BACKLASH:The dark side of success
Published in the ECPAT Newsletter
September 2000
On of the unfortunate outcomes of working against the sexual exploitations of children is that individuals and organizations may become the target of attack by paedophile sympathisers.
In celebrating ten years of the ECPAT campaign, it is wise to make ties that
success can bring. We have opened the eyes if the public to child sex tourism,
to child prostitution, to child trafficking and to the pornographic use of
children. Very few countries now deny that sexual exploitation of children is a
problem.
At the same time, sexual abuse of children remains a hidden phenomenon; for many
complex reasons, it is difficult to make the public understand and see what we
are talking about. The work of many of those who seek to protect, rescue, defend
and recover abused children is difficult to demonstrate in a tangible way. The
abusers themselves are devious and often dangerous. Their activities involves
serious crime and large amounts of money. As a result, the worker or campaigner
is vulnerable to becoming the target of attack. Accusations of 'witch-hunting',
'gay-bashing' manipulation of evidence, irrational complaints, 'coaching' of
children, and even of child itself can be flung at them.
The attackers present themselves as concerned citizens, perhaps persons in positions of authority, Their real colour shows itself in the strategy they use to undermine the person who is the subject of their attack. Instead of concentrating on the right of every child to be protected against sexual abuse, they will attack the personality or credibility of the child rights worker. Instead of assuming that the child who complains of sexual abuse is telling the truth, they will attack the reliability of the child's evidence. They seek to damage the person or organization by false accusations and black propaganda. Valuable time and money is wasted as the subject of the attack responds in their own defense.
One of the most violent and obvious attacks has been against Father Shay Cullen of the PREDA Foundation in the Philippines. A relentless campaign has been waged against him by a group supporting a convicted Australian paedophile. Over 35 formal complaints were initiated by the group against Father Cullen, most of which were thrown out of court for being groundless.
The group regularly sends around derogatory information about Father Cullen to a long e-mail list of recipients. Unfortunately they have found allies in corrupt police officers, prosecutors and even judges. Misguided clergy have even added their voices. It is not difficult to understand the sources of support when we know that the single biggest problem for the protection of children against sexual abuse and exploitation is the lack of and poor law enforcement.
Shay Cullen is a colourful character, and he has been involved in the exposure of so much corruption and abuse of minors that he has made himself many enemies. There are not many who will generate the kind of antagonism that he has attracted. But his experiences can teach us to be ready for attacks by the paedophile networks and corrupt officialdom that prefer to squash the child protection voices than to defend the rights of children.
The paedophile networks are strong and they are growing. They can support each other through correspondence and information via the Internet.
The ECPAT network, child care agencies and organisations working against child sexual abuse must be ready for the Backlash. We must not allow ourselves to be intimidated