Clifford Longley's piece in does a huge disservice to victims of child abuse (The Tablet, 7 March). To say that perpetrators should be judged according to the cultural norms of the times in which the abuse occurred is to ignore the absolute evil of these crimes irrespective of the prevailing cultural norms. Victims of child abuse take a long time to disclose their abuse, on average 22 years in Australia - as suggested by the Australian Royal Commission which is currently taking hearings on this subject. Surely all child abuse victims are entitled to justice as a small compensation to the tragic turmoil that abuse has caused in their lives.
Carmel Brooks, New South Wales, Australia
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