On Wednesday, April 11th, the West Australian headline read: ‘Boy Bound, raped for three weeks’. Just above the headline, a bullet point summarized the article: ‘Kidnapped from the street by homosexual perverts and tied to a bed’.
That a young boy could be kidnapped and sexually abused is undeniably disgusting. However, that a reputable newspaper could make the error of linking homosexuality and perversion of the story is inexcusable. The gay community is just as outraged as the broader Perth community at the horrific details of the case of a local boy who was kidnapped as part of the twisted sexual fantasies of Robbie Wheeler and Victor Urquhart.
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The West Australian’s article demonstrates that media is quick to announce ‘homosexual perversion’, but when cases of heterosexual paedophilia arise, the perpetrator’s sexual orientation is a non-issue. As a member of Perth’s gay community, I find the West Australian’s coverage to be irresponsible, sensationalizing journalism and an insulting example of the latent homophobia still prevalent in mainstream media. I would challenge anyone who doubts the difference in coverage to find an example of the phrase ‘heterosexual perverts’ to refer to a paedophile with opposite-sex attractions.
Homosexuality was declassified as a mental illness in 1973 because there was not any scientific evidence to support such a diagnosis. Moreover, today’s scientific studies have found no connection between paedophilia and homosexuality. The West Australian’s decision to include the men’s sexual orientation in the 12-word summary disregards the current scientific knowledge on the subject and plays into the hands of prejudice in an attempt to sensationalize the news.
A University of California psychology department document ‘Facts About Homosexuality and Child Molestation’, summarizes the various studies on potential links between homosexuality and child molestation:
‘Reflecting the results of these and other studies, the mainstream view among researchers and professionals who work in the area of child sexual abuse is that homosexual and bisexual men do not pose any special threat to children’.
The University of California fact sheet continues later, ‘A commentary that accompanied publication of the 1994 study by Jenny et al. in Pediatrics noted that debates about gay people as molesters ‘have little to do with everyday child abuse’ and lamented that they distract lawmakers and the public from dealing with the real problem of children’s sexual mistreatment (Krugman, 1994)’.
So, I believe the West Australian article, in sensationalizing a story, has failed to bring the full attention of its readers to the real and very serious issue of paedophilia and sexual molestation of children by criminals of all sexual orientations. Moreover, the West Australian has chosen to perpetuate a myth of homosexuality as a perversion. That a newspaper claiming to be a reputable news source would chose selling papers over conveying facts warrants an outcry from its audience. It is not only the gay community that cannot allow such prejudice and discrimination in our media, it is all of Western Australia that needs to hold its newspapers to a higher standard.
It is my personal hope that we, as a community, can clear the hurdles of homophobia and latent prejudice against homosexuals in order to unite as concerned citizens and take action against the real horror and perversion: child sexual abuse.
NOTE: Roy Gibson, the reporter who wrote the April 11th story, told OUTinPerth he was not in a position to comment on his coverage of the trial.
