Wales child abuse: Report finds evidence of 140 allegations - Operation Pallial, A Child Without Dreams, Teen dies after being 'beaten' at camp that 'makes men out of boys', Why Christie Blatchford Is Wrong About My Daughter Rehtaeh

Wales child abuse: Report finds evidence of 140 allegations   29 April 2013
An independent investigation examining claims of historical child abuse at children's homes in north Wales has found "significant evidence of systemic and serious sexual and physical abuse".

Investigators in Operation Pallial have found evidence of 140 allegations of historical abuse between 1963 and 1992. Seventy six new complainants have also come forward and 84 suspected offenders been identified.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-22339417


Wales child abuse: Operation Pallial inquiry finds evidence of 140 claims  29 April 2013

An independent investigation examining claims of historical child abuse at children's homes in north Wales has found "significant evidence of systemic and serious sexual and physical abuse".

Investigators in Operation Pallial have found evidence of 140 allegations of historical abuse between 1963 and 1992. Seventy six new complainants have also come forward.
The claims centre on 18 homes involving offences against boys and girls aged between seven and 19.  A total of 84 suspected offenders have been named - 75 male and nine female. Of these, 16 have been named by more than one complainant....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-22306588


A Child Without Dreams
Marian Wright Edelman  President, Children's Defense Fund 04/26/2013

Every day four children in America are killed by abuse or neglect.  More than 750,000 children are abused or neglected each year.  Even when children survive or after physical scars heal, the emotional damage left by child abuse and neglect can last a lifetime just as the post traumatic stress left by gun violence leaves deep scars in countless children.

Joseph Miles has essentially been on his own since he was 13 years old -- the year his mother tried to kill him.  Until then, he would say, he cried for love.  After that he gave up on hoping ever to find it.  Today Joseph is in his forties and has been incarcerated since he was 28.  When he came to prison he couldn’t read or write. It was only recently that Joseph realized he missed out on something crucial besides love in early childhood:  he didn’t even know he should have had dreams until it was much too late.... 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marian-wright-edelman/a-child-without-dreams_b_3165763.html 


Teen dies after being 'beaten' at camp that 'makes men out of boys'
A 15-year-old South African boy died after he was kept chained to his bed, beaten with planks and hoses at a training camp that boasted of "making men" out of its young recruits, a court has heard.   By Aislinn Laing, Johannesburg  24 Apr 2013

Raymond Buys, who had learning difficulties, was admitted to hospital and put on life support two months into a three-month training course run by Alex de Koker's Echo Wild Game Rangers in the bush an hour south of Johannesburg.

He was severely emaciated and dehydrated, had brain damage, a broken arm and bruises, and cigarette burns all over his body. His mother was told that the chances of him surviving were "virtually zero". He died two weeks later.

"I sent my son on this course to make him a better man, to give him a better future," Wilma Buys told The Daily Telegraph. "I trusted Alex de Koker with his life."

Mr de Koker, 49, and employee Michael Erasmus, 20, are currently on trial for charges of murder, child abuse and neglect, along with two cases of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm in relation to Mr Buys' death.

His death is alleged to have been the third among the mainly Afrikaans children who attended the R22,000 (£1,500) courses run by Mr de Koker, who was reportedly a member of murdered white supremacist Eugene Terreblanche's Iron Guards movement.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/southafrica/10015978/Teen-dies-after-being-beaten-at-camp-that-makes-men-out-of-boys.html


Why Christie Blatchford Is Wrong About My Daughter Rehtaeh - Father of Rehtaeh Parsons
Glen Canning 04/26/2013

This morning I woke up and read an article in the National Post about Rehtaeh's case. I'm not upset or mad. A little disappointed maybe. The writer, Christie Blatchford, makes a few statements I would like to address....

"What they had was a complainant whose evidence was all over the map..." Rehtaeh was intoxicated at the time and she has always stated she couldn't remember much of what happened. What she did say was all over the map and that is exactly what one should expect it to be from a 15-year-old girl who remembers very little but is being swamped at school and online with slut stories about what took place.

"...independent evidence that supported the notion that any sex was consensual, and no evidence that Rehtaeh was so drunk that she couldn't consent:" The two boys involved in taking and posing for the photograph stated Rehtaeh was throwing up when they had sex with her. That is not called consensual sex. That is called rape. They also stated they had to get her dressed when they were finished. She was passed out. That is the story they told to anyone at Rehtaeh's school who would listen. That is their account of what happened. There are numerous people who heard that and shared that. No evidence she was so drunk that she couldn't consent? How drunk does someone have to be? Drunk enough to get sick or drunk enough to not remember?....
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/glen-canning/rehtaeh-parsons-christie-blatchford_b_3164434.html