Understanding the perpetrators walked among us

We will never know the scale of sexual abuse in our institutions, or how far back in history they go; “historic” covers a lot of ground.  What we know for sure is the lifelong damage caused by this abuse.  Yesterday’s SFA review, apologies from clubs and the Association, and many criminal convictions, cannot repair the damage done, but it vindicates those who brought the issue to light.

It is hard to understand that the perpetrators walked among us, lived otherwise normal lives and held positions of respect.  It could be decades before we know if the problems of the past persist today, such is the imbalance of power between abuser and victim.  As a society, as families or as parents, we cannot be complacent.  Boys clubs, churches and youth organisations were targeted in the past, but if these types still walk among us, and they almost certainly do, they will look where vigilance is less.