Sunday, September 18, 2011

#McCann : Transcript - Gonçalo Amaral interview with 'Querida Julia' on his new book to be launched in October

 

Júlia Pinheiro JP Program "Dear Julia"

applause

clip: In the family home there are many cases of pedophilia and abuse of minors, many fail to be reported, but only last year , 70 arrests were made. This year through the month of August 56 people had been arrested ... ... ... ... ...
JP: I have someone here with me who has certainly encountered many of these situations, and he is in the process of preparing a book called "Life without defense, disappearance, abduction and abuse of children in Portugal." It's Goncalo Amaral , please give him a warm welcome.

'JP: Now, let's talk about another kind of worry. Stay tuned right now because there are things that do not happen only to others.JP: 'Why did you feel the need to write a book on this subject ?

GA: Well, both the severity of the issue and also because there is very little information on this subject, little has been done. As I have said here several times, we are reacting to cases. The Police and the institutions, they try to give answers but we need to go further, we need to study and try to see why this happens .My book seeks to answer why so many children disappear.Children are vulnerable to victimization and are targets for abuse, mistreatment, neglect, and then they disappear, they are also abducted and abused

.JP: Goncalo Amaral has been very closely linked to cases of children who have disappeared, never to reappear. One has to do with the case of ... .. the case is solved, the Joana case, is it not?

GA: There have been other cases ....

JP: These cases very often bring the media when a disappearance or abduction is reported,  but almost always there is a history of sexual abuse.

GA: Yes, there is , always,  and even in the case of Joana that raises an important question as to how do we detect these cases and the case is detected by school teachers alerting the National Commission for the Protection of Children and Youth at risk. Certain behaviour in a child raises suspicions of abuse,  abuse was then confirmed , but she did not confirm who was sexually abusing her, she was also the subject of neglect.This issue of family and school is not only so we can detect cases but to prevent the formation ...

.JP: In this aspect we have to rely on the teachers and the people who interact with very concrectamente ..

GA: Yes, because this is a very multidisciplinary. One area that involves psychiatrists, psychologists, teachers, technicians, social security, police, magistrates and nobody can say that this is the solution. For example, I might say, as the Police, the solution is this but the matter must be discussed with everyone.It is an area that involves people from various areas of intervention because in fact the problem is not just a police or court case. When we watch these cases for judicial intervention it is the last thing that must happen. Prevention and education is what should have happened first. But this does not happen in our country, it does not exist.If you notice the schools do not educate anyone .... look, to give an example:nobody is prepared to be a father. Suddenly one becomes a father and suddenly there is a  child, you can learn to change diapers but do not learn to be a father.It seems that part of us cannot be taught. Today,  this concept of being a father was to have a son, plant a tree and write a book, today is the exact opposite. First plant a tree, write a book then later, have a son. There are things that are being changed in our society and it seems that we are not  following ..

..JP ... ... ... ... ... .. is also a lawyer, he has also managed to defend someone like a paedophile in court?

GA: I can tell you that I recently entered a stage and advocacydo not give to Attorney ... though it was not the ideal way. It's hard.

JP But Dr.... here just talking (about pedophilia case) has a point when he speaks of police as to how involved. 

GA: I remember one case in the Azores, where my colleague who was preparing a final report ... while doing the report he was full of emotion, a three year old child, the story of Little Red Riding Hood, the mean old man and even thento report the facts, we have to be objective and we must find all the evidence.But let me tell you what they say in these cases there are no witnesses, there is only the word of the adult and the word of the child. Not so. It may be that expert evidence, can be taken to children ... ..For example in the case of Joana,  sperm was found on underwear which would have been in the vaginal area....but we had no body. It is possible to do and it is psychological testing when evaluating the child, as has happened in other cases, to tell if the child is, or is not telling the truth.

JP: But as a person who is as experienced as Gonçalo Amaral, how does he measure the true voice of a child?

GA: I speak from my experience about a case that happened in the Algarve, a mother who reported the situation and there was even the intervention of the Committee on Protection of Minors, and when the child is heard, along with an expert, a psychologist, she is telling the story, drawing what had happened, what had happened ... It is a material witness. Those documents that the child is a child is ... So how to speak with age and that began to express themselves by drawing, as in many cases ...: Children usually do not lie but it takes some care, but I can tell you that many of the cases that happen within the family has everything to do with everything: the maltreatment, domestic violence and even the lack of security. The main source of danger to the child is in the home where they live.I like to leave here, if you give me a chance ... there is a very interesting project, which is taking place which is the "Workshop of the hazards, the Hazard House" in Lousã. A project of the City Council where Lousã alert for a number of dangers. And I think it is out there in terms of training, is one of the ways ...

JP: and his book now out in October will also talk about it ...

GA: I will do speeches, talk about it in the siage.Children in the family are more dependent, up to 11, 12, 13 years and the cases occur within the family, acquaintances, neighbors.gns and sources of danger, what types of risk, what behaviors and the end result: The disappearance, abduction, death ,children are very vulnerable to victimization .

http://steelmagnolia-steelmagnolia.blogspot.com/2011/09/mccann-goncalo-amarals-new-book-on.html
Translation: Many thanks to my dearest friend in Portugal, link supplied for video.