From Patrick Healy
Helene Guldberg makes clear that British parents now take more precautions to
protect their children from strangers
(4 September, p 47), and then states that
the chance of a child being killed by a stranger is no greater now than in the
1950s. This means that despite all the extra parental precautions, the number of
children being killed by adult strangers has not been reduced, indicating that
the threat of adult strangers preying upon children has probably increased. The
fact that paedophiles are using the Internet for contacts and information
exchange shows that such people are becoming more sophisticated and efficient,
which supports the idea of increased threat.
Guldberg’s mixing of different dangers was misleading. The chance risks taken
by children during play are significantly different from the risks intentionally
posed by adults who target children. If the child population doubled, most
parents would understand that the percentage of children dying as a result of
accidents would remain about the same. But if the percentage of children being
murdered remained the same, parents would not regard the increased number of
deaths as acceptable. British parents are capable of making a distinction
between the motives, methods and consequences involved when children hurt
children as opposed to when adults attack children.
Surbiton, Surrey
