There has been yet another sexual assault on a child in Victoria. Following the sexual assault of a seven year old girl at a Torquay caravan park, reports are now out about the sexual assault of a five year old boy. The boy went into the mens toilets at the Australian Open. A stranger sexually assaulted the boy while his mother was waiting for him outside the toilet block
A damning report came out in The Age questioning why it took four days for the public to be informed of this horrific event:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/organisers-defend-silence-over-boys-assault/2007/01/19/1169095981261.html
I ask again, what is the world coming to? We cant allow our children to go to the toilet alone. We cant be sure that our children will be safe in their own beds at night. Why is this happening? What can we do as a community to prevent this type of tragic event from occurring? There are so many questions but it seems few answers.
Are people so afraid of a community outcry that this type of thing goes unreported for four days? If I had gone to the Australian Open after this happened, not having been informed of the assault, I would be furious. I wonder whether the lack of community has anything to do with these assaults taking place. As we delve more and more deeply into a self-centred way of living, we are losing touch with each other. We dont look out for each other anymore. We turn a blind eye. Look the other way. We dont know our neighbours. We dont offer help. Does this make it easier for perpetrators to get away with such crimes? Was it a fear of scrutiny that led the organisers of the Australian Open to fail to inform the public of something they had every right to know about? Where does morality end and fear begin?
Yes, such crimes have occurred as long as theres been life on earth but these latest assaults really worry me. A girl assaulted in a caravan annex beside her two sleeping brothers. A boy assaulted in the toilet block with his mother just outside. I worry about the safety of my daughter and the chance she has of being safe in todays world. We cant lock our children away from the world, but how can we protect them?