive had been sexually abusing him since he was 12 years old.

The latter was prompted to complain to the police by the case's exposure last week. He told the police that the suspect used to pick him up every weekend, take him home and sodomize him.

Shamai's attorney, Avi Himi, asked to release his client's name so Shamai could disassociate himself from the suspects involved in the ring.

"I'm glad the police said I'm not suspected of any sexual offense, and never was, as I claimed all the time. I'm convinced that they will reach the same conclusion regarding the drug offense," Shamai told Haaretz Monday.

Shamai is known as a provocative figure. About 10 months ago he was attacked by two thugs and beaten with clubs on his way to host a radio program. No one has been arrested yet.

"We're glad the cloud has been lifted off Shamai," Himi said. "We said all along that he had nothing to do with that minor and the sexual offenses and I'm glad the police has confirmed that."

Police told the court last week that the sports coach is suspected of twice sodomizing the principle victim when the latter was under 16, of committing an indecent act and of threatening the minor.

Pope apologises for abuse, says shamed whole Church Yahoo news.

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Pope apologises for abuse, says shamed whole Church Yahoo news.

Enlarge Photo Dean of Westminster John Hall (R) escorts Pope Benedict XVI (2nd R) as he arrives...

Pope Benedict apologised to victims of sexual abuse on Saturday, saying paedophile priests had brought "shame and humiliation" on him and the entire Roman Catholic Church.

At the start of his third day in Britain, the pope celebrated a Mass for some 2,000 people in Westminster Cathedral, the mother church for Roman Catholics in England and Wales and a symbol of the struggle of Catholics to assert their rights after the Reformation.

It was the 83-year-old pontiff's latest attempt to come to grips with the scandal that has rocked the 1.1 billion-member Church, particularly in Europe and the United States.

A crowd of thousands, the largest of the trip so far, began a march from Hyde Park to Downing Street, the prime minister's official residence, to protest the visit.

"I think of the immense suffering caused by the abuse of children, especially within the Church and by her ministers. Above all, I express my deep sorrow to the innocent victims of these unspeakable crimes ...," he said in his sermon in the towering cathedral built in the late 19th century.

"I also acknowledge with you the shame and humiliation that all of us have suffered because of these sins," he said, adding that he hoped "this chastisement" would contribute to the healing of the victims and the purification of the Church.

He has apologized before for sexual abuse by priests and has acknowledged that the Church was slow to deal with the problem. But his comments on Saturday were among his most direct.

Still, victims groups said they were not satisfied, with one named Bishops Accountability calling it "public relations not penitence."

Another group, SNAP, said: That's what we find so painful and inexplicable -- why, if the pope feels so much remorse, won't he take action? Vulnerable kids need predator priests removed. Wounded victims need corrupt bishops exposed. That's what matters. That's what the Pope won't do."

The pope, who flies to Birmingham in central England on Sunday, began his last day in London by holding separate meetings with Prime Minister David Cameron, deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and acting opposition leader Harriet Harman.

It was during Harman's tenure as a minister in the previous Labour government that the pope condemned an equality bill going through parliament that would have forced churches to hire homosexuals or transsexuals. The provision was later defeated.

Clegg is a professed atheist but is married to a Spanish Roman Catholic who is raising their children in the Church.

SECURITY AFTER ARRESTS

On Friday, anti-terrorism police, on high alert for the pope's visit, arrested six men in London on suspicion of preparing an attack.

British broadcaster Sky cited unnamed sources as saying the six were Algerian but police said they could not comment on the report and the Algerian embassy said it had not been notified of the arrests of any of its nationals.

Police, who also searched eight homes and two businesses in London, reviewed security arrangements after the arrests but decided they remained appropriate.

The BBC reported that the men had posed "a possible threat to the pope" but police refused to confirm or deny that. The Vatican said the trip would go ahead as planned.

After visiting a Catholic home for the elderly, the pope concludes his last day in London by presiding at a prayer service expected to draw some 85,000 people in Hyde Park.

He will spend his last day in Britain on Sunday in Birmingham, where he will beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman, one of the most prominent English converts from Anglicanism to Catholicism.

Newman, who lived from 1801 to 1890 and became a Catholic in 1845, was a central figure in the Oxford Movement, which tried to move the Church of England closer to Rome. He is revered in both the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches.

(Editing by Ralph Boulton and Noah Barkin)

Two minors detained in siblings sex abuse case, Times of India.

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Two minors detained in siblings sex abuse case, Times of India.

NEW DELHI: Sordid details began to emerge on Saturday of the serial abuse of three siblings — a 12-year-old girl and her two brothers, aged 10 and 7 — by the driver of their school van. Meanwhile, a Tis Hazari court sent the main accused, Lalit Ratawal (32), into police custody for two days. But the police were unable to explain to the court why four of the other accused, all minors, and studying in class VIII and IX of a prominent central Delhi school remained untraced. 

Late on Saturday night, however, highly-placed police sources confirmed that two of the accused minors — aged 13 and 14 — have been detained for questioning. ''We might apprehend all the accused soon if the charges are proved,'' said DCP (central) Jaspal Singh. 

The abused girl's neighbours and acquaintances alleged that another classmate of hers, who took the same van to school, had also been targeted. However, the investigating officer dismissed the claims. ''Merely levelling allegations is not enough. We need proof,'' he said. Police said the children, were very brutalized and traumatized. 

Police said the children had gone into a shell and slipped in academic performance. The cops said there were two reasons why Ratawal could successfully exploit the children — one, they had no father and hence no "strong" guardian to monitor their movements, and two, the three children were the last to get off the van while returning home. 

According to the police, the entire chain of injecting drugs, molestation, rape, sodomy and even incest — began after the children's father passed away two years ago. The family, with only limited means of income through rent collection, strived for better education and trusted Ratawal — who had been dropping children to school for the past 12 years. 

Ratawal though, going by the mother's account, soon began unfolding his designs. "It all started when my daughter was asked to sit at the front. He began touching her, and when the shocked girl could not protest, he offered a sedative-laced chocolate to her one-and-half years ago. My daughter lost consciousness. She woke up in a house located near Guru Nanak Market in Karol Bagh, along with a senior student who travelled in the same van. Lalit showed her an MMS of her and then raped her. He asked her to keep quiet, threatening that otherwise he would put her pornographic photos on the Net. Then he began abusing my daughter by blackmailing and threatening her," said the victims' mother. 

After recording her statement in a local court, the victim told reporters that it was after her mother received a vulgar SMS on her mobile that she began to smell something wrong. "When I told uncle (Lalit) that my mother was angry with the message, he gave me a bottle of poison and asked me to mix it with my mother's food. I destroyed it," alleged the girl. 

DCP (Central) Jaspal Singh said the two boys too were forced to have unnatural sex. As Subhas Naagar, who helped the victims lodge a case pointed out, the boys were threatened and even paid to keep silent. "They were drugged and even injected. Most of the victimisation took place when they were conscious or semi-conscious." 

The seven-year-old brother of the girl has said he was paid Rs 100 after being abused to "buy whatever he wanted". The mother did speak of the children being forced into incest, but the police denied the claims. "So far, we have also not recovered any videos from the accused's mobile phones. Neither have we come across any new complaint from any other girl travelling in that van. Preliminary probe points to forced drug abuse by the accused," said DCP Singh. 

The police are not ruling out active participation of the accused minors. "The girl has alleged that Lalit would pick up the children up from their house and take them to the house of a Class 9 student of the same school. The boy's parents would be out as they are teachers and his friends were present with him," said the investigating officer. 

"The girl was put in another school but it took the mother much longer to understand her real troubles. It was 25 days ago that the youngest son told her about their ordeal. When she confronted Lalit, he allegedly threatened her and said he would make the videos public," said an officer. 

The police have registered a case under IPC section 376 (Rape), 377 (unnatural sex) and 506 (criminal intimidation). "We have sent the girl to Lady Hardinge for a medical test and rape was confirmed. The boys were sent to Kalavati Hospital and we are waiting for the CFSL report," said

City to protect kids from abuse, Times Of India.

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City to protect kids from abuse, Times Of India.

CHANDIGARH: It could be a trusted 70-year-old grandfather in the neighbourhood or a close relative. Most of the times, child abusers are people nobody can suspect of perversion. To ensure kids between the age group of 0-12 years are not exposed to abuse and harassment, special child protection units ( CPU) would soon be set up in Chandigarh. 

The move would be a concerted effort by the departments of health, social welfare and police to check physical abuse in the form of injuries inflicted on children or sexual exploitation and emotional harassment by way of keeping the child away from parents or putting hindrances in their development. 

According to the plan finalized by health department, the CPUs would first be set up in Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32 and Government Multispecialty Hospital, Sector 16. 

Paediatricians would be authoritized to refer cases of physical abuse to these units and couselling would be provided to victims and their parents. In case there is a tip-off of child abuse, police would be roped in to check the harassment and provide immediate help. 

Director health services Dr MS Bains said the proposal had been put up before Centre for funding under the National Rural Health Mission. ''CPUs will cover almost all forms of exploitation of children. There are cases where kids are abused sexually or are not provided medical treatment in time. All this needs to be checked,'' he said. 

The units would also work on spreading awareness on the issue of child's well-being by organizing campaigns. 

People would be encouraged to report matters of child abuse that they come across anywhere in their surroundings. 

Sources said the ministry had, in principle, approved the proposal of setting up services for infants below the age of one year. This, however, limits the service to abnormal injuries inflicted on children (as abuse) or carelessness by parents in providing medical aid in time. 

The health department has, therefore, decided to pursue the matter again so that the proposal is implemented in its original form and a wider service is provided to children in the city.

Read more: City to protect kids from abuse - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City-Chandigarh/City-to-protect-kids-from-abuse/articleshow/6161014.cms#ixzz0zq5q8Rcd

Hyderabad principal abused many kids: Investigators, Time Of India.

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Hyderabad principal abused many kids: Investigators, Time Of India.

Mohammed Salahuddin Ayub

HYDERABAD: Mohammed Salahuddin Ayub, director and principal of Parkwood International School, had sexually abused more than one girl student, according to Central Crime Station (CCS) sleuths investigating one of the most heinous sexual crime cases in the city. 

The 55-year-old-director, who has three sons in the same age group as his victims, was produced before the additional chief metropolitan court on Friday and was remanded in judicial custody till August 5. He was taken to Cherlapally jail. 

Before producing him in the court, the sleuths took the accused to Osmania General Hospital to check his medical fitness and then APFSL to conduct a potency test. The seized a handycam with memory card in which the accused allegedly recorded all the sleazy videos of the victims and a .32 pistol, with which the accused had allegedly threatened the victim. 

Police have also recorded statements from a doctor of Hyderabad Nursing Home near GHMC headquarters, to whom Ayub took the class XI student for abortion. In her statement, the doctor reportedly told the police that by the time Ayub brought the girl to hospital, her pregnancy had already got terminated by pills. As a result, they merely provided treatment to her.

Van driver sexually abused 3 kids, The Times Of India.

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Van driver sexually abused 3 kids, The Times Of India. 

NEW DELHI: Three siblings, aged between seven and 13 years, allegedly became victims of the worst form of serial abuse at the hands of a man their mother had trusted — the driver of their school van. A 12-year-old girl and her two brothers are alleged to have been habitually raped and sodomized for the past eight months by the driver of their private van and his four friends. 

The children were threatened with dire consequences and forced to keep quiet even as they repeatedly went through the same torture. Their widowed mother, who recently came to know of the grisly tale, was also threatened against complaining to the police. 

Law finally caught up with the accused driver on Friday when he was arrested after a medical examination of the girl, who studies in class VII, confirmed rape, said DCP (central) Jaspal Singh. 

Though the medical test of her brothers at Lady Hardinge Hospital did not confirm sodomy, the police are waiting for a more detailed medical report from the hospital. 

The incident was reported from the Bapa Nagar area in central Delhi. The children had over the last few days stopped talking to their mother and were found to be missing classes regularly. They finally broke down and narrated their shocking tale to a neighbour, who is a social worker, on Friday. 

The main accused, Lalit Ratawal (38), had for the past two-and-a-half years been driving the private van that dropped the children to two reputed schools in central Delhi. About one year back, he started harassing the 

children. Ratawal allegedly took them to different houses and forced them into sexual activities after intoxicating them. 

Police said the victims' mother works for a living and is away for most part of the day. "Many other children travel in the same van. 

But so far we believe he abused only these three siblings as they appeared to be soft targets," said a senior police officer. 

Besides taking them to his own house, Ratawal allegedly also took them to another student's residence while his parents would be at work, said sources. 

This boy is the girl's classmate at a leading public school in Old Rajinder Nagar. The girl was gangraped on several occasions. The youngest of the three siblings is a student of class III. 

Police say they are questioning Ratawal to investigate the role of others and the possible chances of the accused abusing more such children. "The juvenile might also be apprehended if we find he was in the crime on his own will," said DCP Singh. 

Subhash Naagar, the social worker who took the victims to lodge the complaint, told Times City, "The driver would take the children and indulge in sexual activities along with his friends. 

He told the children's mother that he would distribute her kids' videos and even cause them physical harm if she complained about the incident. The children finally confided in me on Thursday morning after which I coaxed their mother to report the incident to police." 

A case under Section 376 of IPC has been registered against the accused and the police are investigating the case. A hunt for the other accused has been launched. 

Read more: Van driver sexually abused 3 kids - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Van-driver-sexually-abused-3-kids/articleshow/6576188.cms#ixzz0zq1eqFHd

Fight the Real Enemy: Child Sex Abuse

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Fight the Real Enemy: Child Sex Abuse

How could the ecclesiastical authorities 'respond adequately' when they were forbidden to tell secular authorities that the priests, monks or nuns were hurting children, under threat of excommunication from the Holy Mother Church if they disobeyed? No real believing Catholic wants to get cut off from God forever for telling about a colleague who happened to behave inappropriately with a kid, notes Gary Leupp.

I’ll never forget that Saturday Night Live appearance by Sinead O’Connor on October 3, 1992. It was her second performance of the evening, following the (relatively uncontroversial) title track from her recent album, “Am I Not Your Girl?” backed up by her band. This was an a capella version of Bob Marley’s “War,” an extremely powerful song that links war to racism and begins:

Until the philosophy which hold one race

Superior and another inferior

Is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned

Everywhere is war, me say war

That until there are no longer first class

And second class citizens of any nation

Until the color of a man’s skin

Is of no more significance than the color of his eyes

Me say war

Marley sang about imperialism in Africa, but the young Irish singer altered the lyrics to her own purposes. Where Marley referred to Angola, Mozambique and South Africa, Sinead surprisingly substituted “child abuse, child abuse” and where Marley referred to “the African continent” Sinead sang “children, children…” before delivering the closing lyric: “We are confident of the victory of good over evil” and producing out of nowhere a photo of Pope John Paul II and ripping it to shreds in the face of tens of millions intoning “Fight the real enemy."

It was bizarre, to be sure. I wasn’t quite sure what was going on. Stunned silence from the audience as NBC shifted to a commercial. Profuse apologies from the network the next day. Massive indignation at the effrontery of this 26 year old Irishwoman, insulting the pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, insinuating his responsibility for child abuse.

Sinead was booed at a Dylan birthday concert in Madison Square Garden two weeks later due to some people’s hostility towards her statement. Kris Kristofferson stood up for her. He hugged her on stage and told her to not let “the bastards get you down.”

(I’d always liked and identified with Kristofferson. We’re both of mostly Scandinavian ancestry, both sons of authoritarian career Air Force officers and both rebelled against that military mindset at a certain point. I was impressed that an ex-Army captain would write “Me and Bobby McGee” and the “Sunday Morning Coming Down.” But I especially admired him then for doing the right thing by Sinead.)

I started buying Sinead’s CDs and was somewhat surprised to find alongside the Marley militancy such things as the most tear-jerking rendition of “Scarlet Ribbons” you will ever hear. This is a woman who’s known adolescent hurt. She’s said that she never experienced “such panic and terror and agony over anything” as her experience at the Grianan Training Centre run by the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity where she was placed at age 15.

Now it should be clear to everybody that Sinead had a valid point. Clerics of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland were engaging in wide-scale child abuse, and the Church itself was covering it up, for years. This became clear by the mid-nineties in the wake of several scandals, and the evidence has continued to mount. Pope Benedict XVI has just acknowledged the problem in a post-Patrick’s Day letter to the Irish people. It’s a “Pastoral Letter” designed to soothe and edify (and given the doctrine of “papal infallibility” shouldn’t contain any error). It’s interesting if not as exciting as Sinead’s SNL performance.

Joseph Ratzinger is a biblical scholar. The piece is not surprisingly replete with lots of parenthesized scriptural references. For example, he tells the priests of Ireland, “where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more (cf. Rom 5:20).” Well that’s comforting to hear, surely, in these troubled times.

Ratzinger tells the Irish he’s met with their clerics, had “frank and constructive” conversations, and decided to write a pastoral letter “considering the gravity of these offences, and the often inadequate response to them on the part of the ecclesiastical authorities in your country.”

(Actually, one problem is the 2001 Vatican edict---for which Ratzinger, as leader of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was mainly responsible---ordering bishops to report all cases of clerical child abuse to Vatican authorities, as opposed to the national police, under strict secrecy. How could the ecclesiastical authorities in Ireland “respond adequately” when they were forbidden to tell secular authorities that the priests, monks or nuns were hurting children, under threat of excommunication from the Holy Mother Church if they disobeyed? No real believing Catholic wants to get cut off from God forever for telling about a colleague who happened to behave inappropriately with a kid.)

Ratzinger praises the Irish as having endured long periods of persecution, noting however, that “in recent decades, however, the Church in your country has had to confront new and serious challenges to the faith arising from the rapid transformation and secularization of Irish society.” He alludes to the “fast-paced social change” that has been “often adversely affecting people’s traditional adherence to Catholic teaching and values.”

The Pope speaks individually to the abusers, the parents of the abused, the children and the clerics and people of Ireland. To the first he says: “Openly acknowledge your guilt, submit yourselves to the demands of justice, but do not despair of God’s mercy.” To the parents: “Be assured that I remain close to you and I offer you the support of my prayers.”

To the children: “I wish to offer you a particular word of encouragement. Your experience of the Church is very different from that of your parents and grandparents. The world has changed greatly since they were your age. Yet all people, in every generation, are called to travel the same path through life, whatever their circumstances may be. We are all scandalized by the sins and failures of some of the Church’s members, particularly those who were chosen especially to guide and serve young people. But it is in the Church that you will find Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today and for ever (cf. Heb 13:8). He loves you and he has offered himself on the cross for you. Seek a personal relationship with him within the communion of his Church, for he will never betray your trust! He alone can satisfy your deepest longings and give your lives their fullest meaning by directing them to the service of others. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and his goodness, and shelter the flame of faith in your heart. Together with your fellow Catholics in Ireland, I look to you to be faithful disciples of our Lord and to bring your much-needed enthusiasm and idealism to the rebuilding and renewal of our beloved Church.”

I’m not sure that addresses the issue, frankly. But His Holiness at the end offers “concrete initiatives to address the situation,” leading off with the following:

“I asked that Lent this year be set aside as a time to pray for an outpouring of God’s mercy and the Holy Spirit’s gifts of holiness and strength upon the Church in your country. I now invite all of you to devote your Friday penances, for a period of one year, between now and Easter 2011, to this intention. I ask you to offer up your fasting, your prayer, your reading of Scripture and your works of mercy in order to obtain the grace of healing and renewal for the Church in Ireland. I encourage you to discover anew the sacrament of Reconciliation and to avail yourselves more frequently of the transforming power of its grace.”

The letter urges Irish ecclesiastical authorities to, “in addressing cases of child abuse, continue to cooperate with the civil authorities in their area of competence,” as though this has been the status quo, and as though the “civil authorities” might be less competent to deal with a complaint of child sexual abuse than a secret Church proceeding.

I can see why this statement would be profoundly unsatisfying, even for the devout Roman Catholic. “Is it not time for Pope Benedict XVI himself to acknowledge his share of responsibility?” asks Hans Kung, the Swiss Catholic theologian. “Honesty demands that Joseph Ratzinger himself, the man who for decades has been principally responsible for the worldwide cover-up, at last pronounce his own mea culpa.”

Ratzinger hasn’t said anything yet about the hundreds of abuse cases in Germany occurring under his watch, while he was Archbishop of Munich from 1977 to 1982, which have just surfaced in the last few months. The sex-abuse scandal which began in Canada and Australia then moved to the US and Ireland is making its way to the Pope’s own former bailiwick. Georg Ratzinger, Joseph’s older brother and fellow priest, was director of the Regensburger Domspatzen choir from 1964 to 1994, sexual abuse was widespread. Who knows how the investigation of the German situation might affect His Holiness’ reputation?

“We are confident in the victory of good over evil --- yeah!” – (Rastaman) Bob Marley.

Gary Leupp is Professor of History at Tufts University, and Adjunct Professor of Religion. He can be reached at: gleupp@granite.tufts.edu. This article appeared in CounterPunch.org.

Hidden Darkness: Child Sexual Abuse in India.

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Hidden Darkness: Child Sexual Abuse in India Written by Neeta Lal    

An overwhelming number of India’s children face unwanted attention from sexual predators.

After a brilliant 16-year-old New Delhi girl repeatedly complained last month that her mathematics teacher was “touching and fondling her private parts,” the upshot was a long way from what anybody bargained for. When the girl’s parents complained, the principal called them “regressive” and blamed them for damaging the school’s reputation. The girl now stays at home to help cook and clean, her school bag lying in a locked cupboard, her scholastic career over.

The story of the girl, referred to only as Seema, is depressingly familiar, resonating across large parts of India, where abuse is a a startling everyday reality for as many as half of the country’s children, according to a just-released 13-state National Study on Child Sexual Abuse conducted by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, UNICEF and Save The Children.

It is a long-hidden issue that India is finally beginning to wrestle with. The government moved recently to establish a National Commission for Protection of Children's Rights and plans are afoot to present an Offences Against Children (Prevention) Bill in the Parliament. The proposed document has specific sections dealing with various crimes against children, including sale/transfer, sexual assault, sexual/physical/emotional abuse, commercial sexual exploitation, child pornography, grooming for sexual purpose, incest, corporal punishment, bullying and economic exploitation.

The scale of abuse, according to the national study, is far worse than anybody had thought. It reports that 69 per cent of all Indian children are victims of physical, mental or emotional abuse, with New Delhi’s children facing an astounding abuse rate of 83.12 percent.

The survey, which involved interviews with 12,447 children, also highlights that it is usually family members (89 percent) who perpetrate such crimes and that more boys face physical abuse (72.61) than girls (65 per cent). Overall, Indian children were found to be victims of a slew of sexual crimes -- rape, sodomy, exposure to pornographic material, fondling, forcible kissing and sexual advances, among others.

The study also notes that child sexual abuse in India begins as early as five, ratchets up dramatically during pre-pubescence and peaks at 12 to 16 years. Some 21 percent of respondents acknowledged experiencing severe sexual abuse like rape, sodomy, fondling or exposure to pornographic material. Ironically, 71 per cent of sexual assault cases in India go unreported.

Nor is the study an aberration. As long ago as the mid 1990s, Samvada, a non-governmental organization in Karnataka, surveyed girls aged 15 to 21 from 11 schools and reported that 47 percent of the respondents were molested or experienced sexual overtures, 15 percent of them under the age of 10. Another 15 percent said they had experienced serious forms of sexual abuse including rape – 31 percent of that group were under the age of 10 when the abuses took place.

India is home to more than 375 million children, comprising nearly 40 percent of the country’s population,  the largest number of minors in any country in the world. Despite its ethos of non-violence, tolerance, spirituality and a new trillion-dollar economy, India hosts the world's largest number of sexually abused children, at a far higher rate than any other country. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in every four girls and one in every seven boys in the world are sexually abused, hardly encouraging, but still far below India’s totals.

Worse, child abuse is one of the least documented violations in the country, records author Grace Poore in the book, The Children We Sacrifice, which deals with the wide prevalence of child sexual abuse in India.

The reasons are manifold. In India, much like the rest of Asia, children are expected to respect and obey authority figures such as teachers, guidance counselors and principals and not question their actions. Rebellion is perceived as a sign of a bad upbringing. This sensibility perpetuates a culture of abuse by encouraging sexual predators.

Also, Indian adults often exercise a near-feudal hold over their children, demanding complete and unquestioned obedience. A culture of silence and shame also swirls around cases of sexual violence against children. Unsurprisingly, the notion of shame is the single largest culprit in perpetuating sexual violence against India’s children.

Ironically, despite the magnitude of the problem, Indian courts offer little panacea to victims. In fact the only legal recourse available to such victims is the extensions of “rape laws”, which apply to women and are stretched to apply to children as well.

But, as authorities point out, rape laws only recognize sexual crimes involving “penile penetration” and are totally dependent on medical evidence. Such evidence is difficult to procure as abuse is usually not one isolated case but a whole series of them. It may even involve episodes in which the offender doesn’t even touch the victim. Worse, the sexual molestation law covers all sexual offences “that outrage the victim’s modesty,” other than penetration. However, these two are bailable offences and only demand punishment of a maximum of two years in jail and/or a fine of few thousand rupees.

Though this law can be used in child sexual abuse cases, its reference to “unusual sexual offences” makes it difficult for child victims to use this option as a legal remedy. Since the definition of sexual abuse is nebulous, victims are largely at the mercy of the court’s discretion. On rare cases when abusers are booked after a cumbersome legal procedure, India’s conviction rate is so abysmal (despite the country’s sophisticated and complex set of laws), it seems like a Pyrrhic victory.

Apart from the legal dimension, child sexual abuse also has pronouncedly psychological and emotional elements. Worldwide surveys point out that such abuse negatively impacts a child’s physical, emotional and mental well-being, leading to severe behavioral and psychiatric disorders. Suicidal tendencies and drug abuse are common long-term effects.

A World Health Organization survey also points out that there is an unambiguous behavioral and emotional pattern in the abused. Usually the child hardly talks about the incident. And, even if he or she does, no one takes it seriously. That in turn triggers feelings of self doubt and guilt, exacerbating the child’s feeling that it is his or her fault. As the child matures, compulsive behavior reinforces this guilt. Small wonder that many adult sexual problems, according to psychoanalysts, trace their provenance to childhood abuse.

Charol Shakeshaft, a statistics professor in the School of Education and Allied Human Services at Hofstra University, New York, notes in her report, “Educator Sexual Misconduct: A Synthesis of Existing Literature,” that “child sexual abusers, including educators and priests, use similar patterns of ‘grooming practices’ to break down a child's defenses. Often popular and well-regarded in their field, abusers engage in ‘systematic and premeditated grooming’ where they lavish special treatment on their intended victim   buying presents or sharing secrets, for example   and then advance to pornography.”

Where then, does the solution lie? Educating and enlightening kids about such issues, helping them distinguish between “good” and “bad” touch, is a partial answer, authorities say. Children also ought to be made aware of impulsive decisions they may make under pressure from peers, bullies and abusers. Sex education in schools is also productive. The Netherlands, a country where teenage pregnancy rates plummeted from 60 per cent to about 25 per cent through aggressive sex information campaigns in schools, is an example.

However, in India the issue of sexual abuse is still wedged between legal and policy commitments to children on the one hand, and the fallout of globalization on the other. A nationwide furor resulted after the government’s recent decision to introduce sex education in schools. The subject has divided opinion between camps who felt such a step would lead to unnecessary experimentation by curious teenagers and others who believed it would help whittle down cases of sexual abuse by creating widespread awareness.

In the meantime, with child sexual abuse attracting so much scrutiny and public debate, the government has the added impetus to adopt strong and unequivocal measures to contain such crimes. For a country with nearly 40 per cent of its populace comprised of children, such measures are overdue.