Few income gains during past 30 years
for families with kids, Ontario study says
Toronto Star, by Rita Daly, Staff Reporter, May 7, 2007
Half of Ontario families raising children have seen their
fortunes stagnate or fall behind compared with a decade
ago, while the incomes of the richest have soared, says
a new study on the growing income gap.
And since 1998, the gap between Ontario's richest and
poorest families raising children has widened at a faster
pace than the rest of the nation as a whole, says the study
by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives being released
tomorrow.
As the top 10 per cent of richest families bask in increasingly
good fortune, 40 per cent of Ontario's families with children
( more than 600,000 households ) have seen little or no
gains in their incomes for the past 30 years, despite being
better educated and working longer hours.
"Most Ontario families raising children in the bottom
half of the income distribution are struggling with stretching
a paycheque that hasn't grown in a generation," says the
report.
Meanwhile, "the richest 10 per cent of families never
had it so good," the report states.
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, an independent
research institute concerned with social and economic justice
issues, released a similar report in March that examined
the income gap on a national basis. Both analyses are based
on 28 years of Statistics Canada data on families raising
children under the age of 18 over approximately three decades,
from 1976 to 2004.
In the first two decades, the widening income gap between
rich and poor in Ontario generally reflected a pattern across
the country.
But the past decade saw something different. Income figures
show the growing gap between the richest and poorest hit
a record high across the country, with Ontario outpacing
the national trend.
The Ontario numbers show that the richest 10 per cent
of families raising children - those with earnings of Read More ..
than $146,000 in 2004 (not including investments and other
assets) - earned 75 times the amount of the poorest 10 per
cent. In 1976, the richest earned 27 times as much.
As the richest break away from the pack, those households
with incomes less than $56,000 in 2004, earned less or stayed
the same, in inflation-adjusted terms, compared to a generation
ago, the report states.
The gap narrows considerably in after-tax income, which
takes into consideration income tax deductions and any government
programs that prop up families with low-incomes. But the
report shows even that gap has grown in the last decade.
The after-tax income of the richest 10 per cent of families
grew from eight to 10 times greater than the poorest 10
per cent nationally since 1998. In Ontario, the income of
the richest families grew from eight to 11 times greater
than the poorest.
The figures reveal not just a story of income disparity
and poverty, but about affordability, said the study's author
Armine Yalnizyan, an economist and research director for
the Toronto Community Social Planning Council.
"It isn't just keeping up with the Joneses. It isn't
just about the granite countertop. It's about where can
you afford to live. Then, that has a whole cascading effect
on how much you can eat, how much you can save, and what
else can you do if your incomes are stagnant," she said.
Tomorrow night a Star-sponsored public forum
at the St. Lawrence Centre, the third in a series, is expected
to host a lively debate on the issue. Entitled "Your Family
Paycheque: Is it Keeping Pace?" the forum, moderated by Toronto Star columnist Thomas Walkom, features
Bob Rae, former premier of Ontario, Finn Poschmann, research
director for the C.D. Howe Institute, community activist
Parbattie Shirley Ramsarran and the Canadian Centre for
Policy Alternatives' Yalnizyan.
Cristina Benvenuto, a 34-year-old single parent of three
young girls, says she is among the many families unable
to get ahead. Nearly half of her $2,500 a month net income
goes to rent in a red-hot Toronto housing market, leaving
little for food, clothing, childcare, utilities and unforeseen
expenses.
"I keep trying to get somewhere but I keep getting stuck,"
she said.
Her income as a full-time receptionist, and including
the National Child Benefit, nets about $30,000 a year, below
Statistics Canada's low-income cut-off of $31,865 for a
family of four in a city the size of Toronto.
"This all comes down to the government needing to take
a look at people's incomes and the issue of affordable housing,"
she said.
A surprising 86% of survivors of sexual
abuse were not believed when they said the abuser was a woman.
Many myths were exposed, such as the one that women only sexually abused
when coerced by men - they in fact played the lead part. Also the myth that
women are incapable of cruelty - what was shown was beyond belief.
Women commit 25% of all child sexual abuse
250,000 children in UK have been sexually abused by women
Women in our society have been portrayed as victims, but somewhere within
their victimisation they have learned that to abuse children gave them a
sense of power, control, agency, and therefore they use the abuse of children
to gain those things.
Jacqui Saradjiam: (clinical psychologist)
I think people find it so difficult to see that women sexually abuse children
because the whole view of women is of nurturers, carers, protectors - people
who do anything to look after children - and they see the women as victims
rather than enemies or perpetrators of any abuse.
Michelle Elliott: (Director - children's charity Kidscape)
I think the issue strikes at the core of what we perceive ourselves as women
to be. I think that it's easier to think that it's men - men the enemy,
somehow - but it can't be women - it's one thing women can't do. Women can
be equal, we can be free, we can be in charge of companies, but we can't
sexually abuse children - That's a load of rubbish.
A married primary schoolteacher was jailed for 15 months yesterday after admitting having sex with an underage
teenage boy.
Hannah Grice, 32, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to two counts of indecent assault on the boy, who was aged
14 and 15 at the time of the offences.
Sentencing her at Stafford crown court, Judge John Shand told Grice, from Cannock, Staffordshire, she had abused
her position of trust.
"Cases such as this are, of course, made worse by the fact that you were a member of the teaching profession," he
told her. "You should have been very sensitive indeed to child welfare issues." Grice was also ordered to register
as a sex offender for 10 years. Read More ..
"... the existence of a double standard in the care and
treatment of male victims, and the invisibility and normalization of
violence and abuse toward boys and young men in our society.
Despite the fact that over 300 books and articles on male
victims have been published in the last 25 to 30 years, boys and teen males
remain on the periphery of the discourse on child abuse.
Few workshops about males can be found at most child abuse
conferences and there are no specialized training programs for clinicians.
Male-centred assessment is all but non-existent and treatment programs are
rare. If we are talking about adult males, the problem is even
greater. A sad example of this was witnessed recently in Toronto. After a
broadcast of The Boys of St. Vincent, a film about the abuse of boys
in a church-run orphanage, the Kids' Help Phone received over 1,000
calls from distraught adult male survivors of childhood sexual abuse. It is
tragic in a way no words can capture that these men had no place to turn to
other than a children's crisis line."
Ontario's male victims of child sexual assault are being ignored
by a provincial government that focuses all its attention on women, a newly
launched lobby group that wants equitable funding argued Monday.
The group the Ontario Association of Male Survivor Services says that
one man in five was sexually abused as a child and that ignoring the problem
makes it harder for these men to recover.
"We've got to stop thinking that sexual violence is just a women's
issue," said Rick Goodwin, executive director of the not-profit organization
that will operate the lobby group, in a telephone interview from Ottawa. "In
this day and age, that's absurd.".
Correctional Services Canada Service correctionnel du Canada
Délinquantes sexuelles sous la
responsabilité du Service correctionnel du Canada, études de cas
LITERATURE REVIEW ON FEMALE SEX OFFENDERS
Although there is an increasing literature on male sex offenders,
there is a noticeable dearth of information concerning female sex
offenders. Most of the work in the area has come from three of the
largest prison programs for female sex offenders in Missouri, Minnesota,
and Kentucky.
OVERALL NEGLECT OF FEMALE SEXUAL OFFENCES
For a variety of societal reasons, female sexual abuse is likely to
remain unnoticed. Some researchers have found that the incidence of
sexual contact with boys by women is much Read More ..evalent than is
contended in the clinical literature (Condy, Templer Brown & Veaco,
1987). Despite society's increasing concern about sexual assault, there
may be several reasons for the under-reporting of female sexual abuse of
both child and adult victims. Traditionally, society has held
preconceptions of women as non-violent nurturers. Women in general, and
mothers Read More ..ecifically, have Read More ..eedom than men to touch children
(Marvasti, 1986). Therefore, a man may be Read More ..sily perceived as
abusive when touching a child than when a woman touches a child in a
similar manner (Plummer, 1981). Further, sexual offences perpetrated by
women are often incestuous in nature and children may be reluctant to
report sexual contact with a parent on whom they are dependent (Groth,
1979). Health care workers are often unable to detect mother-child
incest as mothers often accompany their children to the doctor's office.
This may serve as a barrier to detecting sexual abuse of the child
(Elliott & Peterson, 1993). The medical profession is only reluctantly
becoming sensitive to the fact that females can, in fact, be
perpetrators of sexual abuse (Wilkins, 1990; Krug, 1989).
EXAMEN DE LA DOCUMENTATION SUR LES DÉLINQUANTES SEXUELLES
La documentation sur les délinquants sexuels s'accroît alors que
l'information sur les délinquantes sexuelles est clairement déficiente.
La plupart des travaux en ce domaine proviennent de trois des programmes
les plus importants établis pour les délinquantes sexuelles au Missouri,
au Minnesota et au Kentucky.
DÉSINTÉRESSEMENT GÉNÉRAL À L'ÉGARD DES INFRACTIONS SEXUELLES
COMMISES PAR DES FEMMES
Pour diverses raisons sociales, les mauvais traitements sexuels
infligés par les femmes demeurent généralement cachés. Certains
chercheurs ont découvert que l'incidence des contacts sexuels entre des
femmes et des garçons est beaucoup plus élevée que ne l'estime la
documentation clinique (Condy, Templer Brown et Veaco, 1987). En dépit
du fait que la société se préoccupe de plus en plus de l'agression
sexuelle, plusieurs raisons pourraient faire que l'on parle moins des
cas de mauvais traitements sexuels infligés par des femmes à des enfants
ou à des adultes. La société a toujours perçu les femmes comme des
nourricières non violentes. Les femmes en général, et surtout les mères,
ont plus de latitude pour toucher les enfants que les hommes (Marvasti,
1986). Par conséquent, un homme qui touche un enfant de la même manière
que le fait une femme peut être plus facilement perçu comme un agresseur
(Plummer, 1981). En outre, les infractions sexuelles commises par des
femmes sont souvent de nature incestueuse et les enfants peuvent hésiter
à dénoncer un contact sexuel avec un parent dont ils dépendent (Groth,
1979). Les travailleurs du domaine de la santé sont souvent incapables
de déceler les cas d'inceste entre l'enfant et la mère car cette
dernière accompagne souvent l'enfant au bureau du médecin. Cela peut
empêcher de dépister les mauvais traitements sexuels infligés à l'enfant
(Elliott et Peterson, 1993). La profession médicale prend à contrecoeur
conscience du fait que les femmes peuvent en fait infliger de mauvais
traitements sexuels. (Wilkins, 1990; Krug, 1989).Read More ..
CORNWALL, Ont. - Male victims of childhood sexual abuse need
specialized support services and a provincial ombudsman dedicated to
their plight, the Cornwall inquiry heard Friday as the $40-million probe
drew to a close after three years of testimony.
The inquiry, established to examine institutional responses to
allegations of sexual abuse in eastern Ontario, spent the majority of
its final week hearing submissions dealing with allegations that a
pedophile clan operated with impunity in the city for decades.
Lawyers at the inquiry cast the clan stories as fabrications spread
by a misguided police officer and embraced by a panic-stricken
community.
On Friday, the submissions focused on healing and reconciliation for
the community and victims.
Following a complaint in 1992 that a former altar boy had been
sexually abused by a priest and a probation officer, many others came
forward to allege they had also been abused by prominent people decades
ago.
Many of those complainants were men, and a lawyer for the counselling
group The Men's Project said even though there were a lot of community
services in the city at the time, none could adequately handle men's
counselling.
"In fact, they had to bring in my client from Ottawa because they
were the only ones with expertise to deal with this," David Bennett told
the inquiry.
"Even though there were existing social services they just weren't
able to deal with it and (that's) why there needs to be a specialized
area."
Both The Men's Project and the Victims Group urged the commissioner
to recommend that the Ontario government create victim treatment service
centres for male survivors of sexual abuse province wide.
Both groups also called for the province to create a sex abuse
ombudsman.
"There has been a theme from survivors of not being believed, getting
the run-around, being kept in the dark, which for some had the effect of
re-victimization," the Men's Project said in its written submissions.
"An ombudsman could rectify this."
In addition, the government needs to remedy how treatment for sexual
abuse victims is funded, the Men's Project said.
Read More ..
Baby-faced Alfie, who is 13 but looks more like
eight, became a father four days ago when his girlfriend Chantelle
Steadman gave birth to 7lb 3oz Maisie Roxanne.
He told how he, at 12 years old, and Chantelle, 15, decided against an
abortion after discovering she was pregnant.
Correctional Services Canada Service correctionnel du Canada
Délinquantes sexuelles sous la
responsabilité du Service correctionnel du Canada, études de cas
LITERATURE REVIEW ON FEMALE SEX OFFENDERS
Although there is an increasing literature on male sex offenders,
there is a noticeable dearth of information concerning female sex
offenders. Most of the work in the area has come from three of the
largest prison programs for female sex offenders in Missouri, Minnesota,
and Kentucky.
OVERALL NEGLECT OF FEMALE SEXUAL OFFENCES
For a variety of societal reasons, female sexual abuse is likely to
remain unnoticed. Some researchers have found that the incidence of
sexual contact with boys by women is much Read More ..evalent than is
contended in the clinical literature (Condy, Templer Brown & Veaco,
1987). Despite society's increasing concern about sexual assault, there
may be several reasons for the under-reporting of female sexual abuse of
both child and adult victims. Traditionally, society has held
preconceptions of women as non-violent nurturers. Women in general, and
mothers Read More ..ecifically, have Read More ..eedom than men to touch children
(Marvasti, 1986). Therefore, a man may be Read More ..sily perceived as
abusive when touching a child than when a woman touches a child in a
similar manner (Plummer, 1981). Further, sexual offences perpetrated by
women are often incestuous in nature and children may be reluctant to
report sexual contact with a parent on whom they are dependent (Groth,
1979). Health care workers are often unable to detect mother-child
incest as mothers often accompany their children to the doctor's office.
This may serve as a barrier to detecting sexual abuse of the child
(Elliott & Peterson, 1993). The medical profession is only reluctantly
becoming sensitive to the fact that females can, in fact, be
perpetrators of sexual abuse (Wilkins, 1990; Krug, 1989).
EXAMEN DE LA DOCUMENTATION SUR LES DÉLINQUANTES SEXUELLES
La documentation sur les délinquants sexuels s'accroît alors que
l'information sur les délinquantes sexuelles est clairement déficiente.
La plupart des travaux en ce domaine proviennent de trois des programmes
les plus importants établis pour les délinquantes sexuelles au Missouri,
au Minnesota et au Kentucky.
DÉSINTÉRESSEMENT GÉNÉRAL À L'ÉGARD DES INFRACTIONS SEXUELLES
COMMISES PAR DES FEMMES
Pour diverses raisons sociales, les mauvais traitements sexuels
infligés par les femmes demeurent généralement cachés. Certains
chercheurs ont découvert que l'incidence des contacts sexuels entre des
femmes et des garçons est beaucoup plus élevée que ne l'estime la
documentation clinique (Condy, Templer Brown et Veaco, 1987). En dépit
du fait que la société se préoccupe de plus en plus de l'agression
sexuelle, plusieurs raisons pourraient faire que l'on parle moins des
cas de mauvais traitements sexuels infligés par des femmes à des enfants
ou à des adultes. La société a toujours perçu les femmes comme des
nourricières non violentes. Les femmes en général, et surtout les mères,
ont plus de latitude pour toucher les enfants que les hommes (Marvasti,
1986). Par conséquent, un homme qui touche un enfant de la même manière
que le fait une femme peut être plus facilement perçu comme un agresseur
(Plummer, 1981). En outre, les infractions sexuelles commises par des
femmes sont souvent de nature incestueuse et les enfants peuvent hésiter
à dénoncer un contact sexuel avec un parent dont ils dépendent (Groth,
1979). Les travailleurs du domaine de la santé sont souvent incapables
de déceler les cas d'inceste entre l'enfant et la mère car cette
dernière accompagne souvent l'enfant au bureau du médecin. Cela peut
empêcher de dépister les mauvais traitements sexuels infligés à l'enfant
(Elliott et Peterson, 1993). La profession médicale prend à contrecoeur
conscience du fait que les femmes peuvent en fait infliger de mauvais
traitements sexuels. (Wilkins, 1990; Krug, 1989).Read More ..
Female Sex Offender Danielle Jones
Stambaugh Middle School Auburndale, Fl., USA Arrest
date: June 5, 2008 Victims ages: 14 - 16 Suspect age: 31
Science teacher Danielle Jones, 32, was arrested June 5, 2008 on several
charges related to having sex with various boys ranging in age from 14 to
16. According to police, the alleged contact began in the 2005-06 school
year and continued until May 2008 when one of the boys told a school employee.
A married primary schoolteacher was jailed for 15 months yesterday after admitting having sex with an underage
teenage boy.
Hannah Grice, 32, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to two counts of indecent assault on the boy, who was aged
14 and 15 at the time of the offences.
Sentencing her at Stafford crown court, Judge John Shand told Grice, from Cannock, Staffordshire, she had abused
her position of trust.
"Cases such as this are, of course, made worse by the fact that you were a member of the teaching profession," he
told her. "You should have been very sensitive indeed to child welfare issues." Grice was also ordered to register
as a sex offender for 10 years. Read More ..
