My sympathies are firstly, and rightly, with the children who have been abused, irrespective of who might have perpetrated that abuse. Running a close second though is my anger of the effect that the actions of some sickos have had on adults, especially men, working with children. I spent a long time working with very vulnerable women, and their children, in a residential setting. During this time I was very often the only male in the project. As such, I was often a "father figure" to the children (and sometimes their mothers too), I have hugged a child who had fallen and skinned a knee. I have hugged a child after trying to tell him of the death of his grandmother. I'm a pretty large person and children often saw me as a challenge - a bit like the North face of the Eiger - and would climb onto my lap! I have walked around, holding a child standing on top of my feet while they squealed with laughter.

I would like to think that I brought a little something special to the lives of these children. Yes, I had fun too but in a delightfully childlike way.

I'm typing this through tears because I know that if I were doing that kind of work nowadays I would have to avoid a way of working that for me, and I believe the children too, was completely natural!

How can one maintain that level of closeness, something we all need in our lives, while keeping a child at arms length?

I am sorry for any men, and women too, who are working with children nowadays and are afraid to show any physical contact for fear of being accused of child abuse.

Eddie