Could It Happen Here ?.

There has been much justified outrage in the press and amongst the public at large, regarding some recent cases of child abuse and murder. Leaving aside the issues surrounding child protection which are beyond the scope of this blog, I think there is a legitimate question to be asked about whether or not such things could happen in our community.

Many of us like to think that we live in a village where the social bonds are strong and that in a cohesive community such as ours abuse of children or the vunerable would be spotted and reported at a fairly early stage, whikst I would like to think so I think its open to some doubt as to whether abuses would be spotted in the way that we like to think they once would have been. In Silverton, as elsewhere, the extended family is a thing of the past and changed work patterns and more mobility often mean that we do not know our neighbours in the way that we once would have. Then there is the reluctance to become involved with authority with all the time wasting and form filling that this often entails, plus of course, the usual reluctance to accept that such things could hapen here.

I think we have to thake the view that whilst serious abuses are unlikely to go undetected amongst ius, they are not impossible. Once we accept that simple truth it makes it a lot easier to sot when things are going wrong and to act accordingly. One thing that the ghastly murder of Colleen Chudley should have taught us all is that, picturesque as it may be, Silverton is in no way immune from the woes of the world.