Cathal Barry Emily Logan said it was “much more worrying” that a higher percentage of children were likely to be abused by a family member or somebody within their community.
The media’s excessive focus on the small number of priests who have abused children obscures the full facts about the wider issue of abuse, a leading child protection watchdog has warned.
Children’s Ombudsman Emily Logan said it was “much more worrying” that a higher percentage of children were likely to be abused by a family member or somebody within their community.
“I think because there has been a huge predominance in the media about the coverage of clerical sex abuse it has slightly distorted the picture,” she said.
“The last picture we had was in the SAVI [Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland] report and in fact clerical sex abuse accounts for only 6% of child abuse and in fact much more worrying is the statistics of 20-25% of children abused by somebody that is known to them, either in their family or
in their extended family or community.
“I think we have had probably some discomfort in talking about those things, but it’s important that we don’t forget that,” she warned.
Speaking on Newstalk’s Lunchtime this week, Ms Logan also warned against complacency when it comes to protecting children from abusers.
“I would always feel cautious about being complacent or feeling that we have done so much now that we can relax about child protection. I don’t think we can.
“The issue isn’t gone away. I’m keen having spent 10 years of focussing on child protection to make sure that we don’t forget that the issue of child protection still remains for children at risk,” she said.