August 3, 2009
Out of Australia – last week, a mother strapped her 14 year old daughter to a lie detector test on a radio show to interrogate the girl about her disclosure of a rape that happened to her when she was 12, which the radio DJs and the mother apparently found entertaining. Not only did the mother accuse the girl of lying in her first disclosure to her that she was raped, but the girl was subsequently victimized on public radio.
Maybe one logical question is – why the pain and suffering of children a source of entertainment or pleasure for some? Another point this incident reveals is that child victims of abuse or mistreatment are frequently silenced and kept quiet under threat of further victimization. If children reveal what has happened to them, their revelations are denied, they are put down as liars, while their parents work at protecting their own image from potential accusations of wrongful behavior.
Consider this intelligent analysis of the situation by Professor S. Caroline Taylor, Foundation chair in social justice, Edith Cowan University, WA: Abuse of trust breeds culture of silence, theage.com.au, August 1, 2009.