This Is Disturbing

[emmie]

i have no idea what to make of this, other than wonder that the sister wants him home.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-26418508

[hc4361]

Maybe having her life get back to normal with her brother back in the family home will help her get over it.

As I said, we don't know what happened. The definition of rape is small but the varieties of the act are huge. It can last for hours or seconds. It can involve physical violence but often doesn't. It need not involve the victim's genitals at all.

When we think of rape we automatically associate it with terror, pain, fear, humiliation, violent force. None of these things may have been present in this case.

[emmie]

assumptions based on nothing, i don't understand what that means.

[China Doll]

You are making assumptions based on nothing because you know nothing about the case; none of us do. I don't think I can explain it any better than that. You are using your own imagined horrors to fill in all the gaps without thinking about any of the questions I had or the points made by HC.

It's what most people do when they read these reports because it's such a highly emotive subject. But speaking as someone with rather a lot of experience in the area, the variables are immense whcih is why it takes so many professionals to make these decisions.

[Prudie]

I agree we are thinking 'rape' in the horror of our own views of what it entails and with an adult mind. At 7 she may well not even have realised what was happening was wrong and it may well not affect her in later life at all (or it may, we can't surmise). At that age I think it's quite understandable that she wants her brother back in the family.

[hc4361]

'Rape' is too broad a term and maybe it does need reclassifying

[albaqwerty]

At that age, (the 7 year old) I hope she's had counselling if she's ever thought 'my brother doesn't live at home anymore and it's all my fault'

Dreadful, horrible set of circumstances.

[hc4361]

To put it bluntly, if the brother put his member in her mouth for one second that is rape. It makes no difference if he forced her, asked her to do it or dared her to do it - it is still rape.

I'm not saying it is not serious - it is and it is clearly wrong, but that would not impact the victim as much as vaginal rape with violence and threats.

[jno]

wise words from CD. We can't possibly know all the circumstances of the case (for which I'm glad).

[emmie]

it says raped and sexually assaulted, which he pleaded guilty to, i can't see how that's not clear enough So he goes back to the family eventually, i hope that the experts are right, unlikely to re offend.

[Prudie]

Is that rape hc? I'd have considered that sexual assault. I actually don't know.

[hc4361]

emmie, as I have said in great detail that the rape may have been very fleeting oral rape, maybe as part of a 'game' and sexual assault would be touching.

[hc4361]

Prudie

What is rape?

A person commits rape if they intentionally penetrate the vagina, anus or mouth of another person with their penis without consent.
http://content.met.police.uk/Article/Definitions/1400008450549/1400008450549

[hc4361]

What is sexual assault?

A person commits sexual assault if they intentionally touch another person, the touching is sexual and the person does not consent.

[emmie]

says much for the idea that only adults can access this sort of material.

[andy-hughes]

albaqwerty - not only are there endless free hardcore sites, most of them are linked to other sites, and it is very simple to navigate a path into seriously dreadful material at the click of a mouse - and again, no I.D. or credit card is required.

It is a proven fact that all technological advances in the internet since its inception have been driven and financed by purveyors of pornography - it's an industry that makes Class A drugs look like a market florist by comparison.

[hc4361]

I don't think anyone is saying that only adults can access it. Lobby groups and the government have forced ISPs to put automatic filters on the internet for new customers to block porn and there is lots of material in the media about the affects of porn on children, the early sexualisation of children and child protection.

[emmie]

i wonder at the parents then, they have a son who has committed a rape, and a daughter who has to live with it. Poor girl

[hc4361]

emmie, you seem totally blinkered on this issue. If you had read all the details and the reports on this case and the family I could understand your stance, but you haven't.

[albaqwerty]

I've another question, how does a 7 year old know she was raped?
It's not been reported so can only presume that she told mum and dad who were horrified about what they were told and did something about it.

Anyway, enough presuming, 2 plus 2 equals anything but 4.

[Mamyalynne]

Based on what little we know, I can only hope with the right counselling and guidance they can somehow rebuild their family unit.