Encouraging young people

[Erfolg]

Peter Beeeney raised the spectre of further restrictions on children/youths with respect to adults. I hope his concerns turn out to be ill founded.

At present it does seem that the current police investigations are all involving alleged events in the past. Many involving particular public bodies. Hopefully these type of incidents are off the past.

Yet there has been some who are already calling for more controls, with an increase in personal involved with monitoring and working with the young. All seem self serving in promoting an industry, not necessarily in solving a problem. I am all sure that we remember the incidents where mothers (two policewoman) had action started against them for breaching child protection regulations. Then the calls for grandparents to be regulated, before being dismissed, in alarm by goverment ministers.

It has been mentioned that the BMFA offers some financial support. I would imagine that this would necessarily be limited at £45 per person. If all clubs took up the offer that would be £1.6M, which comes out of subscriptions in one way or another. Which would, I am sure, require an increase in subscriptions, by at least £45, probably more, to cover the administration.

If however the cover was extended to just one or two members, that would be very onerous to those concerned, in that at a practical level they would necessarily have to present all the time youngsters were present. I would also suspect that there would need to be some segregation from the other club members, so that there is a demarcation between those cleared and the youths and the rest.

I really do hope that it comes to be seen as an issue of the past, where relaxation of restrictions is more appropriate than further controls.

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

What concerns me is the attitude that all adults are potential predators and children must be protected against them. I wonder if there's a danger that children may grow up feeling that this is the norm and so increase the chances of becoming offenders themselves? I believe that it's a documented fact that the majority of child abusers were themselves abused as children.

I remember being warned about strangers from a fairly early age but managed to survive school, trips with friends' parents, a French exchange for 3 weeks with a randomly chosen family, cubs and scouts without a hint of anything untoward and none of the adults involved with these activities had been subject to any form of formal background checks that I'm aware of.

Actually, thinking back, I was subjected to several years of sadism but that was standard practice for PE teachers!

[Erfolg]

Martin

I understand where you are coming from.

With respect to schools and corporal punishment (which you did not mention). This was common place in my youth, by teachers, using anything from leather straps, canes, plimsoles, rules and so on. Although I do not advocate such practises, I am horrified by the altitudes of some to those who see that the use of force (restraining) against those who are being subjected to violence by youngsters, as totally unacceptable.

Returning to the subject of youths as members within clubs. Further restrictions on the circumstances when they can be present, would almost certainly be so onerous that the majority would not want youths being present under those circumstances.

To be honest I am surprised at the amount behaviours which do occur surreptitiously. I would have been adamant that child abuse did not occur, in any measurable way back in the 70's. Events have tended to show otherwise, particularly in some areas, or do they. I now tend to think that the frequency is a lot lower than many suspect, other than those inclined are attracted to areas of work and contact and opportunities exist. I still need some convincing that the prevalence is other small (hopefully). Yet it is working with young people where the risks seem to be more frequent. Which can be a club, Hmmmm!. So perhaps (controversially) youths and adult model clubs do not mix?

I do remember as a school boy, on our weekly school swimming lessons, that a female school teacher would be present. She would wander the changing rooms, ensuring that order was maintained during changing, particularly after the lesson. I do now wonder if she were a voyeur.

I guess that standards of behaviour have changed, rather than all that past before had sinister motives.

Then there are views by activists, which are presented as fact, are plainly wrong. I am particularly thinking the view that "children do not lie". As a parent i often wondered if what the children were telling me was completely true. Now being a grandparent, often being all but invisible as the grand kids are concerned, the things I see and hear,, show otherwise. Then they go running of to their parents, telling outrageous porkies. I recently said to both my daughters, you did not bend the truth or lie, did you, are all children different today. They both laughed and said of course we lied, its how we got we wanted, stopped others doing something, or just getting back at someone. Oh dad, you were so gullable.