OT Re: Abuse

[Susan McGee]

No: HPFGUIDX 2661

--- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, "storm stanford" <msmacgoo at h...> 
wrote:
> <snip>
> > He has had an advantage that many never had. He had 15 months of 
> total love
> > from his parents (I think this is a logical assumption) at the 
> beginning of
> > his life. Things may have gone downhill from there but I still do 
> not think
> > it was that serious.
> > 
> > Simon
> <snip>
> 
> <snip>But the Dursleys have been beastly to him, and what is 
described is
> the classic case of the battered child.
> 
> Susan McGee
> former director Child Abuse and Neglect Council, Jackson, Michigan
> current director, Domestic Violence Project, Ann Arbor, Michigan
> <snip>
> 
> Go Susan! bring out the creds! LOL. <g>

I ONLY did it to say -- PLEASE! Believe me, I know what I'm talking
about....!



>  Simon I'm going to advance my theory about Harry and abuse again - 
that is that JKR shows a very evocative and horrible account 
emotional abuse and depravation - what she doesn't show as 
realistically is the effect on Harry. Even with his 15 months of love 
prior to landing (litrally) on the Dursley's door step Harry is a 
remarkabley well adjusted child, given his circs. This may be the 
reason for your perspective (which I guess I'm fairly forcefully 
suggesting is wrong - rude but no sense pretending otherwise)  Now 
I'm going to drag out my creds too - I'm a youth worker, currently 
working in an agency which oversees Child Protection practice 
(amougst other things). I've read far too many Court reports, seen 
far too many childern and young ppl to ever doubt the outcome the 
treatment meted out by the Dursleys. 
> 
> Now it's interesting to conisder that what Harry lives though is 
the reverse of many abused children - that is they are abused by 
thier natural parents and then live in foster care where they are 
(sometimes) safe and well cared for. Your argument that 
this "innoculates" him from some of the horribleness is possible 
> But, in my experance, in NSW the current pattern is to restore 
children to thier n/parents as soon as is fesable (or before often) 
so that we are seeing more (IMO) children who have been brought up in 
foster care/kinship care where they have been reasonably well 
adjusted going to live with thier natural parents - the result 5 or 
10 years later is not that dissimilar to if they have never been 
removed in the first place.
> 
> Harry is a fantsy outcome - for anyone who has lived though abuse - 
to come out strong and coping, smart and relativly undamaged. but it 
is not what it is really like.
> 
> 
> storm
> 
> 

Yes, Storm, I'm afraid I agree with you that Harry is the fantasy 
outcome. I know a bunch of neat people who were abused as kids who
have flourished, but only after intervention and therapy...

I was thinking again...to not be acknowledged, no one says "hi", good 
morning, no one says good-bye.....if you haven't seen it or 
experienced it, it's hard to imagine how that eats into someone
after a period of time.

Susan