SEX ABUSE TORMENT OF 600 CHILDREN
Teens handed round pervert groups or used in porn films
TWO Scots charities have helped nearly 600 young victims of organised sexual abuse in the last year. The traumatised survivors – mainly teenagers – turned to help groups Eighteen and Under and Izzy’s Promise, both based in Dundee. The majority are victims of horrific ritual abuse across Scotland but some have approached the charities for help from other parts of the UK. Many of them described being handed around groups of paedophiles for sexual gratification while others were used in pornographic films.
Victims rarely speak to the police for fear of not being believed and out of a twisted loyalty to their abusers.
The shock figures were revealed at the Organised and Ritual Abuse of Children Conference in Dundee last week.
Laurie Matthew, who set up award-winning charity Eighteen and Under, confirmed it had helped in 296 cases while Izzy’s
Promise – which deals specifically with ritual abuse – helped 288 youngsters.
She said: “What the young people mostly describe is organised abuse involving networks of abusers, sexual exploitation, trafficking and pornography.
“We do not ask where young people live but are focused on building relationships of trust to allow them to speak as freely as possible.”
Laurie said the most shocking trend she had noticed is that abusers are getting more organised in how their networks are run, while police and government agencies are less organised.
Australian criminologist Dr Michael Salter, one of the world’s leading experts on organised child abuse, outlined the signs that could identify potential victims.
These include the child being socially isolated and controlled by their family and that they may avoid getting changed in front of others due to scars, burns or marks of abuse.
Victims may also avoid having their picture taken or adopt a panicked “fixed” smile due to image-based abuse.
He said: “Most victims live in two worlds – everyday life and the world of abuse, which may have its own rules, codes and language.
“The everyday child will adamantly deny the abuse and may have no capacity to recall or describe it.”