Victims of pedophile priests and imams help create more vict

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Victims of pedophile priests and imams help create more victims with silence.

I recently watched this disturbing movie and recognize that what it portrays fairly closely what is happenings in reality right now.

https://www.google.ca/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=fQa ... ht+trailer

The silence and complicity of the religious are facilitating and colluding in the future assaults on children. Silence or the acceptance of a payoff, in my opinion, is direct collusion with these religious criminals and I see the past victims of these pedophiles as now helping their own assailants create new victims by their silence.

I appreciate that going public is hard, but if victims do not come forward, I see them as helping the priests and imams that are left free to abuse other children.

There are some who will read this and know that in a real sense victims are guilty of helping the pedophile problem continue.

I would urge these victims and their families to step up and do the right thing and return the payoffs and lay charges instead so that we can rid our churches and mosques of these predatory criminals.

Do you agree that silence is just as immoral as the initial crime when victims accept payoffs from religions to buy their silence?

Regards
DL

No I do not think victims themselves of sexual assault from religious leaders/role models are responsible for contributing to the pedophile problem.

-Rape/sexual assault is traumatizing especially for children, its actually very common for children not to come forward right away when being abused that way. Also someone doesn't just automatically get believed if they say they've been sexually assaulted.

-The people who commit the sexual assault, and those aware of it who encourage silence on the matter or actively cover it up are the problem....not the victims who have to suffer that sick behavior.

Only somebody who has never been sexually abused could make such a moronic argument that victims have any responsibility in this situation.

Responsibility is obviously a bad choice of word.

If more victims come forward, this obviously empowers other victims. However this is far from easy. They need to eb encouraged without prejudicing justice.

Unfortunately in very public case they do attract attention seekers and people with mental illness. This happened in some public cases in the UK. This only undermines confidence in the process. I feel bad for the victims.

I disagree with calling them responsible, but I also disagree with being overly simplistic about these issues. That doesn't help anyone.

IMO, it makes me wonder why men choose to become priests, other that when ordained, they feel that they are entitled to abusing their powers as a priest. Obviously, not all priests are pedophiles, but in many articles that I've read, priests who molest children have sex drives on the same level as an adolescent.

I also recommend watching Spotlight, which is about the 2003 sex abuse scandal in the Archodiocese of Boston.

I think to say they are contributing to the problem is wrong. But I understand what you're getting at.

If your statement was "Abuse victims aren't helping the way they could by staying silent" I'd agree wholeheartedly.

You also aren't accounting for the embarrassment factor. It must be extremely embarrassing to admit that was done to you, even though you had zero to do with it. By bringing it to light they suffer the indignity twice. I'm sure most of them don't want to help, never asked to be part of any cause, and don't give a damn who else it happens to because they just want to move on with their damaged lives.

And experiencing that trauma who can blame them?

Today it's very common in our "See something, say something" world we associate silence with being as bad as perpetuating a crime. I feel this thinking is utterly ridiculous. I think it is everyone's right to mind their own business and there's nothing wrong with that. I am responsible for no one but myself. Someone else's problems don't have to be mine, I have enough of my own.

I didn't watch the movie but just keep in mind that sometimes threats are made behind the scenes. I don't like to second guess the reasons why victims don't forward. There are always implicit threats even if no explicit threats are made.

I can't really blame a victim for taking a bribe if they were too afraid to testify in the first place. I can't really blame them for just wanting the money either. You're placing an extremely high level of responsibility on someone who never asked for it, who probably just want to go on with their lives, since after all they are innocent.