by Peter Watt
Sometimes the political world becomes a parody of itself, and Monday was one of those days. Faced with a barrage of revelation relating to the grim antics of James Savile how did it respond? With glee at another political bun fight and the sight of someone else being brought down in front of a select committee. Congratulations everyone, job well done.
Let’s be really, really clear about what has happened. An iconic figure from the world of the media, a children’s TV presenter for god’s sake, has got away with abusing children over a period of several decades. Hundreds of child victims have been sexually assaulted over decades by this man. And according to the police there appear to have been other perpetrators involved in this tragedy.
Each case of abuse, of violation, is a personal tragedy for the person involved. It will almost certainly have involved shame, secrecy, anger and years of trauma. For many, recovery will have been difficult if not impossible with the consequences of the assault carried into later life and relationships. Savile may be dead but the consequences of what he did will be very much alive for his victims.
And yes, the abuse took place in dressing rooms at the BBC. But also in hospitals and in his caravan and no doubt other venues as well. In other words, this is a human tragedy of immense proportions that spans decades, spans institutions and spans families. The crimes were hidden in public and as a society we must begin to try and understand how this has happened. How is it that over the year’s victims were not believed? Or were too fearful to speak out?
