I BELIEVE YOU- for Steven Messham and the other brave people trying to get the truth out there.

[mignonette]

twitter.com/smessham


I believe the men and women who now feel able to tell us about the abuse they suffered at the hands of powerful and apparently protected people

Time for an 'I believe you' thread again.....

[Xenia]

So SM could arguably sue the police for misleading him over the identity. The result of that police mistake is that SM is taken less seriously.

[Darkesteyes]

I believe you and others Steven and support you all in your fight for justice.

[Xenia]

You can see why he was not likely to be regarded as a good witness however
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2231212/A-victim-delusions-Astonishing-story-BBC-DIDNT-tell-troubled-star-witness.html

[MrsjREwing]

I still believe you Steven.

[bananaistheanswer]

I believe that he was horrifically abused and has suffered terribly his whole life as a result. There are still some major issues that have come to light which ch4 have addressed, and which other abuse victims/people have highlighted. Just because Steven Messham has been discredited does not mean there arent serious issues that need to be addressed. I hope he is getting some help and support right now. That article does not convince me that Messham is a fantasist. It simply tells me that he has endured horrific suffering and has had no one show him the understanding that he needed to disclose his abuse in a way that was safe for him. He WAS abused, and the way he was described by Waterhouse must have been painful for him to deal with. He might well be a witness who would be difficult for a jury to believe, but that doesn't mean everything he says is a lie or fantasy. And that's the tragedy here, because I've no doubt there were people who did abuse him who have escaped justice because what they subjected him to has damaged him so much, that he struggles with a lot of the details of what happened to him.

[hackmum]

Xenia - yes, I just read that, and it shows the perils of relying on a single source for a story. Bob Woffinden is a respected investigative journalist of long standing, not some Daily Mail hack making trouble.

It also shows the perils, in my view, of uncritically believing an accusation someone makes of sexual abuse. I am all in favour of taking accusations of abuse far more seriously than they have been in the past, but it's important to look at all the evidence before jumping to conclusions. I still believe in the very useful principle of presumed innocent until proven guilty.

[goralka]

well said banana, good post.
I believe him, as you say the details are blurred.

[Xenia]

I agree with hackmum.

I don't think we are doing too badly in England in terms of investigating and bringing to trial child abusers. There have been quite a few. I think we do a lot better now than we used to but there is no room for complacency.

The conspiracy theorists might feel BBC (left wing body stuffed with Tory haters) was cross about the Saville criticism so they went for the Tories with the new stuff.

[ashesgirl]

Just read this on Twitter

In 2010, 2,135 people were convicted of child sex abuse, although police were notified of more than 23,000 offences

So are we really not doing too badly at convicting child abuses?

[EverybodysSnowyEyed]

We're these I individual offences? Because i am user in that case each of the 2135 would have been responsible for more than one

The problem with witch hunts is that it is a very good way for the guilty to hide behind the innocent

[EverybodysSnowyEyed]

Sure - not user. (on phone - sorry)

[ashesgirl]

Don't know Everybodys, going to look into a bit more.

[Xenia]

Obviously we have to keep the eye on the ball but most police detest child abuse and it is not the kind of offence to be swept under the carpet. The CPS decides which to prosecute. Sadly some people commit a lot of offences.

2135 is quite a high number.

[Darkesteyes]

Yeah the BBC really is a left wing body stuffed with Tory haters (wheres the sarcasm emoticon when you need one!







carernotasaintMon 30-Jul-12 15:31:21

If the BBC one is biased in favour of the Gov. i wont be surprised. Look at the way Newsnight stitched up that single mum. Ive completely lost any respect for that programme as a result.
In the same week as the NatWest/RBS disaster exploded there was NOT one question asked about it on Question Time NOT ONE. But they still found 15 mins to moan about people on benefits. No questions pertaining to the Nat West disaster on the following weeks show either.
Earlier this year John Humphreys did a very biased show about benefit claimants on BBC2.
Then a few months later he did a Panorama programme in Greece about how awful it was that people over there were having to rely on charities and food banks.
Now i know Greece have a bigger crisis than us but people are having to use food banks over here john you fuckwit!
And idiots like him simply REFUSE to see that demonizing low income people the way he does will make it even worse over here.
I have NO FAITH in the BBC at all when they deal with issues like this. They tow the Government line. Too frightened of losing the TV licence.

[Knowsabitabouteducation]

He actually has quite a history of fabrication.

[Feenie]

I still believe you Steven.

[AnyaKnowIt]

I still believe you

[Darkesteyes]

I still believe you Steven.

[greenfern]

I still believe Steve and all the others that have been abused.

I hope they get justice.

[partridgetree]

I believe you Steven and think you have been incredibly brave. Keep strong.

[laughtergoodmedicine]

I think a few charges may come out of the Savile inquiry.

[OatyBeatie]

I want to add my support for Steven Messham. He has been put under a huge about of pressure the last few days through absolutely no fault of his own and I feel frightened about the level of distress he might be feeling. A brave man, and once again, as in his past the people, who should have been helping have hurt him.

[Feenie]

Although you could possibly take that somewhere else - I'm not sure an "I believe you' thread is the place.

[mignonette]

Exactly. The disbelieving should post elsewhere.