Jimmy Saville

The only issue about him being dead is that justice cannot be done if it is one sided. In that sense any attempt to “punish” anyone is difficult, including people who “should” have known. It is clear that lots of people thought he was creepy and did nothing.

It is however important that people have the chance to understand what happened to them and get whatever support or solace that they can.

As for the rest of us who weren’t involved in it, as other people have suggested, we need to understand as a society what is acceptable and unacceptable so that we do not repeat it.

According to what we know, Jimmy Saville got away with taking advantage of vulnerable girls as a result of being a show business star. He certainly was not the only one and I imagine that other DJs/rock stars/actors/comedians etc. also did things which were wrong, which may or may not ever come out.

There are numerous “casting couch” stories out there which are all pretty unsavoury. Let’s just hope that what was acceptable a couple of decades ago is unacceptable now. And let’s hope that people would have more courage now to come forward now.

We can’t really try Jimmy Saville in his absence now he is dead. In some ways he is an easy target, but then he did not live his life as a saint and his reputation will always a mixed one because of that.

Equally we can’t blame women for not coming forward during Jimmy Saville’s lifetime. Whatever the details of what happened to them or however consensual, they are struggling to come to terms with difficult things and should have our sympathy and support.

@jen_jen wrote:

So abuse victims who didn’t come forward years ago should now keep quiet if their abusers are dead or “too old to be a threat”? When is a man too old to be a threat?

And if you don’t think it would be brushed under the carpet now if someone was influential enough…well there isn’t anything more to be said is there?

Tell me…your child comes to you as an adult and breaks down, they tell you that they were abused as a child 20 years ago but were too afraid to say anything at the time and it still haunts them. Their abuser is now in their 70s or dead. What are you going to say to your child?

Well sorry love, you should have said something at the time, it’s too late now that he’s dead/too old to be a threat to anyone else so lets just forget about it and move on shall we? Nothing to be gained from going back to it, waste of time and energy…

In all probability , yes jen i would. maybe suggest counselling for them if they felt they needed it, but whats the point in trying to do anything else if the person is dead, use your time and energy to help and support them of course but no point going after someone who is no longer alive or a threat, so yes i think thats exactly what i would say and do. If that makes me wrong or naive them so be it, but thats how i think i would feel if that happened to mine too yes. Of course i’d be angry at the person but i wouldn’t dwell on it as it would do nothing other than open old scars for them and prolong something thats best forgotten, even if help is required to face and deal with it, and i am 100% certain i would not drag it through the media for anyone to feed on, whoever it was.
But If it happened now and they came to me i would fight my last breath to ensure that person was convicted for what they did and to stop them doing it to anyone else.

Do you really think that a victim of abuse can just pick themselves up, dust themselves down and move on, forget it? Really? Because if you do, naive is not the word.

I do know what you mean poli it seems a fruitless exercise when the person is dead…. However, especially in the case of Jimmy if what has been said is true it needs to be told. People need to know he was not the icon they thought him to be……. Im only sorry he is not alive to answer the charges because the awful thing is we will never know how he would have dealt with it and his explanation.

Im sure some women will jump on the bandwagon and enjoy the limelight… but it pains me to say it… there are too many women to discount and having watched the TV documentary there does seem to be some substance to some of the recollections of these women. So doubtless things will unfold.. so sad things have ended like this for him… but if he did these things he only has himself to blame…. time will tell.