Quote From: weirving I think your previous experiences are coloring how you are seeing the current situation. There are medical reasons for this "rawness" that should be investigated before you ruin peoples' lives with investigations into pedophilia! Urinary infections of various types are COMMON in small children. Sexual abuse is what you investigate LAST - AFTER you have eliminated the other - and more likely - possible causes!
People with experience with pedophilia or even people who KNOW people with experience with pedophilia, tend to look under every rock for pedophiles. Be aware that when you ring that bell, when you report someone for investigation of child sexual abuse, IT CANNOT BE UNRUNG! An investigation, to most people, is the same as an outright accusation, and an accusation is the same as conviction.
Allow me to tell a short story. I have a friend - a former elementary music teacher. He had taught well and successfully for many years. I know him because he was also a professional musician with whom I worked frequently. He was also gay - openly so, in a long-term relationship with a partner. After a virulent and particularly vicious Evangelical right wing element took over his school board, there was an active campaign begun to rid the schools of all gay teachers - legally if possible, by methods slimy and underhanded if necessary (
Anything is justified when doing the Lord's work, after all).
He was accused by a student of molestation. Pending investigation, his teaching certificate was suspended and since the initial investigation's results were "inconclusive," later revoked, and as a result he was fired from his job and could not get another. It was determined, upon further investigation by police authorities, that the accusation was not only false, the student was prompted to make the accusation by his parents, who just didn't want a "queer" teaching their child. The parents
were not charged (!) but my friend did get his teaching certificate re-instated. But the school board refused to give him his job back and
despite his proven innocence, no other school district would hire him! He was "damaged goods."
He sued the school district that fired him and the parents of the child who accused him and eventually won his job back with full back pay and millions in punitive and compensatory damages (he needed those, because he was unemployable elsewhere). Despite his victory, he was never able to resume his music program as before. Early upon his return to work, there were pickets outside his home and his school by good godly Christians telling him to repent, that he was going to hell, etc. And he got death threats by mail and left on his answering machine, even slipped under the windshield wipers of his car. These eventually tapered off, but the school district continued to make his job as difficult as possible by diverting or cutting his funding, pre-empting his schedules, capriciously moving his venues - anything to subvert, obstruct or frustrate him, hoping that if they make his job impossible enough, he will throw in the towel and quit.
After nearly two years of this torment, the school district's dreams came true. My friend suffered a massive heart attack and died. He was 56. Up to the point his life was turned into hell on earth by vicious religious zealots, he was a vibrant and healthy man in his middle age, making a career in the fields he loved - teaching and music. By the time he died, he was a broken man. I don't have any way to know whether he would not have suffered that heart attack regardless, but I am nevertheless convinced that those evil people, in the name of God, killed that good man who did plenty of good in his lifetime and never harmed a soul. This was the equivalent of a public stoning, like they still do in places like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Afghanistan. Only this was crueler, because it took years instead of minutes.
And it all started with a false accusation of child sexual abuse by evil and vindictive people who were 'doing God's work.'
I understand the desire to protect a child. I say protect her, by all means. But look at the possible MEDICAL causes for her condition first. Don't ruin some person's life lightly. He just MAY be innocent and once the suspicion has been cast in a man's direction, whether he is found innocent or guilty, he will never be allowed to live it down.
[That is why I have counseled young people who want to go into teaching to strongly re-consider the wisdom of that in today's toxic political and social climate, or at the very least, to get street-wise on the law, to learn how to protect themselves pre-emptively from that student who may accuse a teacher of sexual abuse in retaliation for a bad grade or as revenge for any injustice, real or imagined. Sorry about your friend, that is an awful thing to go through gay or not. It's too bad that there are some religious people out there that want to torment people for their lifestyle or behavior. I am a very strong Christian, and from what I know of the Lord he loves all of us and wants us to love his people the same way. I will definitely give this some time and a lot of discernment. I posted this note to see if anyone knew of any other symptoms or causes that can cause a baby's genital area to look this way. I feel in my heart that this family is very loving and caring with their children and it's the last thing I want to accuse someone of if there is even a slight possibility that it can be caused by something else. I have raised little boys, and have cared for older kids that were potty trained so I am not sure what looks normal in that area. Thanks for your note.
