France's indifference to child abuse after Pelicot

[RedToothBrush]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg559zz3d8o

This is worth a read. It's about the trial in France of a surgeon abusing children.

The last paragraph is the real killer and worth thinking about...

A more wary assessment came from the lawyer, Ms Guedj-Benayoun.

"Now, there is a very important standoff between those who want to denounce child sexual violence and those who want to cover it up, and this standoff is taking place today in this trial. Who will win?" she wondered.

It's indicative of institutional coverup and self service. Pelicot was different in a way because it was about individuals rather than the establishment and organisations.

It highlights how much institutions protect abusers. And continue to protect themselves without regard to victims long after a scandal is exposed.

Many things to ponder here.

Perhaps ignorant question, but who are you referring to?

Could you clarify - are you saying that anyone who 'supports the Catholic church', in other words all Catholics, are apologists for child sex abuse?

Asking as an atheist, but a fair-minded atheist!

Please point to any actual evidence that I have supported ANY church. Or any other institution. Nor did I deny that grooming gangs exist. I said that they are not all of Pakistani origin. I neither minimised nor denied a problem. But I would rather that we addressed ALL paedophilia, in all its guises, rather than concentrate on those that fit our predefined narratives based on prejudices, whilst letting all the others go unnoticed. And if anyone dares to disagree with you, you accuse them of colluding with paedophiles to shut them up.

Asking as an atheist, but a fair-minded atheist!

Good point. I am not a member of any church, nor am I "Pakistani". I would just prefer that we address what is reality - that there are paedophiles in all walks of life and get down to doing something about that. I grew up in Rochdale, and I don't notice anyone mentioining to very white groomers that everyone knew about decades before the recent case.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/may/14/camille-kouchner-familia-grande-olivier-duhamel-abuse-interview

I have got it a bit mixed up with the 68ers -there is a lot in this article - Sartre, Foucault and Beauvoir all signed a letter with Gabriel Matzneff defending the principle of sex with minors - that it was liberating to both parties.

Foucault was also involved in allegations involving boys in Tunisia.

Le Scouarnec's been sentenced to 20 years. He's 74, so that should mean he dies in prison.

French paedophile surgeon who abused hundreds sentenced to 20 years in jail
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgdkyge198o

Yes, paedophiles exist in all walks of life, but the issue is with how some paedophiles are protected from scrutiny and investigation because of the group they belong to.

Are you actually claiming that the parts of the Catholic church that are not paedophiles, have been good at exposing the sins of their fellow priests

I can't speak for @PhilippaGeorgiou, but yes, the people who have exposed the scandals in the Catholic church, and pursued the offenders, and designed the safeguarding measures that are in place in every Diocese, are almost all Catholics.

It isn't leakproof of course, and focussing of the need to protect children has led to some abuse of adults being left unaddressed for far too long (ie Rupnik), but one in seven human beings on the planet are Catholics.

In France the intellectual atheists have not been an abuser-free group.