Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Pakistan police officers, spy fired over child abuse scandal, Three More Women Come Forward to Accuse Bill Cosby of Sexual Assault, study shows link between trauma exposure and physical health

- Pakistan police officers, spy fired over child abuse case
- Inside the Pakistani village torn apart by child sex abuse scandal
- Three More Women Come Forward to Accuse Bill Cosby of Sexual Assault
- UCT PhD study shows link between trauma exposure and physical health


Pakistan police officers, spy fired over child abuse case
Associated Press  August 12, 2015

(AP) — A top government official in eastern Pakistan says he has fired a provincial intelligence chief and three senior police officers for failing to act against a gang that blackmailed the families of children it sexually abused.

Shahbaz Sharif, the chief minister of Punjab province, made the announcement late Tuesday on social media. It comes amid widening outrage over the child sex abuse scandal, which locals say involves more than 270 children.

Sharif said he had dispatched the province's police chief to ensure that "investigation is carried out without discrimination and local influence."

Sharif is the brother of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. A lawyer for victims has accused local politicians and police of allowing the gang to operate for years, something authorities have denied.
http://news.yahoo.com/pakistan-police-officers-spy-fired-over-child-abuse-095041967.html 


Inside the Pakistani village torn apart by child sex abuse scandal
By Sophia Saifi Wed August 12, 2015
Child sexual abuse ring busted in Pakistan

....Punjab province, Hussain Khan Wala is at the center of a child abuse scandal that has rocked the country.

Villagers accuse police officials of covering up a pedophile ring, after videos emerged of their children being molested by members of a prominent and influential local family.

They say the abuse had been going on since at least 2009, and that the children were blackmailed to steal from their homes to prevent the videos from going public.

"My child stopped going to school; whenever they saw him, they took him into the fields, in the house," the 35-year-old mother of one victim told CNN. "They raped him for five hours and now it's finally coming into the open."....

Lawyer and children's rights activist Latif Sera says more than 270 children were victims of the pedophile ring, whose members abused children in the fields and in their homestead, outside which, the words "No Entry" are painted in Urdu.

Sera said it was here that the children were drugged, abused and hung upside down naked from ropes.

Sexual abuse and blackmail

A deep well sits ominously in the house's entrance; villagers tell CNN the family would threaten to drown the children if they complained to their parents.

A 15-year-old boy filmed in one of the videos told CNN he was first raped at the age of nine, after he was approached by a man with a gun while collecting water for his grandfather.

"As soon as I went inside he locked the door. He called out and five more men came in. I started screaming and they covered my mouth. Each of them had a weapon - one had an axe. They said they would cut me into tiny pieces if I made a single sound. Then they raped me."

He said the abuse continued for another four years, during which time he stole to keep his attackers quiet.

"I stole jewelry and money for them, otherwise they said they would kill me and hyenas and dogs would eat my body," he explained. "I found $1,300 for them to leave me alone. I stole from my own home, my own family."

Punjab police say 14 suspects have been arrested in connection with the case. A gang of 20 to 25 people is believed to have been involved in the abuse....

On Tuesday, Punjab province's chief of police announced that the suspects wold be tried in a terrorism court to expedite the process. He said 3 police officials have been suspended pending an investigation....
http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/12/asia/pakistan-child-sex-abuse-scandal-village/



Three More Women Come Forward to Accuse Bill Cosby of Sexual Assault
By Christine Pelisek 08/12/2015
Three more women have publicly come forward with accusations that Bill Cosby sexually assaulted them in the 1970s and '80s. The three women, including an actress who appeared on The Cosby Show and the former wife of a vice president at the William Morris Agency, joined the more than 40 women who allege they were drugged, sexually assaulted or sexually harassed by the comedian.

At a press conference Wednesday, civil rights attorney Gloria Allred, who is now representing more than 21 accusers, said the three women are speaking out now to show their support for other accusers who have been criticized by Cosby's attorneys.

"There is no statute of limitations on free speech," says Allred. "A person who alleges that she or he is a victim can speak out at any time."

Cosby has consistently denied the allegations of sexual assault....
http://www.people.com/article/bill-cosby-new-accusers-sexual-assault-claims


UCT PhD study shows link between trauma exposure and physical health
RDM News Wire  11 August, 2015
A study by a University of Cape Town (UCT) doctoral graduate has demonstrated a clear link between trauma exposure‚ chronic physical conditions and other mental disorders - the first time that a scientific study has established this link.

These findings could be useful in designing interventions aimed at reducing the burden of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)‚ chronic physical conditions and other mental disorders‚ UCT said in a statement on Tuesday.

Using the data collected in the South African stress and health study‚ associate professor Lukoye Atwoli found that there was an association between trauma exposure and chronic physical conditions such as arthritis‚ cardiovascular disease‚ respiratory disease and chronic pain.

He also found a link between trauma exposure and other mental disorders‚ such as mood and anxiety disorder. Trauma exposure also increased the risk of chronic physical conditions such as chronic pain‚ cardiovascular and respiratory disease and arthritis....
http://www.timeslive.co.za/lifestyle/2015/08/11/UCT-PhD-study-shows-link-between-trauma-exposure-and-physical-health 

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