Artist singer Ricky Martin appeared on the Oprah Show on Wednesday July 6th, 2005. He had visited Thailand following the Tsunami tragedy, to assess the situation and see what his foundation could do. He spoke of horrific tales coming from Tsunami victims, all heartbreaking. But the worst part of it all was when he revealed that there are people who flew over there from Amercia to take sexual advantage of children who were now orphaned. Those sexual predators will pay a great price to have sex with younger and younger children.

Can you imagine the horror? You just lost your family, you are recovering in the hospital, and someone comes to kidnap you and bring you to a sexually depraved human demon. These children are easy preys. These monsters share information and billions of dollars every year to find the most vulnerable children and take advantage of them. We can no longer ignore this.

In the light of this, what about here in Canada? Is there any way that we can consider the risks our children can be exposed to when they lose their families? How about our social services and child protection agencies: are they efficiently guarded against such crimes against humanity? Predators know where to get their preys. We need to make sure our children are protected. For that, it is imperative that we engage socially to make sure we don't leave all the work to paid professionals. You will understand why shortly. Just read through the following list provided by the Public Health Agency of Canada, numbers gathered in a report titled: "Observations and Recommendations from a Study by Child and Youth Mental Health Services, British Columbia Ministry of Health."

OFFENDER/PERPETRATOR PROFILES

Offenders linked to the 30 multiple victim child sexual abuse occurrences in the British Columbia study shared the following characteristics:

They were not strangers to their victims.

Most offenders were male.

Offenders initiated the abuses and used combinations of coercion, deception, bribes, threats, punishments and other forms of cruelty to control and manipulate children. Offenders were attempting to force compliance while at the same time preventing victims from disclosing the abuses and/or escaping from their control.

In their relationships with other community members and colleagues, offenders tried to create the impression that they were dedicated to helping children and that they were good parents who enjoyed successful family and marital relationships. SOME OFFENDERS BECAME FOSTER PARENTS AND USED THIS STATUS TO CONVINCE FRIENDS AND PARENTS OF VICTIMS OF THEIR DEDICATION. (caps added for emphasis).

In fact, offenders used their homes (and other locations) to mask from other adults their sexual abuse of children. In some cases, offenders pressured their children to bring friends into their homes where the offenders could conceal their abusive activities and more easily coerce their victims.

Some offenders used their positions of trust in the community and their access to personal information and records of children and families to identify vulnerable individuals and then target them for manipulation and abuse. These offenders frequently married spouses whom they were able to isolate from their activities or block from disclosing information concerning the abuses or coerce into supporting abusive practices.

In 80% of the 30 occurrences, offenders occupied community positions of trust.

In 50% of occurrences, they held professional positions (e.g., teachers, health care workers, clergy).

In 30% of occurrences, they worked in non-professional positions (e.g., leaders of boys and girls activities [sports, scouting, etc.], music teachers, driving instructors, baby sitters).

In these positions of trust, they were often well known and respected (prior to disclosures of sexual abuse) for the presumed good work they were doing with children.

In the other 20% of occurrences, offenders often were friends and neighbours of victims. Sometimes they were friends or relatives of respected (non-offending) community members and used their association with individuals in positions of trust to gain influence and control over children.

Some offenders focused their attention on neighbourhoods/sectors of a community which were occupied predominantly by troubled families, including families struggling, for example, with poverty and unemployment. The perpetrators simulated interest and concern for these families by offering to organize activities (e.g., teams, games, trips) for children and/or to provide free babysitting services for these families.

There were a few occurrences in which the offenders were not well known in the community. For example, one offender lived in a trailer on the edge of town. He targeted children who were homeless and runaways. Initially, he provided them with food and shelter. He organized recreational activities and parties for them. However, he also gave them alcohol and other drugs, as methods of manipulating and coercing them into participating in sexual abuses. He coerced them also to participate in other criminal activities (e.g., breaking and entering homes, prostitution) to pay for drugs and the offender's lifestyle.

PERSONAL/FAMILY BACKGROUND OF VICTIMS:

In 33% of the 30 occurrences, most victims were members of stable, intact families.

In these families, there were no reported histories of sexual abuse, prior to the abuses linked to the occurrences surveyed in the British Columbia study. The children themselves were progressing well socially and educationally and many of them were considered by their teachers to be gifted and talented.

In 66% of the occurrences, most victims experienced significant areas of stress in their lives, prior to sexual abuse. The stresses were related to one or more of the following factors:

- These children were members of troubled families which had previous histories of family violence, alcohol abuse, other drug abuse, previous child abuse and/or criminal activities.

- The children had been identified previously as having significant adjustment problems: behaviour disorders, learning disabilities (e.g., attention deficit disorder), other disabilities, deficits or special needs.

Please, support a public dialogue with the Children's Aid Societies of Canada, the law enforcement, the Justice system and NGO who work with people whose lives have been broken because their children have been taken away from them. LET'S MAKE SURE we shine the light on the adoption and foster homes industry in Canada. Let it be for the good of our children, and not for the good of abusers.

As the saying goes: "Help locally to impact globally..."

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