Jimmy Savile

The young girls in the sixties were a bit immature and could be taken advantage of. Hopefully this will be a warning to the girls of today .Maybe the famous people will keep there hands to themselves.

Some of the victims did try to complain at the time but the culture was such that they were not believed, or they were believed but nobody was willing to confront the powerful men.
If somebody had assaulted me or my daughters I would want them brought to justice no matter how long it took.
I think we must not give the impression that we accept the same culture that allowed it to happen. These incidents were not trivial to many of the women or children. DNA is now providing the means of trying people for murders committed thirty years ago - surely the time lapse does not confer immunity.

Does not mean that these guys have stopped though does it petallus - they may be still abusing.
I think the sexual harassment allegations within the BBC against adult females, though serious, should be dealt with by the BBC as appropriate e.g. terminate contract or take disciplinary action via their procedures. And I think that is what is happening.

The thing is, though, it is grown up women making the accusations about something that supposedly happened many years ago.

It's all getting out of hand.

Oh! (to Jodi)

I am afraid that male "celebs" think that they have carte blanche with females. A well-known TV person came to my work place many years ago to present a programme and the first thing he wanted to know was "Where are the girls for me?" Sickening. Good thing it was not me he asked or he would have got very short shrift.

Not grown women in Stuart Halls case I believe.

I guess Max Clifford should get in touch with a good PR man.

It's getting ridiculous, trying to clear up messes made years ago. Witchhunt. Probably for compensation. These were grown women.

I was about to suggest a sweepstake, but we'd end up in multiple libel cases.

But if we start guessing we could be done for libel...

Good question.

Stuart Hall and now Max Clifford. Who will be next?

The problem is it is very difficult to assess how some one will be affected by an event. A few years ago I was juror in a trial of historic 'sex abuse'. the girl was only 8 when it happened and it involved one brief non-penetrative grope and briefly showing pornographic magazines to this girl, plus another girl reported exposure and again being briefly shown pornographic magazines. There was no suggestion that anything more had happened or been repeated and it was clear the police had trawled very extensively for further victims and found none.

It was obvious from the evidence that the child in the first instance, now a young woman of about 30, had been deeply traumatised by the event and as jurors talking outside the jury room we concluded that the case had possibly arisen because the girl had sought counselling and Counsellors are obliged to report sex abuse to the police.. Yet having had similar brief and not repeated experiences as a child, I was unaffected by them and my daughter, who was similar in age to the girl was unable to understand why someone should have been so traumatised by what she considered was a relatively minor event. But the fact was that one child was severely traumatised by what might only temporarily puzzle or distress another child.

Ella46 I agree that the police seem to be going for the easier targets.

Boorish, ill-mannered creeps groping girls lower down the pecking-order at work, and celebrities taking advantage of teenagers is one thing - as gross as that is, is far removed from sadistic housemasters, priests, fathers, step-fathers who are systematically sexually abusing young children over many years.

Yes greatnan - a lot of that goes on. I was talking the other day to someone who worked in the BBC (as a freelance) and she found herself locked in the photocopier room with a randy manager. She's a big girl and she sorted him out - but....she is a freelance and it would be very simple for him to use someone else next time and freeze her out of lots of future work.

I was always able to tell men to 'p*iss off', even when I was only a teenager, but I know some women who are put under pressure by their boss and one friend lost a good job because she wouldn't agree to the advances of her line manager. He gave her a very poor assessment which was totally undeserved, but she felt too demoralised to fight it.

I think that it is so difficult to extract the real harm that youngsters suffered as a result of paedophile activity and the sexual fumblings of over ego-ed celebs and the 'groupies' who were flattered and keen to get involved.

I agree that some girls, with hindsight may regret what happened, but different to those youngsters who were not looking for anything sexual at all.

Actually it was the (mid - late) 60s for me, but my skirts were so short anyway......

Exactly Phoenix and * bookdreamer*

bookdreamer have to agree - groping and the like were not unheard of in the 60s and 70s in most work places - assume DJs were a little over ego-ed and thought they were God's gift to women. doubt that any woman has not been 'molested' in this way and I have to say it does not traumatise you for life. Children and hospital patients are an entirely different case and the perpetrators deserve to have the book thrown at them.
it all seems to much akin to a witch hunt

phoenix I agree. We just used to tell them to get lost.

We had a local GP and a solicitor who were always doing it! Both dead.

Anno, I`m afraid that years ago I was one of those for whom Cyril Smith could do no wrong. I have very fond memories of him coming to our school Christmas carol service every year in Rochdale Town Hall, and seeing the 2 reserved chairs in the front row. I never heard any rumours about him until fairly recently, and was so disappointed and upset by them, never would have thought in a million years that such a thing could happen.