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Original poster

To be disgusted that Dr Christian Jessen considers some kinds of child rape to be morally excusable on cultural grounds

198 replies

frankexchangeofviews · 10/05/2018 10:32

I’ve just seen this exchange between ‘tv celebrity’ doctor Christian Jessen and an other Dr who is a spokesman for the Green Party on twitter. Are they saying what I think they are saying? Child’s marriage is recognised as a crime worldwide that needs to be stopped , not condoned on the basis of cultural relativism. Maybe they think african girls don’t mind as much???? Or are happy to be mothers at 13. I can’t get my head around it at all.

To be disgusted that Dr Christian Jessen considers some kinds of child rape to be morally excusable on cultural grounds
OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
drspouse · 10/05/2018 11:27

It’s wrong that it happens, but it happens as it’s accepted and the norm - so what can we do to change that?
As two outspoken and relatively media savvy DOCTORS, start a campaign against it. Teach other doctors, and school staff, to recognise the warning signs. Contribute to and raise awareness of charities working against this in the relevant countries (run by, you know, those primitive Nigerians etc).
Lots they could do.

FranticallyPeaceful · 10/05/2018 11:28

@OrchidInTheSun actually no, it’s not funny to say it’s “always girls”, because it’s not. My OH used to be stationed in a country and it was a thing where the men would rape little boys for fun - which happened the most often, but rape little girls to get them pregnant and force their families into handing over daughters for marriage.
Both incredibly wrong but I assure you a life of marriage was better than a life as a toy for a weirdo locked in a house somewhere.

Nobody seems to understand that they have no rights and this needs changing, shouting out names online and being ignorant of those trying to explain and understand in order to change is regressive behaviour

OrchidInTheSun · 10/05/2018 11:28

And for those of you who can't be bothered to read the link, this is what happens to pubescent girls who get pregnant:

The developing fetus will leach calcium and other nutrients from a child who should still be growing herself ... Pregnancy puts a major strain on the cardiovascular system.

The pelvis does not fully widen until the late teens, meaning that young girls may not be able to push the baby through the birth canal.
Girls may labor for days; many die. Their babies often don't survive labor either.

The women and girls who do survive often develop fistulas, which are holes between the vaginal wall and the rectum or bladder. When the baby's head pushes down and gets stuck, it can cut portions of the mother's soft tissue between its skull and her pelvic bones. As a result, the tissue dies, and a hole forms. Feces and urine then leak through the hole and out of the vagina. Women with fistulas are often divorced and shunned.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 10/05/2018 11:29

So what did he say/mean, then, @FranticallyPeaceful? The tweets quoted here don't seem to disapprove of child marriage at all. Has he said elsewhere that child marriage is dangerous for the girls involved, or that, despite some practices being acceptable in some cultures, that doesn't mean that they should carry on being acceptable, or that people should stop campaigning to change the cultures that accept such practices?

Mummyoflittledragon · 10/05/2018 11:29

I never really liked the guy. Now I know why. There are adverts on the tv from charities about girls, who have had multiple pregnancies by the time they reach their mid teens and now their bodies are ruined. This is a video from UNICEF. It’s a bit different from the ones I’ve seen on the tv. I am assuming he doesn’t have children. m.youtube.com/watch?v=wfbi3CxE3Lw

myfriendbob · 10/05/2018 11:29

so where is it then that they say its ok? I don't see it, and you are all saying they said exactly that. Quote please?

OrchidInTheSun · 10/05/2018 11:31

Do you honestly think that Dr Christian is trying to explain and understand in order to change regressive behaviour Frantically? I very much doubt it, seeing some of his other posts.

I'm sure he'd care about boys being raped though - he just doesn't give a shit about women and girls.

FranticallyPeaceful · 10/05/2018 11:32

You really just need to have a quick browse of his twitter feed if you haven’t read the whole thing

To be disgusted that Dr Christian Jessen considers some kinds of child rape to be morally excusable on cultural grounds
To be disgusted that Dr Christian Jessen considers some kinds of child rape to be morally excusable on cultural grounds
To be disgusted that Dr Christian Jessen considers some kinds of child rape to be morally excusable on cultural grounds
TerfinUSA · 10/05/2018 11:32

He is another wanker rich white man telling women to 'check their white privilege'.

Hyppolyta · 10/05/2018 11:35

Of course they havent said its ok.

When does anyone ever defend a crime by saying it was ok? They make long, covoluted excuses.

What they ALSO havent done is explain why medically, no it isnt ok.

They havent explained the reason we have these ages, or why they vary slightly in other countries. Or why a variation between 15-21 may medically be acceptable for an age of consent, but 12 isnt.

BertieBotts · 10/05/2018 11:35

They are missing the point that child sexual abuse is a form of misogyny and male violence. They are falling for the lie that paedophiles simply have a "sexual orientation" (I would call it a sick fetish) towards prepubescent children.

It's about power; it's always about power. Whether it's cultural or taboo.

myfriendbob · 10/05/2018 11:36

You really just need to have a quick browse of his twitter feed if you haven’t read the whole thing

Yes, where its clear hes not saying anything like the people on here are saying he's saying.

this is the worst kind of straw man: OP completely misreads the exchange, froths, comes on here and finds more frothers for an orgy of self righteous frothing, all based on not having understood what was said in the first place.

TatianaLarina · 10/05/2018 11:38

shouting out names online and being ignorant of those trying to explain and understand in order to change is regressive behaviour

Neither of them either explain or understand. They’re just posting misogyny under the guise of cultural tolerance and you’ve naively fallen for it.

charlestonchaplin · 10/05/2018 11:39

Orchid
Calmly read what I have written. I have clearly said that early marriage results in a high incidence of pregnancy complications such as vesicovaginal fistulas. I later stated that the human body is better suited to pregnancy in young women (women, not girls), including the later teen years. 18 and 19 year olds have usually been through puberty quite a few years previously. I may have confused you by saying 'younger ages', but I think reading the whole post makes it clear what I meant, especially in conjunction with my previous post.

myfriendbob · 10/05/2018 11:40

Neither of them either explain or understand. They’re just posting misogyny under the guise of cultural tolerance and you’ve naively fallen for it

you're just posting bollocks under the guise of virtue signalling, at least they are having conversations about something that matters....

Hyppolyta · 10/05/2018 11:43

Myfriendbob
Why do two grown males want to discuss the reasons it can be acceptable to marry little kids?

They arent commenting on how its wrong, or how it can be changed, or how they or our society can help change it.

So why are they talking about sex with children?

myfriendbob · 10/05/2018 11:45

Are men not allowed to talk about tackling the problem of child marriage?

They clearly are not discussing the reasons it is acceptable (there are none, and they don't say there are)

FranticallyPeaceful · 10/05/2018 11:45

@Hyppolyta sometimes grown up conversations are about giving out facts and allowing people to come to their own opinion. It’s a much stronger method of educating than shoving your own opinion down people’s throats.

You should try it.

Elendon · 10/05/2018 11:46

There is not a person in this world who thinks that taking a child bride isn't the done thing to do, because, INTERNET. It's ignored because it can be.

To suggest it's somehow cultural is to suggest that these are barbarians who need educating. It's colonialism in full view disguise. Would they say the same about 'fallen' girls, women who were sent to the Magdalene laundries - an open act of misogyny?

These are two doctors who have called women who DARE to speak out as witches.

Of course when it comes to the cultural attitudes against gay men in Iran, the mood suddenly changes. Funny that.

TatianaLarina · 10/05/2018 11:46

you're just posting bollocks under the guise of virtue signalling, at least they are having conversations about something that matters....

Without having the first fucking clue about it.

To characterise concern for child sexual abuse as ‘virtue signalling’ says a great deal about you.

FloraFox · 10/05/2018 11:46

Both those men are misogynists.

drspouse · 10/05/2018 11:47

Both incredibly wrong but I assure you a life of marriage was better than a life as a toy for a weirdo locked in a house somewhere.
I'm not sure you can compare, especially when marriage may also mean being locked in, plus domestic servitude, boys can't get pregnant yet both will be raped by a much older and larger man.
I'm not arguing this makes it better, but it might at least be time limited for the boys when they grow into men.

myfriendbob · 10/05/2018 11:48

To characterise concern for child sexual abuse as ‘virtue signalling’ says a great deal about you

To characterise THEIR CONCERN for child sexual abuse as vile misogyny says a great deal about you.

TatianaLarina · 10/05/2018 11:49

Are men not allowed to talk about tackling the problem of child marriage?

Anyone is allowed to talk about anything in a free country barring hate speech.

But to be given respect and be free from criticism they could talk about it from an informed perspective.

I don’t see any evidence of their ‘tackling’ it at all.

FranticallyPeaceful · 10/05/2018 11:50

I also love how men are no longer allowed to talk about problems.

All that privilege and being told by women you actually have no right to use any of it... doesn’t sound very privileged to me. Hmm

The conversation on these matters needs to be vast and wide and by everybody, not just by women and mothers of girls. Honestly no wonder these things can still be happening in 2018, because in western countries we are still arguing over why men are devils and have no rights to anything anymore. Try some equality and stop trying to dominate.