I'm going to be incredibly lacking on detail in this post, as it is imperative that I totally protect all identities and locations, and yet at the same time I really feel that the general issue needs to be highlighted.
The last couple of days I have been receiving some e-mails from a very reliable source keeping me informed on the progress of a distressing case. A young girl, age 5, who is known by the particular source, was found to have been raped earlier in the week. Absolutely awful - that poor poor child.
It only came to light because staff members of the project noticed that the girl was going to the bathroom more often than normal, and was clearly in discomfort, and so after some discrete questioning of the child the horror of her experience started to be revealed.
There are lots of reasons not to disclose particulars, including of course the protection of identity of the child concerned. But one key reason is that the perpetrator still hasn't been apprehended, and although the child has named him, the police are being very slow to act, and therefore it is vital that the perpetrator doesn't get wind of anything. Now I'm not thinking that my blog is so mainstream that he would read about it on here, but even so I'm not taking any risks, hence not even saying which continent this took place on.
What really upsets me though is two-fold:
1. the act itself - a 5yr old innocent girl - raped. Violated forever. Innocence lost forever. Gentle smiling face forever undershadowed with a hidden horrible secret that she can't escape from. It should never happen, and again I find myself asking what sort of a broken world is it that means people do such awful acts.
2. the slow response of the authorities. If this had happened to a 5yr old daughter of a politician or an influential figure, or a rich business man, or one of those in authority, the response would be so prompt. No statements would be lost, and having to be re-given; no medical check appointments would be postponed; no costs would be charged such as to be an obstacle to ensuring justice takes place. But because this child is from a less-than-salubrious part of the world, and the authorities don't like going to that part of their patch, it is proving very hard to progress the case and achieve justice.
Every child is equally important in the eyes of God, there is no hierarchy or class structure. Why oh why can't it be the same here. When will the world recognise that everyone has an equal right to justice, and security, and that it shouldn't be based on ability to pay, or shout loud, or who you know, or where you live?
It is frustrating that there is nothing more I can do than pray (not that I am underestimating the power of prayer, its just that I am an action person, a 'fixer'), but pray we must
- for the child and her family
- for the project staff pursuing justice
- for the authorities, that they will speed up their actions and bring justice
- for the perpetrator, that he will be apprehended, receive a just sentence, and so recognise the error of his ways that he doesn't ever do such an act to anyone else.
Please join me in prayer for this situation, vague as it is, but knowing that God knows all that needs to be known. And please pray also for all children everywhere - that none others will experience what this little 5yr old went through.
The last couple of days I have been receiving some e-mails from a very reliable source keeping me informed on the progress of a distressing case. A young girl, age 5, who is known by the particular source, was found to have been raped earlier in the week. Absolutely awful - that poor poor child.
It only came to light because staff members of the project noticed that the girl was going to the bathroom more often than normal, and was clearly in discomfort, and so after some discrete questioning of the child the horror of her experience started to be revealed.
There are lots of reasons not to disclose particulars, including of course the protection of identity of the child concerned. But one key reason is that the perpetrator still hasn't been apprehended, and although the child has named him, the police are being very slow to act, and therefore it is vital that the perpetrator doesn't get wind of anything. Now I'm not thinking that my blog is so mainstream that he would read about it on here, but even so I'm not taking any risks, hence not even saying which continent this took place on.
What really upsets me though is two-fold:
1. the act itself - a 5yr old innocent girl - raped. Violated forever. Innocence lost forever. Gentle smiling face forever undershadowed with a hidden horrible secret that she can't escape from. It should never happen, and again I find myself asking what sort of a broken world is it that means people do such awful acts.
2. the slow response of the authorities. If this had happened to a 5yr old daughter of a politician or an influential figure, or a rich business man, or one of those in authority, the response would be so prompt. No statements would be lost, and having to be re-given; no medical check appointments would be postponed; no costs would be charged such as to be an obstacle to ensuring justice takes place. But because this child is from a less-than-salubrious part of the world, and the authorities don't like going to that part of their patch, it is proving very hard to progress the case and achieve justice.
Every child is equally important in the eyes of God, there is no hierarchy or class structure. Why oh why can't it be the same here. When will the world recognise that everyone has an equal right to justice, and security, and that it shouldn't be based on ability to pay, or shout loud, or who you know, or where you live?
It is frustrating that there is nothing more I can do than pray (not that I am underestimating the power of prayer, its just that I am an action person, a 'fixer'), but pray we must
- for the child and her family
- for the project staff pursuing justice
- for the authorities, that they will speed up their actions and bring justice
- for the perpetrator, that he will be apprehended, receive a just sentence, and so recognise the error of his ways that he doesn't ever do such an act to anyone else.
Please join me in prayer for this situation, vague as it is, but knowing that God knows all that needs to be known. And please pray also for all children everywhere - that none others will experience what this little 5yr old went through.
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