From a reading of headlines in Ireland in the past few years, a visitor from outer space might be excused for assuming that all the child sexual abuse in this country had been perpetrated by Catholic clergymen - and by no one else. In fact, out of the current aggregate of 9,017 priests and brothers in Ireland (North and South), 27 priests and 11 brothers have been convicted of child sexual abuse since the 1980s, this representing a ratio of four per 1,000. Of the 38 total, 33 have received custodial sentences.

The evidence from elsewhere - and there is no reason to suppose that it is any different here - is that 50 per cent of child sex abuse incidents are perpetrated by a family member.

For me, the most shocking statistic to emerge from a conference on child sexual abuse in Athlone earlier this year was that one third of all child sex abusers are male adolescents under the age of 18. This fact alone puts an enormous onus on parents to be very careful whom they leave in charge of young children, whether they

be older siblings, nephews, cousins or neighbours. It is an increasingly sad fact of life that nothing can be taken for granted anymore.

If, as the evidence indicates, only one in 10 of child sex abuse incidents is reported, then it behoves those in charge of children (parents, teachers, youth leaders, sports officials, clergy), to be vigilant at all times, to protect the children in their care and to report all suspected cases The importance of screening those involved in child or youth social or sports activities cannot be underestimated.

So what is the true picture of the scale of child sex abuse in Ireland and elsewhere? A few facts may put the subject into some perspective, based on information imparted at that conference entitled Child Sexual Abuse: the Irish Experience So Far and the Way Forward, the published proceedings of a conference on the treatment of sex offenders organised by the Irish Penal Reform Trust in November 1998, as well as evidence from other sources. These reports indicate that

There are approximately 400 male sex offenders in Irish prisons. According to November 1998, there were 279 men serving sentences in the Republic's prisons for sexual offences (no breakdown available, unfortunately, to distinguish between adult and child abuse), representing one in eight

Some common words found in the essay are:
Trust November, North South, Irish Times, Ireland Irish, , According November, Northern Ireland, Marie Keenan, Brendan Smyth, Hill Prisons, child sex, sex abuse, sex offenders, child sex abuse, sexual abuse, sexual offences, child sexual, child sexual abuse, offences reported garda, recidivism rate, outer space, sex abuse incidents, convicted child, offences reported, sexual offences reported,
Approximate Word count = 877
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)