While agreeing that newspapers should not add to the trauma of
children who have suffered child abuse, I feel I must comment on the
NSPCC’s Caring for Children in Court Appeal (Press Gazette , 11
February).
I understand that victims and witnesses can be distressed by court reports.
Nevertheless, the responsible reporting of child abuse cases is one of the few real deterrents to the perpetrators.
It
is vital that society is aware of the scale of child abuse. There is
already too much secrecy among the “weknow- best” brigade who often,
inadvertently, ensure anonymity for child abusers. The harm that a
subsequent newspaper report can cause to a suffering child is nothing
compared to the ordeal that the abuser has caused.
Related
Such molesters should be named and dealt with severely and their evil actions reported in a responsible way.
This may then lead to a reduction in the heartbreaking number of child abuse cases in the future.
If
newspaper reports lead worried neighbours to report abusers to the
police, it is surely worth a limited amount of incremental distress to
a child to have such people exposed.
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