Table 5. Gender of Abusers of Male Victims in Treatment Groups
Male perpetrated 54 100.0 %
Female perpetrated 39 72.2 %
Extrafamilial Abuse (N=55)
Male adult 50 90.9 %
Female adult 30 54.5 %
Male adolescent 39 70.9 %
Female adolescent 24 43.6 %
===<end quote>===
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Let’s look at the statistics of physical abuse and neglect that Frederick Matthews presents in his next paragraph (I arranged some of the data into a table and added the column with the figures on relative odds).
Physical Abuse and Neglect
>From the Ontario Incidence Study (investigations of child maltreatment)
This article presents descriptive findings from the Ontario
and Neglect (OIS). OIS is the first Canadian study to examine the
reported maltreatment. The study is based on a survey form
a representative sample of 2,447 investigated children. OIS found
maltreatment of 21 per thousand children, and a 27% substantiation
the following information was excerpted and quoted by Frederick Matthews:
physical abuse 41%
sexual abuse 24%
neglect 30%
emotional maltreatment 10%
other forms of maltreatment 2%
two or more forms of suspected maltreatment in 12%
substantiated maltreatment 27%
suspected maltreatment 30%
unsubstantiated maltreatment 42%
Note: The following statistics do not specify rates of abuse. They do specify the rates of children alleged to have been abused. Although from the preceding table it is apparent that 27% of allegations were substantiated, it is not possible to tell from the data presented by Frederick Matthews what the substantiation rate for each individual category in the following tables was.
Gender of investigated children male female
All maltreatment investigations 49% 51%
Sexual abuse investigations 35% 65%
Parental caretakers of investigated children % of all families[1}
Relative Odds[3]
Both biological parents 34%
78.7 1
Biological parent and a step parent 19% 4.3
32.8
Single mother 36%
14.6 5.1
Single father 6% 1.1
405.4[2]
Notes: 1) Based on national distribution of children aged 0 to 11 year per
The size of the sample of children about which report were made (2,447 in all)
involved,
those
care
Primary source of income for % of all families[1} Relative Odds[2]
investigated children’s family
Social Assistance 38% 11.4 14.7
Other 72% 88.6 1
Notes: 1) Based on Ontario distribution of children aged 0 to 11 year by
to
that is not on social assistance.
Type of housing in which investigated children resided
Subsidized housing 17%
Other 83%
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Although Frederick Matthews explains why and that men cause greater physical injuries to children and that they do so more often, Bureau of Justice Statistics child-murder data from the US do indicate that biological mothers are the perpetrators of child murder in 55% of the cases and biological fathers are the perpetrators in 6% of the cases (with the second most frequent murderers of children being the biological mothers’ boyfriends).
Frederick Matthews makes a very impassioned plea that additional research is required to determine the degree to which boys are being subjected to all types of abuse, but he does indicate that there are very good reasons to assume that the abuse of boys, including sexual abuse by women is far underreported and gives many reasons to substantiate that.
Much of our legislation is being introduced based on waves of popularity for a specific issue that gained public attention. In the case of Bill C-245 it is the sexual abuse of boys by homosexuals. However, that would encompass only a small fraction of the sexual abuse of boys. We will not have equitable justice in relation to any type of abuse of boys or children if we insist to govern by popular opinions promulgated in the media. What is required is to make an objective analysis of any situation before we engage on the introduction of any legislation. Regardless of the current attempts to formulate such bills into gender-neutral language, it will be the popular opinion or, more correctly, "politically correct" perceptions that will govern the application of any law.
There is no objectivity in our justice system. Contrary to the ostensible claims, Justice is not blind. Furthermore, Justice is a lady with an awful weapon.
PS. For good measure, I would like to throw in another item of information. Based on the findings shown in the Grand Jury Report for Humboldt County in California, of figures pertaining to infanticide being falsely reported as SIDS (a rate of 50% in all of the SIDS cases in Humboldt County—at a rate of 3.4 cases of SIDS reported per 1000 live births) and extrapolating from that and using the average SIDS rate for California of about 1.7 cases of SIDS per 1000 live births, it may be that about 3,100 child murders every year are being falsely reported as SIDS cases in the US. Extrapolating from that to Canada, that would mean that as many as about 400 cases of child murder occur in Canada every year that are currently being reported as SIDS. That would be about ten times the number currently reported for infanticide. Now why does Mr. John Finlay not sink his teeth into that one? Would he dare? Will anyone dare? Think of it this way: the most popular weapon in the murder of our children is a pillow or a mother’s breast used to smother a child! (How does anyone register those weapons?) Will Mr. John Finlay call for life sentences for that as well?
It sure would be interesting to know how Mr. Finlay rationalizes that the murder of a child can possibly be deemed far less important than sexual molestation. The opinions he offered in his speech are insufficient explanation for singling out one specific type of crime for special consideration and not others just as or even more vile and atrocious. Consider the case of Danielle Blais who didn’t serve a single day of her sentence of two years less than a day for the deliberate drowning in the murder of her two-year old son.
Update, Dec. 15, 2002: there are 4 million live births per year in the US, so if 1.7 SIDS deaths per 1000 live births are actually infanticide, then 6,800 SIDS deaths are actually murders committed by mothers.
In addition, an unknown but significant portion of the other 6,800 SIDS deaths were actually due to adverse reactions to vaccines, which are deaths which aren't reported to the federal health authorities, as required.
