Same tragic story, a new chapter...

Save the Children UK released a photo of "Elizabeth," a 12-year-old who said she was raped by 10 peacekeepers in Ivory Coast last June, an example of the abuses listed in the report.

As you read the following (and link to the complete report) you will have a sickening sense of deja vu. Some important details here are the same and others very different, but the outline is sadly familiar and the contents depressingly similar to the story of sexual abuse by clergy in the Catholic Church.

This report reminds us of the need to be ever vigilant in how we care for children and provide a safe environment for them, particularly when their vulnerability makes them easy targets for predators.

What can we do?

We can take advantage, without grumbling, of every opportunity our parishes, schools and communities offer to learn more about the dangers facing children and ways to be vigilant on their behalf. We can respond in a timely fashion when parishes and schools and children's organizations ask us to complete a CORI form. We can make a conscious effort to never take a child's safety for granted and to learn and keep ourselves open to the behavioral signs children exhibit when they are being abused. We can continue to call Church leadership and ourselves to accountablilty for the care, safety and protection of children.

-ConcordPastor

Peacekeepers accused of sexual abuse of children

Crimes widespread, British charity says

The British-based aid agency Save the Children UK said in a report released yesterday that it has uncovered evidence of widespread sexual abuse of children at the hands of peacekeepers and international aid workers in war zones and disaster areas. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, expressing "deep concern," said the United Nations will investigate the allegations that its peacekeepers are involved in the abuse.

The report, based on field research in southern Sudan, Ivory Coast, and Haiti, describes a litany of sexual crimes committed by peacekeepers and relief workers against children as young as 6.

It said some children were denied food aid unless they granted sexual favors; others were forced to have sex or to take part in child pornography; many more were subjected to improper touching or kissing.

"The report shows sexual abuse has been widely underreported because children are afraid to come forward," Jasmine Whitbread, chief executive of Save the Children UK, told Associated Press Television News. The report is entitled "No One to Turn To."

"A tiny proportion of peacekeepers and aid workers are abusing the children they were sent to protect. It ranges from sex for food to coerced sex. It's despicable."

Calling the sexual exploitation of minors a "very serious issue," Ban reiterated that he has a "zero tolerance" policy for such acts by UN personnel.

"I think that the report is very valuable and does give us some good points to which the United Nations should continue to address this issue," Ban said. "On all these cases which have been raised, we will very carefully investigate" and will take "necessary measures" where appropriate.

Earlier, UN spokeswoman Michele Montas had welcomed the report. "It's fair, and I think it's essentially accurate," she said...

(Read the complete report.)

-Edith Lederer, Associated Press, 5/28/08