Just typing his name makes me feel quite sick. And I absolutely refuse to upload a photo of him to my website.
I’ve kept very quiet about this. There have been TV documentaries, news items on all the major television channels and the face of this monster has been on the front of all the major red tops and broadsheets. I haven’t wanted to give this man energy at all and it took me a long time deliberating whether to give his memory space on my website. I look at him now and I see someone quite strange…don’t you?
So I write this feature to the victims who were on the receiving end of the vile acts of abuse that this “celebrity” undertook over 4 – 5 decades. The pain that was enveloped around their silence; the sleepless nights that they probably experienced; and the tears that they probably shed as they re-lived the experiences in their minds.
The question is “why didn’t anyone listen?”
Why didn’t anyone rescue these poor innocent children (and some adults), when they tried to explain what was happening to them?
Could it possibly be that at the time of the alleged incidents, radio and TV personalities were “special” people that you looked up to?
Could it possibly have been that at the time the stiff British upper lip meant that children “were seen and not heard”, so their cries for help fell on deaf ears?
Could it have possibly been that the “fame game” was so unique then, that to bring these acts to justice would have muddied the precious image of the celebrity?
The questions are endless, but what about the answers? Could it have been that the victims were unable to cope with how the press would have scandalised them for blowing the whistle?
What answers can these victims possibly be given to ease their pain and wipe out the past?
Are there any? The image of the accused person was so carefully crafted within his television programmes that we – the viewing public – believed that he was a caring and perfect man, so would anyone have believed these children after seeing the “lovely” man on the TV?
Well, shame on those who knew and did nothing, and shame on those who brushed off the complaints. Many additional victims have come forward since the initial TV documentary was aired, and I find it hard to believe that no one knew, so how could these secrets have been kept for so long? It must have taken some serious work to keep it all under cover. What is deliberately kept in the dark will always come out in the light, and there are a lot of lights beaming right now!
So in moving forward, how do we ensure that this cycle of behaviour isn’t repeated?
Could the answer be to just LISTEN to our children? Listen to the comments they make. Watch the change in behaviour. Listen for a change in language.
The video I’ve posted above is the new campaign from the NSPCC, Don’t wait until you’re certain. It says it loud and clear: LET”S LISTEN TO OUR CHILDREN.
Angie x
