STATISTICS FOR THOUGHT 1

National statistics show that rape is committed every six seconds in the United States. (The Cincinnati Post, 28th April, 2005, by Peggy Kreimer)

STATISTICS FOR THOUGHT 2

“More than 40,000 teenagers seek treatment every year for sexually transmitted diseases (in Britain); more than 3,500 girls under 16 have abortions every year; we have the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in Europe.” (Daily Mail, 18th April, 2005, by Kitty Dimbleby)

STATISTICS FOR THOUGHT 3

“Half of British 15-year-olds drink alcohol regularly, one in three has experimented with drugs and one in four smokes cigarettes.” (Daily Mail, 22nd September, 2004, by Beezy Marsh)

STATISTICS FOR THOUGHT 4

“Alcohol is the fourth leading cause of death among people ages 10 to 24. Underage drinking costs Americans nearly $53 billion. In the United States, the average age that kids begin to drink is 12-years-old.” (Alcoholism Statistics, 2004, Narconon of Oklahoma)

STATISTICS FOR THOUGHT 5

Pada bulan Mei, 1996, Kementerian Belia dan Sukan melaporkan satu kajian mengenai kecenderungan remaja-remaja di Malaysia membuang masa secara melepak. Kajian itu mendapati, remaja yang berumur di antara 16-18 tahun mempunyai kecenderungan yang lebih tinggi untuk melepak dengan kadar 15.8 jam seminggu berbanding remaja yang berumur 12-15 tahun, iaitu, 14.4 jam seminggu

STATISTICS FOR THOUGHT 6

Berhubung dengan zina, pendedahan yang dibuat oleh Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia, melalui laporan Kajian Kesihatan Seksual Reproduktif Remaja di Malaysia 2003, amat membimbangkan. Kajian ini menunjukkan ramai di kalangan remaja di negara Islam Malaysia sudah terlibat dengan seks seawal usia 9 tahun. (Rujuk Berita Harian, 5 Februari 2004)

STATISTICS FOR THOUGHT 7

Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Pendidikan, Penerangan, Belia dan Sukan Negeri Sembilan, Datuk Zakaria Nordin, berkata, bahawa tingkah laku seks atau ‘miang keterlaluan’ menjadi sebahagian daripada faktor pelajar di negeri itu dibuang sekolah. Sebahagian besar pelajar miang itu pula, ialah pelajar perempuan di sekolah bandar. Tahun lalu saja (2003), 492 pelajar dikenakan tindakan buang sekolah atas pelbagai kesalahan termasuk ‘miang keterlaluan’. (Rujuk Berita Harian, 5 Februari 2004).

STATISTICS FOR THOUGHT 8

Di Indonesia pula, Synovate Research telah melakukan kajian tentang perlakuan seks di kalangan remaja di empat kota, iaitu Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya dan Medan. Mengikut kajian ini, 44% responden mengakui mempunyai pengalaman melakukan seks di usia 16 sampai 18 tahun. 16% yang lain pula pernah melakukan seks antara usia 13 sampai 15 tahun. (Rujuk Kompas Cyber Media, Jumaat, 28 Januari 2005)

STATISTIC FOR THOUGHT 9 : CHRISTIAN CLERGY AND SEX SCANDALS

(The following article originally appeared in the Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services, Inc. Newsletter, July, 1996)

It is commonly believed that clergy sexual abuse is an exclusively Catholic problem that does not happen in other churches. In a 1983 doctoral thesis by Richard Blackmon, 12% of the 300 Protestant clergy surveyed admitted to sexual intercourse with a parishioner and 38% admitted to other sexualized contact with a parishioner.1 In separate denominational surveys, 48% of United Church of Christ female ministers and 77% of United Methodist female ministers reported having been sexually harassed in church.2 Although the actual extent of the problem is unknown, the significance of clergy sexual abuse is acknowledged by the denominational leaders of all Christian churches.3

The characteristics of clergy who violate sexual boundaries are as diverse as those of persons who sexually abuse or harass and are employed in other occupations. Characteristics more closely associated with the ministerial role are ascribed community trust, charisma, and patriarchal privilege and power. The clergy person is often accepted as God’s representative whose authority is not to be questioned. Trustworthiness ascribed to the ministerial role is readily transferred as a character trait to those who fulfill that role. Charisma is a personal attribute that pulls the admiration of the church community as well as those who might serve the minister as sexual partner. The minister who enters into exploitive sexual relationships may do so because of situational circumstances or because he or she (most frequently "he") chronically disregards the welfare of others in order to meet their own needs.4 Frequently, more than one person is targeted for sexualized contact.

Most recipients of clergy sexual abuse are thought to be women, although children and men are also affected. They may be counselees, church volunteers or employees, seminarians or church interns. The violations range from verbal harassment to violent rape. Frequently, the individual responds to manipulative sexual advances of the clergy person. Individuals who have been retaliated against for reporting sexual abuse by clergy include people who did not experience sexualized contact but who affiliated themselves with survivors. Retaliation has included death threats.5 The common characteristic between abuse recipients is that they have fewer resources and therefore less power than the clergy person. Adult recipients of clergy sexual abuse are thought to experience the betrayal by God more strongly and to experience more severe adaptive consequences than others who experience sexual abuse during adulthood.6

The power differential between clergy and abuse recipient is determined not only by personal characteristics but also by what is provided to each by the church community. The clergy person has considerable control of the church pulpit and newsletter and may maintain that control even after a report of sexual abuse is received by the church. Denial is a common response by the church community, which contributes its empathetic support to the person accused rather than the identified victim. Responses of churches have included directly contributing to the abuse process. Examples of church abuse include: shunning, victim-blaming for loss of the community leader, and public verbal and physical harassment7. Church denial promotes the community esteem of the clergy person and allows a clergy perpetrator access to large numbers of potential victims.

In her 1992 address at the first national conference sponsored by The Linkup (Victims of Clergy Abuse Linkup), president Jeanne Miller stated that of the 3,000 persons who had contacted The Linkup, virtually everyone had gone to their church first for pastoral support and resolution. Rather than help, they were further punished for breaking silence. Examples of abuse by church hierarchy for reporting clergy sexual abuse have included: requiring people to confess their victimization as sin, excommunication, firing from church employment and threat of slander suits.8 If church has centered the survivor’s faith life and sense of spirituality, these actions are especially damaging. While the victim is further punished, the sense of power-over and privilege of access to victims by the offending cleric is again enhanced. The reassignment of offending clergy to a new parish while withholding information about previous complaints of sexual misconduct occurs beyond the Catholic Church.

The compounding of these abuses is crushing to all dimensions of the survivor’s integrity. Threats to safety as well as sense of safety are real. The response of the crisis counselor or therapist can contribute either to healing or enhancing the sense of victimization. Helpful responses include: safety instruction, referrals for support resources out of the immediate geographic community, referrals to the clergy abuse survivors’ network, affirmation that the reporter’s fears and pain are valid and that she or he is believed. It is recommended that initial referrals for pastoral services be located outside the survivor’s denomination and with a recommendation from other clergy abuse survivors. Survivors of clergy abuse discourage use of denominational hotlines as a first step in reporting. Responses that add to the survivor’s sense of isolations include statements indicating the reporter’s story is unbelievable or that assistance is unavailable or that the recipient should forgive and get on with life.

The counselor who is active in church life can be of further support by advocating for local church education and policy development. When confronted with a disclosure, accepting the risk to advocate for the compassionate treatment of those who report can affect the level of the survivor’s vulnerability. A demand for accountable action can provide leadership to avoid church abuse and create a spiritual and safe haven for those already oppressed.

REFERENCES

1 Richard A. Blackmon, unpublished Ph. D. dissertation (1984). The Hazards of Ministry. Fuller Theological Seminary: Pasadena, CA. Note: The author noted that 16 ministers did not answer the question concerning sexual intercourse with parishioners, indicating that the percentage is probably higher.

2 Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence (1992). Clergy Sexual Misconduct: Sexual Abuse in the Ministerial Relationship. Seattle, WA.

3 Elizabeth Stellas. "Training Trainers One Year Later." Working Together. Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence. Fall 1992, p.3.

4 See: Deborah J. Pope-Lance (1993). "The Inherent Ethical Risks of Ministry." Edge of the Wave: Feminist Thought on Sexual Ethics. Collegium: Chicago and M. Scott Peck (1983). People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil. Simon & Schuster: New York.

5 Marie M. Fortune (1989). Is Nothing Sacred? When Sex Invades the Pastoral Relationship. Harper & Row: San Francisco.

6 Donna Gordon. "When the Sacred becomes Profane." The World, Jan/Feb, 1993, pp. 23-24.

7 See: Marie M. Fortune, Is Nothing Sacred? and Dee Ann Miller (1993). How Little We Knew: Collusion and Confusion with Sexual Misconduct. Prescott Press: Lafayette, LA.

8 See: Jason Berry (1992). Lead Us Not Into Temptation: Catholic Priests and the Sexual Abuse of Children. Doubleday: NY. Dee Ann Miller, How Little We Knew, and Jeanne Miller and Panel Discussions from "Breaking the Cycle of Silence." Conference recordings (1992), Repeat Performance: Hobart, IN.

Edited for Formula Cemerlang by Dr. Danial

STATISTIC FOR THOUGHT 10 - PRIESTS SEX ABUSE COST OVER $1 BILLION

http://www.southbendtribune.com/

June 10, 2005
Sex abuse cost over $1 billion

Catholic Church owes this amount on charges from the last 50 years

NATION/WORLD

By RACHEL ZOLL
Associated Press Writer

The Rev. Thomas Doyle says no one believed him in 1985 when he warned Roman Catholic leaders that resolving cases of sexually abusive priests could eventually cost the church more than $1 billion.

"No one’s ever going to sue the Catholic Church," he says one archbishop assured him.

But Doyle’s prediction proved right. According to tallies by American bishops and an Associated Press review of known settlements, dioceses have incurred more than $1 billion in abuse-related costs over five decades.

And the figure is guaranteed to rise, probably by tens of millions of dollars, because hundreds more claims are pending.

Dioceses around the country have spent at least $1.06 billion on settlements with victims, verdicts, legal fees, counseling and other expenses since 1950, the AP found. A compensation fund of up to $120 million announced last week by the Diocese of Covington, Ky., pushed the figure past the billion-dollar mark.

A large share of the costs — at least $378 million — have come in just the past three years, when the crisis erupted in the Boston Archdiocese and spread nationwide.

Asked about the figure, a spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Monsignor Francis Maniscalco, said church leaders believe the payouts "should be just to all sides." He said victims deserve compensation, but the church must also have enough money to continue serving parishioners.

The bishops are set to meet in Chicago next week to review their plan for protecting youngsters.

The exact financial effect on the church is hard to determine, since each diocese owns property separately and settles cases on its own. Insurance policies cover some costs, but policies differ across the country. And in many places, the coverage has run out.

Also, many dioceses already had money problems before the scandal hit, because of rising labor costs, maintenance for old churches and other expenses, said Charles Zech, an economics professor at Villanova University who studies church finances.

However, the church avoided one financial hit: A feared widespread boycott by donors never happened, Zech said. The number of donors has fallen in the past few years, but the amount contributed overall has held steady, he said.

Still, some of the damage is plain.

The Boston Archdiocese and several others have agreed to sell property to cover their multimillion-dollar settlements. Three dioceses — Portland, Ore., Tucson, Ariz., and Spokane, Wash. — have filed for bankruptcy, and more are expected to follow.

The AP calculated the price from settlement announcements by dioceses and from reports commissioned by the nation’s bishops, including a study by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice of claims from 1950 to 2002. Victims’ groups believe the church reports have underestimated the total cost.

Among religious groups confronting abuse, the Catholic Church is the only one to release settlement figures covering decades. But experts believe that Catholics have paid more to victims than any other denomination. Researchers commissioned by the bishops found more than 11,500 abuse claims against priests since 1950.

Catholics disagree over whether the church is being forced to pay too much for its failures.

Barbara Blaine, founder of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, noted that most recent agreements have been reached before trial — a sign, she said, that bishops know the true scope of the wrongdoing and are trying to minimize the cost.

"That the settlements could go that high shows us the seriousness of the harm and the cover-up," Blaine said.

But defense attorneys say public opinion has moved so far against the church that the bishops have little choice. Several states extended the statutes of limitation for suing over the abuse; California abolished the time restriction for one year, leading to hundreds of new claims that have yet to be resolved.

Patrick Schiltz, an attorney who has defended many dioceses in abuse cases, agreed that bishops have a moral obligation to pay victims but said the size of the settlements is "getting out of hand."

The Covington fund is the biggest settlement so far. Last December, the Diocese of Orange, Calif., agreed to pay $100 million to 87 victims. In 2003, the Boston Archdiocese settled with 552 victims for $85 million.

"It’s because of the media coverage," said Schiltz, a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis. "The thumb is heavily on the scale against the church."

Schiltz said he disagreed with Catholics who contend that many of the newer claims are fake. But he said weaker cases that once would have been thrown out of court are probably succeeding.

Despite the rising cost to the church, advocates say the majority of victims never sue.

"Victims want to feel as though their experience is valued, helping the church understand the problem so that it will never happen again," said Sue Archibald, head of the victim advocacy group The Linkup. "With lawsuits it’s, ‘Here’s your money, now go away."

STATISTIC FOR THOUGHT 11 - HUNGRY CHILDREN

The world is facing a major crisis. Part of the world’s population frantically needs anti-obesity agents to control their increase in weight and the other part is dying due to hunger. On June 12, 2005, the UN World Food Program (WFP) is organizing a worldwide walk against hunger. According to the 2004 State of Food Insecurity in the World (SOFI) report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN, five million children under the age of five die each year from hunger and undernourishment. To put this into perspective, this is one Auschwitz, or two thousand 9/11s, or 20 Indian Ocean tsunamis each year killing babies. This doesn’t take into account the number of children over the age of five and the adults who die due to hunger. The children are the future of the human race. Can we just afford to sit back and let these children be born with a death sentence?

Even though there is enough food to feed every human being in the world, one child dies every five seconds from hunger or hunger-related causes. This is not confined to developing or underdeveloped countries. From the USA to Sudan, from Russia to Peru, hunger knows no boundaries. According to FAO, an estimated 17 million babies born every year are underweight, inheriting hunger from their mothers, who are themselves undernourished. If they live long enough, their children will be hungry too.

While most people are aware of the need for food when it is a visible incident on our TV screen like wars, massive natural disasters or famines, the majority of the hungry die because of an invisible famine, suffering from chronic hunger and malnourishment that affects their immune systems. Most of us do not realize that there are related health costs of hunger and food insecurity like mental retardation, anemia, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, diarrhea, etc. which again lead to either lifelong disabilities or slow death. In September 2000, 147 heads of state and government, and 189 nations in total committed themselves in the United Nations Millennium Declaration to make the right to development a reality for everyone and to free the entire human race from want. They set up the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the first one reads thus: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. This would be impossible to achieve if we go on as before and would have a direct impact on the other MDGs like universal primary education, gender and reproductive health, combating HIV/AIDS, etc.

What Does This Mean?

In 1999, which was a financially good year for the US, 31 million Americans were food insecure, meaning they were either hungry or unsure of where their next meal would come from. Of these, 12 million were children. If this is the situation in the USA, the lone superpower of the world, can you imagine the condition in other countries? The SOFI report says, “While poverty is undoubtedly a cause of hunger, hunger can also be a cause of poverty. Hunger often deprives impoverished people of the one valuable resource they can call their own: the strength and skill to work productively.”

According to Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Fogel, hungry people cannot work their way out of poverty. He estimates that 20 percent of the population in England and France was effectively excluded from the labor force around 1790 because they were too weak and hungry to work. Improved nutrition, he calculates, accounted for about half of the economic growth in Britain and France between 1790 and 1880. Since many developing countries are as poor as Britain and France were in 1790, his analysis suggests reducing hunger could have a similar impact in developing countries today. So countries need to achieve food security or be helped to such a state if we are to avoid the invisible mass murder each year because of unawareness and inaction.

By Deepa Kandaswamy

(Deepa Kandaswamy is an award winning writer, political analyst and engineer based in India. Her articles have been published in six continents. She is the founder –moderator of the International Gender Lobby which is a global networking platform for individuals, organizations and activists who are interested in working for human rights, peace and development worldwide.)

Edited for Formula Cemerlang by Dr Danial Zainal Abidin

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