Child Grooming: When Power Protects Predators.

In the first of two special episodes, we explore the widespread problem of child sexual exploitation and grooming, highlighting the shocking extent of this evil, and considering the systematic patterns revealed by several high‑profile cases involving wealthy and influential individuals. We examine how power, institutional failure, and silence have enabled a level of abuse and trafficking which brings shame on our societies. As always, we hone in to see where our prayers and intentions may be most needed.

WARNING: Listeners should be aware that this episode contains descriptions that may disturbing.

Intentions and prayers start at 25 minutes 58 seconds.

Suggested Intention Focus for this week

This week, as an estimated 300 million children globally experience sexual exploitation every year, especially via online abuse, we suggest holding as our main intention:

We will that every adult who may work in organisations, live in communities, or otherwise know of circumstances where children are being systematically groomed or sexually abused will be moved to challenge deference toward those who have wealth, fame or power, and to respond to the cries of the powerless who are or may be being abused. 

Please join us in holding this.

Read Ellen’s blog entry for Sacred Feminist, ‘Why is there a market for sexual slavery?’ at http://sacredfeminist.com/why-is-there-a-market-for-sexual-slavery/

While not specifically relating to child grooming, the following relate to the broader topic of abuse committed by men and advocacy for women and other victims:

Advocacy to prevent violence against women and girls, advice for what men can do, White Ribbon: https://www.whiteribbon.org.uk/allies. One man (a White Ribbon ambassador) speaks out: https://www.whiteribbon.org.uk/we-speak-up/joseph-smith 

Men Behaving Badly: Leaders Who Play The Religious Card, our episode focused on men in positions of power who use religious narratives to justify their ideologies:  https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-s4zbu-18e6f49 .

Chapter markers:

00:00:00            Introduction

00:01:43            Reflecting on Child Exploitation

00:05:06            The Scale of Global Abuse

00:10:00            The Epstein Case Unveiled

00:10:40            Al-Fayed’s Systemic Abuse

00:12:32            R. Kelly and His Victims

00:13:51            Notable Scandals in History

00:17:06            Institutional Failures and Complicity

00:19:51            The Grooming Process

00:23:41            The Role of Society in Protection

00:25:37            Call to Action for Change

00:25:58            Intentions and Prayers

Sources referenced in this episode:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56110052

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-58801183

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_sexual_abuse_cases_by_country

https://thediplomat.com/2024/09/malaysia-charges-businessmen-in-cult-linked-child-sex-abuse-scandal/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Ikhwan_child_abuse_scandal

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/12/24/enough-with-buck-passing-child-abuse-in-the-church-is-systemic

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0145213421001411

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg559zz3d8o

https://eurochild.org/news/europes-hidden-crisis-child-sexual-abuse-online-at-unprecedented-levels/

https://www.csacentre.org.uk/app/uploads/2024/07/Child-sexual-abuse-of-African-Asian-and-Caribbean-heritage-children-A-knowledge-review.pdf

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgp1x028r9o

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/baroness-caseys-audit-of-group-based-child-sexual-exploitation-and-abuse

https://www.childlight.org/newsroom/over-300-million-children-a-year-are-victims-of-online-sexual-exploitation-and-abuse   

https://www.childlight.org/newsroom/child-sexual-exploitation-and-abuse-is-a-multibillion-dollar-industry-our-new-report-shows-who-benefits 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9568794/

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/child-trafficking-by-country 

https://www.csacentre.org.uk/app/uploads/2024/02/Trends-in-Offical-Data-2022-23-FINAL.pdf

https://news.sky.com/story/ghislaine-maxwell-how-girls-were-lured-to-be-abused-by-jeffrey-epstein-12500819     

https://theconversation.com/jeffrey-epstein-is-not-unique-what-his-case-reveals-about-the-realities-of-child-sex-trafficking-270127  

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy7dgrkp2vzo    

https://www.leighday.co.uk/news/blog/elimination-of-violence-against-women/wealth-power-and-impunity-sexual-abuse-by-powerful-men/      

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/14/world/europe/harrods-mohamed-fayed-brothers-sexual-assault.html   

https://theconversation.com/four-ways-mohamed-al-fayed-silenced-whistleblowers-in-his-organisation-240936 

https://19thnews.org/2021/09/r-kelly-has-been-convicted-of-sex-crimes-against-black-women-why-did-it-take-nearly-30-years/  

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/r-kelly-sentenced-xxx-sex-trafficking-case-rcna35832 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Gymnastics_sex_abuse_scandal     

https://www.npr.org/2024/04/23/1246647531/doj-settles-larry-nassar-usa-gymnastics-sexual-assault-victims

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/08/us/larry-nassar-fbi-mishandling-claim

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochdale_child_sex_abuse_ring         

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn9y0lvpyqvo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotherham_child_sexual_exploitation_scandal

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/685559d05225e4ed0bf3ce54/National_Audit_on_Group-based_Child_Sexual_Exploitation_and_Abuse.pdf 

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/baroness-caseys-audit-of-group-based-child-sexual-exploitation-and-abuse

https://research.hud.ac.uk/media/assets/document/hhs/RelationshipBetweenPovertyChildAbuseandNeglect_Report.pdf 

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/05/14/jeffrey-epstein-investigation-women-487157    

https://novaramedia.com/2022/01/14/why-do-rich-and-powerful-people-become-abusers-because-they-can/ 

https://www.thesafeguardingalliance.org.uk/safeguarding-sector-faith-based-communities/ 

https://www.christsoldiergirlfitness.com/prayers-against-child-abuse/    

https://care.org.uk/cause/human-trafficking/seven-ways-to-pray-about-human-trafficking 

https://www.worldvision.org/child-protection-news-stories/matthew-25-protecting-children-prayer

https://stmaryshaverhill.org.uk/_data/site/76/news/685/2024_12_06_Litany.pdf

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/how-british-teen-model-was-lured-jeffrey-epstein-s-web-n1056901

https://www.childlight.org/uploads/publications/into-the-light_2025-01-31-092530_brzc.pdf

https://time.com/6552063/jeffrey-epsteins-unsealed-court-documents/

https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report

https://www.npr.org/2021/07/20/1017968999/jeffrey-epsteins-victims-speak-out-in-perversion-of-justice-by-julie-k-brown

https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227884

https://www.jornalavancosmedicina.com/index.php/am/article/download/40/46

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4907083/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8685723/

https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/news/newly-released-data-show-increase-trafficking-human-beings-2024-02-28_en

https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/global-report-on-trafficking-in-persons.html

https://www.celcis.org/application/files/5717/3168/8745/CELCIS_Child_Sexual_Abuse_and_Exploitation_2024_Overview_Analysis_Report_-_November_2024.pdf

https://www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/operation-stovewood-seven-men-jailed-total-106-years-sexually-abusing-two-young-girls

https://stopthetraffik.org/what-is-human-trafficking/definition-and-scale/

https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/research-resources/statistics-briefings/child-sexual-abuse

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2501.12537.pdf

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8205446/

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/9/6/98/pdf

http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperDownload.aspx?paperID=48830

https://ojs.uniska-bjm.ac.id/index.php/AN-NUR/article/download/6130/3624

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3730282/

https://ssslearning.co.uk/safeguarding-articles/child-criminal-exploitation-gangs

https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/news-and-blogs/statement-from-the-childrens-commissioner-on-action-plan-to-tackle-grooming-gangs-and-sexual-abuse/

https://thecpsu.org.uk/resource-library/best-practice/protecting-children-in-sport-from-grooming-and-sexual-abuse/

https://berks-bracknell.trixonline.co.uk/chapter/safeguarding-children-from-abuse-linked-to-faith-or-belief

https://www.swansea.ac.uk/project-dragon-s/

https://safeguarding.network/content/safeguarding-resources/harmful-practices/child-abuse-linked-to-faith-or-belief

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/larry-nassar-loses-last-appeal-in-sexual-assault-scandal

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/larry-nassar-now-abuse-timeline-b1920783.html

Join us in person for intention holding: 

https://www.legacylabyrinthproject.org/events-1 Labyrinth Activist Network Zoom calls  

https://insighttimer.com/cliverj Daily intention holding with Clive on Insight Timer.  

Our websites:   

www.heartfulimpact.com/   Our show website.  

https://globalhealingresponse.com/ Global Healing Response ~ Offers a wealth of prayers, suggested practices and prompts in response to environmental catastrophe, conflict, and other world events.  

https://www.legacylabyrinthproject.org/ Legacy Labyrinth Project ~ Creating global energetic connections through the labyrinth; inspiring active intention sending using the labyrinth via labyrinth activism.  

https://www.clivejohnsonministry.com/ Clive Johnson Ministry ~ Events and offerings aimed at building beloved community, including weekly energy holding vigils and Power of Eight group.  

https://insighttimer.com/cliverj ~ Daily intention holding.  

Impact! Is presented by Ellen Bintz and Clive Johnson. It is produced by Impact Productions.  

Our show content is hosted by Podbean and available from all major podcast platforms.  

Our theme music is by Chris Collins. indiemusicbox.com.  

Our logo artwork is by AltoClassic (Getty Images/istock).  

Contact us via Facebook Messenger from the Impact! Facebook group, or using any of the contact methods mentioned on our websites.  

Impact! www.heartfulimpact.com.