Bikers United Against Child Abuse Remembers Arthur Veno, whom was Patron of BUACA since 2004, his passion and advice was the best you can get and this is a letter Art wrote for me in knowing that it would be clubs like ours that will provide a common sense approach to keeping our children safe...
What it is that they do that helps stop child abuse By Professor Arthur Veno, Ph.D. Monash University Abuse of children leaves them damaged. Generally, children believe it’s something they did which caused them to be abused. Indeed, it is most common for the abusers to tell the children that the abuse is their (the child’s) fault.
And so, these children start to hate themselves. Often the abuser forces the child’s silence by threatening to harm themselves, or members of their family if the ‘secret’ is disclosed - the child is caught in the steel jaws of a vicious trap – not only are they made to feel responsible for the abuse; they feel that any consequences of disclosure will be laid at their feet. Offenders are usually not a stranger.
Most abusers are men. Men who the child knows, and often the abusive men are in positions of authority in the child’s life. When the abuse happens, the young person’s trust in men is broken. So, the other common effect of child abuse is to leave children with the idea that all authority or people in positions of authority are the enemy and can’t be trusted.
They lose respect for what is known as Positional Authority. That refers to authority figures and also those people granted power by the majority of our society’s institutions. BUACA, provides abused children with a respect for another type of authority. Technically, this alternative form of authority or power is called Referent Authority and refers to authority gained by the respect for the actions and beliefs of the person, club or group of people who earn this respect by their actions and deeds.
We all know people like this in our lives. We respect them for who they are - persons of integrity, dignity and honor. BUACA members provide role models for abused kids by being who they are. They have referent power for those little victims. This allows an abused child to act in accordance with the values of the respected authority figures which, in turn, allows them to develop an alternative to self- hatred, fearfulness, distrust and either poor mental health and/or criminality.
The literature on crime and consequences of child abuse is quite clear – children who have a strong role model with whom they identify on the basis of referent authority can both heal and change to become reasonably well adjusted. Not only are the members of BUACA a hard arsed, tough crowd, but more so the members are caring men and women whose primarily concern is protection of our society's abused children. BUACA serves as a collection of strong role models – both men and women for these young victims to copy their behavior.
The presence of a strong and respected person or group who serve as role models for the damaged child remains the single best predictor of successful healing from abuse if the role model is established within a few years after the disclosure. BUACA brings bikerdom to new heights. They are the unsung heroes of our rider culture, rescuing at risk young people, providing them with strong role models and ongoing support.
The vast majority of people in our goals are former children who experienced the horrors of child abuse. People have asked me “Why? They were abused as kids. Get over it and move on”, they say. I reply “If I put a hot iron on your skin, does that mean that the pain goes away when I remove the iron from your skin?” No, the pain stays and the memory of how you got that pain stays with you.
Your ‘emotional skin’ has been burned if you are abused as a child and the wound may never fully heal. BUACA provide abused kids with an alternative understanding of their suffering and power or authority figures. The power of the club is real. It is a hard assed, tough crowd. It is also a caring and protective crowd for our society’s abused children. BUACA’S power will be on the children’s side to help them through the rough times ahead while they heal their emotional wounds.
The club has the children’s’ respect and, for many of the kids, they will feel safe for the first time in their lives. BUACA is there for them if needed. It is a powerful message and, from what I have seen and read, exactly what those little victims need to start the healing process.
BUACA goes to great lengths to assist children by referring them to appropriate professional mental health practitioners and other appropriate healers. But, the primary function BUACA serves is to demonstrate that a hard arse crew of Bikers stands ready to help them out. This gives the child an understanding that is it is not the child’s behavior or self which has caused their being abused. In some cases, this alone breaks the self-hatred and feelings of worthlessness characteristic of adults who have been abused as children.
I have started motorcycle road riding late in life. I am a Registered Psychologist who received an award for distinction for my services from The Australian Psychological Society in 2007 and the recipient of many state and federal awards for my work in promoting peace in biker clubs and for my efforts at establishing a resistance to the South Australian so called anti-bikie laws (commonly known as the Serious and Organized Crime Act) and later my work in aiding Parliament to establish an appropriate law for members of our rider culture who are said to be organized crime entities.
My passion for BUACA comes from deeply personal drives. Drives which have shaped my professional career. I am the only child of a father who suffered severe physical and emotional abuse as a child and a mother who was sexually abused as a child. They had the strength, courage and honor to stop the cycle of abuse. And so, I was not abused, but; living with their pain drove me throughout my career to strive for a world free from the horrors of violence including child abuse in all its forms. BUACA are doing the same – breaking the cycle of abuse in a new way, and I deeply respect them for it. I am so honoured to be Patron for BUACA that mere words fail me.
To all BUACA members, please feel free to contact me for any professional assistance with respect to referring the ‘found’ children for professional advice. For purposes of keeping things centralized in your organization, please observe standard MC protocols and cc your email to me via your President, Baldy Pete.
All respect, All Love. Arthur Arthur.Veno@arts.monash.edu.au