The Pattern : The independent inquiry into child sexual abuse (IICSA) in England and Wales has delivered its findings; again the evidence emerges.

The independent inquiry into child sexual abuse (IICSA) in England and Wales has delivered its findings;  again the evidence emerges. There is a behavioural pattern here.

"The protection of personal and institutional reputations above the protection of children was a frequent institutional reaction. Statutory agencies were not informed, perpetrators were ‘moved on’ and there were failures by those in authority to thoroughly investigate allegations. Records about child sexual abuse allegations were not kept.

Some institutions had no child protection policies and procedures. Where policies and procedures were in existence, they were often inadequate or not complied with. Inspections of institutions were, at times, lacking. Recommendations made following internal or external reviews were infrequently implemented and sometimes ignored." source : Executive Summary Of IICSA Report.

Evidence of a pattern of behaviour observed in every country that has ever held a  public inquiry into child abuse and the response of institutional culture to the children and adult survivors reporting their abuse. I have been observing this pattern for most of my life. From early boarding school onwards.. What the evidence shows is less a matter of response and responsibility so much as reactionary protectionism.
Evidence that the culture of those who hold power over children is such that it will always seek to protect that power, status and image.  
Evidence that this culture of power will set that priority above the welfare of the children who were under their watch, the children who were harmed, who reported their abuse, and those who were silent.
If that priority stands above the social material welfare of the children, it stands over the social material welfare of our entire community.
That priority stands above the vulnerable within families and  community halls, within the Churches and Temples, within Police Stations, it stands over your local councillor and your local MP,  denial and dehumanisation is found written into so-called Sacred Texts and our News Entertainment Media, within Banks and Prisons and in many other areas of our institutional systems.

Where's our insurance policy to protect us from loss of power, loss of wealth and status?

Defend the Flag.  Protect the Power. 
Who will stand for the children, wading neck deep, against such a cold, cruel cultural tide?
We must give some serious thought as to what that really means.
"There are things that should happen in a child's life, and there are things that should not happen that do."

A child should never be exploited by anyone for sex, and when the child tries to reach out for help the child must be made safe from the predator, and child's case must be dealt with transparently, robustly to ensure future safety.
The consequences, of both the abuse and the malign cultural reaction of those in power to the abused, linger on and on, and on.
Every suicide of a neglected, abandoned child or an adult survivor is also a matter of social murder, murder by neglect. The Institutionalised neglect of duty of care.
Decades of psychological, emotional and physical distress, some of it passed through to the children of the survivors, in learned behaviour and many other ways too that cause harm to that generation. Without being resolved, the patterns and cycles of distress continue to play out. This social silence is a well of pain, and it must be drawn, and emptied.
The costs of child abuse are externalised by those who were and are in positions of trust, care and power over children. 
The lived experience costs - hundreds of thousands of distressed lives, if not millions. 
The social material costs of inadequate social and economic services support systems crisis managing that distress, only to exacerbate it.
Adults within a clearly defined structure and culture of power behave in this manner towards vulnerable distressed harmed children.

This is a cultural behavioural characteristic, not merely the malign influence of a few 'bad apples'.
This must stop. 
Today.
But here's the thing - it's not just about sexual abuse of children and vulnerable people. 
It is about the abuse of power by anyone in a position of power and dominance, and the cultural pattern of defence of that Power at all and any cost. Be it Blair or Putin, Savile or Epstein, Suella Braverman or Boris Johnson, be it Austerity or War, Fracking or maintaining poverty as a political and economic strategic necessity, the harmed are routinely ignored, their cases minimised.

What of the 204,000 deaths caused by pandemic mismanagement, the 330,000 deaths caused by the economic violence of Austerity? What of the voices, evidence, lived experience of all those closely connected to the deceased?

Child Sexual Abuse is a pattern of behaviour that tells us more about our society, our culture and our current condition than most will acknowledge. Some will try to weaponise CSA to distract, to make tribal political points.

I am saying that the abuse of children and the defence of institutional power are two defining cultural behavioural characteristic, and that culture is of one of power hierarchy, violence, wealth and warfare which currently afflict us all and it is profoundly unhealthy. 
Healthy governance requires we acknowledge this and then take intentional, determined and robust action to correct the situation.

All of us. Join the dots. Before it's yet again too late, already.




Kindest regards

Corneilius

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