As America celebrates its first Independence Day since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centers and Pentagon, we mourn our dead and stand proud by the freedoms we enjoy. Yet, perhaps we don't take those feedoms for granted as we did so prior to those evil, terroristic acts of violence against us.

Abuse and exploitation of our most precious resource, our children, is a form of domestic terrorism. This July 4th let's say a prayer for two children who were abducted recently, Danielle Van Dam and Elizabeth Smart. It is incumbent upon us to prosecute their perpetrators to the fullest extent allowed by law.

Yet, according to the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, of the approximate 3.3 million reports of alleged child abuse and neglect that will be filed in America this year over 2 million will be deemed 'unfounded'. In other words, over 2 million American families will be faced with proving their innocence of crimes they did not commit before our behemoth child protective service agencies. Why is this?

In any alleged child abuse case in America an accused is guilty until proven innocent. In contravention to the Constitution and our Fourteenth Amendement right to due process, the opposite maxim exists. We recognize that our local priest could be a child molester. We recognize that child abuse is a taboo. Do we recognize that many professionals who investigate and evaluate alleged child abuse cases suffer from confirmatory biases - preconceived notions that these crimes have already been committed before their work begins? Consider the following two e-mails sent to me on June 24 and June 26, respectively:

"I would like to tell you that I find your website revolting. I have been a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner for 6 years and have seen all kinds of abuse. I have performed exams on sexually abused children and adults, and physically abused children. In my experience, there are very few "false reports." However, there are cases where the abuse cannot be proven in court but this does not mean it didn't happen. According to the DOJ (Department Of Justice), the false reporting rate for sexual assault is 2-4%, which is comparable to other types of violent crimes. I understand that sometimes with divorce cases, one parent may worry about abuse by the other parent, however most of the time, there is some cause for concern. Your type of advertising is what makes people think they should not report because they won't be believed." - KM, RN (SANE Program Coordinator)

"I am very concerned that you are spreading this misinformation. As a former volunteer at a rape crisis center, I know firsthand that children do not make up this information. I realize that many cases lack enough evidence to be proven in court, but this does not mean that it is untrue. As a matter of fact, I find this offensive. Perhaps something in your own personal history has led you to hold these views, I do not know. What I do know is that women and adult survivors of childhood sexual assault do not suffer from borderline personality disorder disorders, it is as a direct result of the sexual abuse. For you to distort the truth and put victims on trial is a terrible miscarriage of justice. Where do you get off printing this information as if you are some sort of an expert. This shocks and upsets me." - JN

According to KM and JN , children and women never lie or are never wrong about abuse. According to KM and JN, we should convict before the accused is afforded a defense, before the accused has the constitutional right to a trial by jury of his peers. While child abuse is a serious problem in America lest we never forget that an accused is innocent until proven guilty. And, even if one's case is deemed unfounded after being accused of child abuse they will still bear a scarlet letter emblazoned upon their name.

Dean Tong