If you’re Catholic then you’ve probably done the whole ‘Father forgive me for I have sinned’ thing. Most of the time you’re probably confessing to stealing your bestie’s man, buying that sexy top from Legit although you knew your best friend wanted to get it as soon as she got the cash or even murdering your goldfish when you were 12 and not telling your parents about it. but you probably didn’t know that your confessions should be somewhere along the lines of ‘Father I have sinned on Facebook’. Now I know most of you are probably not Catholic but the whole Facebook sin thing could cast us into social network Sodom and Gomorrah. And it’s not like it’s a couple of psychopaths stalking lil-tweens or paedophiles drooling over your two-year-old’s pictures, it’s John McCain’s Joe the plumber, a couple of Obama crazes volunteers and you.the fact of the matter is everyone is on Facebook or other forms of social intercourse. I know you’ve had that day when you’ve woken up to find a request from your nine-year-old sister’s best friend and accepted only because you can’t imagine what she could possibly update about (probably something like ‘me and Barbie are whipping our heads back and forth).

When I was nine-years-old psycho’s were evil looking men with genital warts standing on street corners waiting to snatch me and now psychos are men showing you their chest on the net (think Congressman Anthony Weiner). so obviously we’ve all gone through some major lobotomy like personality transforming surgery because addictions are no longer limited to just substances, giving up Facebook, twitter and BBM for some would be like social Siberia. You’d think that they’re on fb with George Clooney all day long. so while we all engage in social network orgies, we tend to commit some pretty unforgivable stuff- nothing worth seeing on CSI obviously but pretty gruesome nevertheless.so while Facebook can be pretty useful for those of us with friends outside the country, it does tend to leave one with the charisma of a crash dummy. Spending all your time in front of a computer reading such captivating one liners like ‘I’ve had this erection for four hours, HELP!!!’ leaves your social life as interesting as Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show as primetime television. so much so that it completely replaces the casual girls’ night out that is necessary for any functioning female’s sanity. why meet your girls face to face when you can simply poke her to say hi? why meet up so you can tell her about your latest man conquests when she can see him on your profile picture? why go to the salon together if you can just comment on her pictures? why bother hearing about her and her boyfriend’s convos when you can just read their wall to walls? the problem is that the more you rely on social networks to connect with friends and paedophiles all over the globe, the lonelier you become. Don’t take my word for it, a couple of nerds who do not wear nerd glasses for fashion reasons have done plenty of research on this. so instead of poking your girls to find out what on their minds, why not organise an actual shenanigan over cheap wine and/or milkshakes to enhance the connection that can never be replaced by electronic wiring? (the audience goes ‘aaawwwww’).CrushRemember how there was always this one chic who won the social butterfly award in high school all the time? She was fun, sassy, sexy, all the boys had a crush on her and she was especially popular with the higher forms. And how you always wanted to be her? Well now you can because the way Facebook is, you can be friends with anyone in the world even if you wouldn’t be able to pick them out in a crowd like some random father called Shaban Kassim. People now can have hundreds of friends though if you quizzed them on all their surnames, you’d probably know about, err, 10? And that’s just the people in your family with the same surname. the truth is that people have way too many friends they don’t know, making them vulnerable to all kinds of sick weirdo’s who have awkward fetishes and the like. so resist accepting every request like that time you changed your profile picture into a hot cleavage shot and you got a hundred friend requests, all from guys or girls whose sexual orientations you are unsure of. or that other time you were a bridesmaid at a wedding and a groom’s relative tried to hook up with you and the subsequent request you received. however, if you already have numerous friends who are completely useless, then maybe it’s time you get a deleting spree, you get a deleting spree and you get a deleting spree. you all get deleting sprees!!!(Channelling Oprah’s enthusiasm).Lastly, there’s the sin that anyone without Christina Aguilera’s shoe cupboard will have committed any time during their tenure on Facebook. Its green and only ends with you feeling worse- its envy! you know how it is, you come across your primary school rival (it all began with the phrase, you’re no more my friend) and you probably think she’s got a lousy job and man, not surprising because she was always weird from the beginning. Except her job is not lousy and neither is her man (OMG is that Chris Hemsworth?). To make matters worse, she’s morphed into some supermodel, type a body creature, completely unrecognisable and her pictures in a hot bikini you saw Halle Berry in with her in Mauritius do not help. at all. so whenever you feel sorry for yourself because your boss made you make her coffee again and you can’t complain, you type her name in the search box and miserably pick at a tub of ice cream alone, (extremely) single, and go through her 2, 135 pictures with a face so green its dripping off. but cheer up, she’s probably going through your pictures too thinking the exact same thing you are. maybe. (not). so while social intercourse is safe with or without a condom, do be mindful of what you do there, and never let it take the place of real girls nights out. so here’s to Facebook, girlfriends and everything in between!I’ll drink to that!!!

?                                                                           By Mubanga Nondo-Chitambala

MANY women’s lives have been lost due to cervical cancer; it has been one of the most problematic diseases afflicting mankind that the world has ever known.

The infection destroys the mouth of the womb also known as the cervix and it spreads faster in women with immunal suppression, whereas, in men it causes penol cancer.

Cervical cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in women worldwide with 85 per cent of the disease burden occurring in low and middle-income countries and the Human Papiloma Virus (HPV) being a well-established source of this kind of cancer, virtually causing 100 per cent of the cases.

Zambia has a population of approximately 3.21 million women aged between 15 and 44 who are at the risk of developing cervical cancer and it is believed that Zambia has the second highest incidence and death rates of cervical cancer on the African continent, after Guinea and Tanzania.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) latest report on the HPV and related cancers, every year 1,839 women in Zambia are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 1, 276 women die from the disease.

The disease also represents as the number one cause of gynaecological deaths in all hospitals in Zambia and that cervical cancer accounts for 40 per cent of all cancers treated at the cancer diseases hospitals in the whole country.

However, screening has proven to be the most effective way of preventing cervical cancer in women who have ever been sexually active and thus may already be infected with the HPV, this is called secondary prevention, whereas, primary prevention is aimed at intervening before an individual is exposed to the risk factors through the use of vaccines.

Recent findings by the World Health Organsation (WHO) have indicated that cervical cancer is highly preventable. It’s about 40 per cent preventable and can be curable. the percentage of being curable is 30 per cent depending on the stage of diagnosis.

It is so pleasing to note that there now is a vaccine for cervical cancer after so many years of struggling to find a cure or at least, a vaccine for the disease.

At long last, Minister of Health Dr Joseph Kasonde has raised hope for so many Zambian women as well as the men-folk when he recently announced that Zambia would be receiving vaccines for cervical cancer by February this year as a result of the George W. Bush Institute, the US President’s Emergency plan For HIV/ AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) which incorporates the Red and Pink Ribbon campaign.

Dr Kasonde noted in his speech that in July 2011, an application from the Zambian Government to AXIOS International was approved and as a result, Zambia will receive 18,400 free doses of HPV vaccine.

And Cancer Diseases Hospital executive director, Kennedy Lishimpi disclosed that the vaccine was not yet in the country but confirmed that the vaccine was to be shipped in the country before the end of February 2012, adding that the vaccine had been registered for use in this country with the Pharmaceutical Regulatory Board of Zambia, with South Africa being the first to have used it on the continent.

Dr Lishimpi stated that two HPV vaccines namely, Gardasil manufactured by Merck inc. and Cervarix by Glaxo Smith Kline(GSK) respectively, both of the United States of America(USA), that prevent against the virus, were now commercially available and that they had the potential to reduce the incidence of cervical and other genital cancers.

He explained that the Gardasil vaccine was quadravalent in that it protected against four HPV types namely 16,18,6 and 11, whereas, the cervarix vaccine was bivalent as it guarded against two HPV types; 16 and 18, but, both vaccines provided equal protection against the HPV types.

Dr Lishimpi also disclosed that liaison meetings between experts from the University Teaching Hospital (UTH), Ministry of Health (MOH), CIRDZ and the Expanded Programme for Immunisation (EPI) resulted in the development of an HPV vaccination model and the planned demonstration sites, for the vaccination of 6,000 school age girls are in urban Lusaka and rural Copperbelt to be precise, Masaiti.

‘’The world health body also recommends that the primary target for the cervical cancer vaccine should be young adolescent girls before onset of sexual activity; likely girls aged 9 or 10 to 13 years, adding that such a measure would prove to be more cost-effective as this age group has not yet indulged themselves in sexual activities,’’ he added.

According to Dr Lishimpi, the Ministry of Health with support from its partners had since embarked on the education of the public so that the vaccines were accessed once they were made available.

He also noted that the Ministry of Health had also embarked on training of doctors and nurses in “screen and treat” throughout the nation and also buttressing of surgical services in order to save patients found to have early-stage cervical cancer.

In reference to the WHO summary report update for September, 15 2010, the world health body recommends that the Human Papiloma Virus vaccination should be included in the immunisation programmes of all countries where prevention of cervical cancer and other HPV-related diseases have been adopted as a public health priority.

Ministry of Health spokesperson Reuben Mbewe said that the health fraternity was excited about the prospects of the country starting to vaccinate against cervical cancer.

Dr Mbewe noted that all efforts to reduce the affliction of women with cancer was a step in the right direction.

” we are very excited that we have this vaccine that will reduce the incidence of cancer in our women,” he added.

He observed that the move was aimed at protecting the future generation from contracting cancer but was quick to point out that the visual inspection using acetic acid screening was available for women who were sexually-active at their nearest health centres.

“All women who are sexually-active must be screened as the method I have just mentioned above picks early signs of cancer in most cases post-coital bleeding that is, bleeding after sex is the commonest symptom but it can be treated.

“But in case the cervical cancer is in its advanced stage, the victims can still receive treatment from the cancer diseases hospital,” Dr Mbewe said.

Dr Mbewe, however, noted that it was saddening that people had a tendency of going late for treatment when the cancer had reached its advanced stage, adding that the outcome of such incidences was not always good.

It is for this reason that plans are underway to place cervical cancer prevention services in each of the Ministry of Health mobile units that were already providing medical services in each province, thus nationalising the cervical cancer prevention programme.

And some women spoken to expressed happiness at the intention to bring into the country the cervical cancer vaccine.

Mercy Nankonde, who was found at the cancer disease department was happy that the future generation of women would not have to battle with the disease any more.

Nankonde adds that even though the vaccine was not meant for a certain category of women, it would still save the future mothers from dying from the disease.

And Community Youth Concern (CYC) executive director Gertrude Zulu said that prevention against cervical cancer was the only solution to the problem as the disease was a threat to human beings as it resulted into a slow painful death and was usually uncomfortable to both the patient and the care givers themselves.

“I have watched with dismay how young women have died from cervical cancer, so I would definitely encourage the vaccine; a condom works, but contraceptives don’t, so at last here we are, we have the vaccine and the condom,” Mrs Zulu said.

Mrs Zulu also urged the men to have proper reproductive and sexual hygiene so that they do not infect the girls in the event of sexual intercourse.

Women play a major role in the development of any country and so the Government’s move to bring the cancer vaccine to Zambia is a welcome move in improving the health of women in the country.

Hence, it is only hoped that the targeted age group will turn up enmasse to access the vaccine at least meant to provide a once-in-a-life-time opportunity that could ensure their well-being.

Houston, TX — (SBWIRE) — 01/31/2012 — For most people, the idea of going out with friends and meeting someone special is a very exciting prospect. From butterflies to flirtatious eye contact, finding a person that makes someone’s heart beat fast can be an exhilarating and confidence-boosting experience. but for more than 40 million Americans suffering from genital warts, the idea of meeting a prospective mate can seem daunting and scary. Caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), genital warts commonly affect men and women in their early twenties and appear as small flesh-colored bumps or cauliflower-like growths on and around the genitals. currently, there is no cure for HPV and, up until now, figuring out how to treat genital warts has been a mixed bag of creams and painful burning treatments. Featuring a proven method for genital warts treatment, “The 5 Day (Or Less) Genital Wart Eradication System” by Ashton Christiansen and his wife Jill offers a two-step home remedy for genital wart sufferers everywhere. after numerous unsuccessful attempts to cure their own chronic genital warts, Christiansen and Jill quickly began working on a way to rid themselves and others of the embarrassing and painful effects of the infection. The couple’s downloadable e-book manual gives people the simple tools they need to permanently eliminate their genital warts in five days or less no matter how severe or how long they have had their infection.according to the Center for Disease Control, there are almost 6 million new cases of genital warts reported every year in the U.S. For those wondering how to get rid of genital warts, “The 5 Day (Or Less) Genital Wart Eradication System” provides a powerful, in-depth genital warts cure that can be accomplished from the privacy of their home. and the good news is, the genital wart removal system can be used by anyone who suffers from the terrible infection. Christiansen states, “Regardless of who you are, where you come from, and how bad your infection is, this system will arm you with weapons you need to finally defeat and banish this vilest of enemies …forever!”And according to past users, the system works. Joe Martinez, a past user, said, “I was mortified at going to my school’s health clinic and being lectured on what a terrible person I was … I can’t believe in 3 days I already got these amazing results!”“The 5 Day (Or Less) Genital Wart Eradication System” is available for instant download for only $47 and comes with a 100 percent 60-day money-back guarantee and costs.to download a copy today or for more information, visit BestGenitalWartsTreatment.netAbout BestGenitalWartsTreatment.netBestGenitalWartsTreatment.net is a website created by Ashton Christiansen who, like millions of others, was diagnosed with genital warts. The site features information on the breakthrough treatment that he used to permanently eradicate his genital warts. Visitors to the site can download the natural five-day system through links on the website.

SOMEONE ELSE’S WINDOWS: Unanswered questions By H. Marcos C. Mordeno | February 2, 2012

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/1 February) – in today’s regular session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Bukidnon, Vice Gov. Jose Maria R. Zubiri Jr. suspended the house rules to enable an official from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in the province to render a report on what they have accomplished since …

COMMENT: Pacquiao the Boxer in Congress By Patricio P. Diaz | January 31, 2012

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/30 January) – Pacquaio is facing his acid test in Congress: first, how well on the way is he in rounding the square peg that he is to fit into the round hole that is Congress? How is he living up to the great expectation cast …

PACQUIAO WATCH: more than words By Edwin G. Espejo | January 31, 2012

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/30 January) – Rep. Manny Pacquiao is professing he is now a changed man.

Of course he is. from the dirt poor kid to the mega millionaire celebrity who can shell out US$ 500,000 for a private yacht without batting his eyelashes, he is indeed a changed man.

COMMENT: Pacquiao the Boxer in Congress (3) By Patricio P. Diaz | January 30, 2012

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/29 January) — As a boxer and Filipino, has Emmanuel Pacquiao done much good for his country? Certainly! he made the sports world, American especially, take notice of the Philippines. he has given boxing in the Philippines the needed boost – inspiring promising Filipino boxers. for …

COMMENTARY: Week 2: the Corona Impeachment Trial By Edwin G. Espejo | January 30, 2012

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/29 January) — Being away and out of reach by technology during the days when many were expecting the Corona impeachment trial to proceed smoothly after a superb first week handling by Senator-Judge and presiding officer Juan Ponce Enrile, I am limited to picking up TV replay …

THE SEPARATIST: Memories of 2011: Pain, shock and a vow By Patricio N. Abinales | January 6, 2012

HONOLULU  (MindaNews/06 January) —  I wish I could say 2011 was a good year for us. But it was not. my memories of 2011 will always be colored by the pain and shock Angela and I felt when we woke …

When a child is thought to have been sexually abused, a second medical exam may be key to picking up injuries and sexually transmitted infections, a study found.

The American Academy of Pediatrics already recommends that kids being examined for sexual assault have a follow-up exam in the weeks afterward.

But until now, no studies had looked at the benefits of doing that.

For the new report, researchers reviewed the records of 727 children and teenagers who were evaluated for sexual abuse or assault over a five-year period.

They found that almost one-quarter of the time, the patients’ second exam changed the findings of the first.

In 18 percent of cases, there was a shift in the diagnosis of traumatic injuries.

Most often, the original examiner had said it was unclear whether the child had an injury suggestive of sexual assault (like tears or bruising), but the second examiner concluded that the findings were “normal.”

However, that “does not in any way” mean the child wasn’t sexually abused, said Dr. Nancy D. Kellogg, one of the researchers on the study and a child abuse expert at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.

It’s well known that sex-abuse victims often do not have telltale traumatic injuries, Kellogg told Reuters Health.

So it’s what the child says that’s most important.

Kellogg’s team also found that the second medical exam helped pick up sexually transmitted diseases that weren’t caught initially. That was true in nearly seven percent of cases.

Most often, Kellogg said, the follow-up exam caught genital warts — which would not yet have been apparent during the first exam.

The findings, reported in the journal Pediatrics, are based on 727 children and teens who were first examined at one San Antonio ER or the regional child advocacy center. A doctor or nurse trained in child abuse cases performed the exams.

The second exam was done about a month later at the child advocacy center, by an experienced child-abuse doctor or nurse.

During the initial exam, Kellogg explained, kids are “anxious or in pain — they’re traumatized. And that can affect the examiner’s ability to detect things.”

But the researchers also found that the first examiner’s experience mattered. if he or she had done fewer than 100 such exams, the second examiner was more likely to reach different conclusions on whether the child had a traumatic injury.

That, Kellogg said, points to the importance of having an experienced doctor or nurse do the second exam.

Some hospitals, she noted, have special “child abuse teams” who can evaluate kids for sexual assault. there may also be a nearby child advocacy center with doctors or nurses who can do the exam.

As for areas where those services aren’t available, Kellogg said she hopes the current findings give less-experienced pediatricians some guidance in evaluating kids for sexual abuse.

“We were a bit surprised by the findings,” she noted. “We didn’t expect the follow-up exam to make such a big difference in so many kids.”

The study may lead health experts towards understanding the increasing trend of incidence of mouth and throat cancer for nearly 25 years. The evidence also shows that oral sex practices play a major role in transmitting the virus.

Dr. Maura L. Gillison of the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, lead author of the study, shared: “There is a strong association for sexual behavior, and that has important implications for public health officials who teach sexual education.”

Oral sex is generally deemed as a safer alternative to sexual intercourse, despite the fact that herpes, HIV, and other diseases may also be transmitted when engaging in it. According to a survey released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last year, 90 percent of adults, 27 percent of 15-year-old boys, and 23 percent of 15-year-old girls have had oral sex.

Fred Wyand, director of the American Social Health Association HPV Resource Center, shared: “I don’t think people think of oral sex in the same way they do with traditional intercourse… Sometimes younger people engage in oral sex so they don’t have to worry about pregnancy. they may not even make the link between oral sex and STDs.”

This behavior, researchers suspect, may have led to the transmission of HPV through the mouth over the last decade, resulting in oral cancers.

Tags: HPV in mouth, human papillomavirus in mouth, human papillomavirus through oral sex, mouth cancer, oral cancer, risks of oral sex, throat cancer

Human papilloma virus as seen through a colored transmission electron micrograph.

So how many people have human papillomavirus in their mouths?

Quite a few, say researchers who got more than 5,000 volunteers across the country to spit into a cup and answer detailed questions about their sex lives.

The bottom line: 6.9 percent of people in the U.S. (ages 14 to 69) have oral infections with HPV. some types of HPV are linked to cancer and genital warts.

About 3.7 percent of people have “high-risk” oral infections from types of HPV that are most likely to lead to cancer. about 3.1 percent have “low-risk” infections.

The results were just published online by JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. an accompanying editorial says “these results are remarkable….”

How come?

A dramatic increase in cancers of the head and neck has been linked, in part, to HPV, which is also a cause of many cervical cancers. now we have some real numbers about the extent of infection in the U.S. to go on.

For instance, a virus type dubbed HPV-16 was found to affect about 1 percent of people. That’s the one that’s been detected in about 85 percent of oral cancers.

There were some other noteworthy findings. Men are much more likely to have an oral HPV infection than women (10.1 percent vs. 3.6 percent). And people who have had more sex partners and more frequent sex are more likely to be positive for HPV.

Merck and GlaxoSmithKline make vaccines against HPV. The vaccine is recommended for girls and, recently, boys to guard against cancers of the cervix and anus, as well genital warts.

But the vaccines aren’t approved to prevent oral cancers. And the researchers note that the vaccines’ effectiveness against oral HPV infections is “unknown, and therefore vaccination cannot currently be recommended” to prevent oral cancers.

Ohio State’s Dr. Maura Gillison, lead author of the paper, has served as a consultant to both Merck and Glaxo. Merck was one of the funders the study.

DEAR DOCTOR K: please help — I have hemorrhoids. What’s the best way to treat them?

DEAR READER: Hemorrhoids are clusters of veins in the lowest part of the rectum and anus that become swollen and distended.

You can have hemorrhoids without any symptoms. but hemorrhoids can also have very unpleasant symptoms — rectal pain, itching, soiling and bleeding. Hemorrhoids are rarely dangerous, however, and there are many treatment options.

Hemorrhoid symptoms can also be caused by other conditions, including anal warts and fissures, Crohn’s disease and (rarely) anal cancer. So if you have persistent bothersome symptoms that you think are caused by hemorrhoids, it’s wise to see your doctor.

There are several helpful home treatments. The first thing you should do is boost the fiber in your diet. Eat high-fiber foods (such as prunes, pears, beans, bran cereals and oatmeal), take a fiber supplement (there are many varieties available in drugstores), or both. Fiber softens stools and makes them easier to pass. This reduces pressure on hemorrhoids, which in turn reduces the risk of bleeding, inflammation and swelling. Make sure to take fiber with plenty of fluids.

Exercise is another important home remedy for hemorrhoids. take a brisk walk for 30 minutes a day, at least five days a week. not only does this have a powerfully positive effect on your health, it also is a great way to stimulate your bowels.

When you feel the urge, go to the bathroom immediately; don’t wait for a more convenient time. Waiting can cause your bowels to back up, leading to increased pressure and straining.

Sitz baths can relieve itching, irritation and muscle spasm. a sitz bath is a warm water bath for the buttocks. Sit in a regular bathtub with a few inches of warm water, or buy a small plastic tub that fits over a toilet seat. try a 20-minute sitz bath after each bowel movement and an additional two or three times a day. (This works best if you’re retired.) Afterward, gently pat the area dry.

Over-the-counter pain-relief creams can temporarily soothe pain, irritation and itching. Witch hazel wipes (Tucks) are soothing and have no harmful effects. a small ice pack placed against the anal area for a few minutes may also help.

Finally, sitting on cushions rather than hard surfaces can help reduce swelling.

If the treatments I’ve discussed don’t help, talk to your doctor. you may benefit from a simple outpatient procedure to treat hemorrhoids. One procedure involves rubber rings tightened around the hemorrhoid. other procedures, using lasers or infrared light, heat the hemorrhoids, causing them to shrink. Injecting a chemical into the hemorrhoids (called sclerotherapy) also can shrink them. If your symptoms continue despite these measures, you may need minor surgery to remove your hemorrhoids.

Hemorrhoids are among the most common “minor maladies of man.” The good news is that, most of the time, simple home remedies can give you great relief.

Dr. Komaroff is a physician and professor at Harvard Medical School. go to his website to send questions and get additional information: AskDoctorK.com.

McALLEN — three of Norma Flores’ siblings suffered unimaginable abuses at the hands of their foster parents, their therapist Diane Myers said.

Myers, a licensed professional counselor at New Horizons Counseling and Case Management in McAllen, began treating them more than a year ago, after Flores took custody of them April 2009. they are now ages 9, 7, and 6.

“when I first saw them they were like little feral animals — just could not attend, focus or concentrate. they were all over the room. Everyone talking at the same time and Norma just exhausted,” Myers said.  “Every other word was ‘mom, mom, mommy, mom’ — session after session.”

More than a year’s time of psychical and sexual abuse caused the inner turmoil that made them act out and hindered their brain development, Myers said. it was an expression of anxiety and their neurological condition, which she described as “chaos.”

“they were totally dependent on Norma for everything almost as if she was like a life raft and they were scared to death they were going to fall out,” Myers said about the two girls and 6-year-old boy.

And in many ways, Flores has served as such.

Texas Child Protective Services placed the children in foster care after their mother was deported to Honduras for driving under the influence of alcohol. they went from home to home for about two years before the then 19-year-old Flores won custody.

But soon after taking them in, Flores noticed irregularities in her siblings’ behavior. they would fondle themselves at school and do sexual things with each other, she said.

“where did you learn that? You’re too little,” Flores remembered asking them. “And that’s when they came out about Bel and J.C.”

Foster parents Belinda and Jose Luis Cazares, of McAllen, cared for them from January 2008 to April 2009, according to court documents filed by McAllen police in November when they arrested Jose Luis Cazares on two counts of aggravated sexual assault, one count of sexual assault and prohibited sexual conduct.

“they had the worst abuse I had seen up to that point,” Myers said. “it was just so perverse.”

Heartbreaking details of the sexual assaults are described in court documents.

J.C., as the children referred to him, would do it “every day in a while after school,” one of the kids was quoted as saying. 

“He raped (the then 6-year-old girl) in the bathroom of El Pato,” Myers said. “I don’t know why that hurts me so bad, but my face wants to fall off — a little girl.”

Police also accuse Jose Luis Cazares of impregnating a fourth female minor who also was living with them in McAllen before the couple moved to Wyoming. his case remains pending in court, while law enforcement officials continue to work on filing charges against his wife, who the children also said abused them.

Seventy-seven percent of the 1,041 cases reported to the Children’s Advocacy Center of Hidalgo County in 2010 involved allegations of sexual abuse, said Kristy Meyer, the center’s community outreach coordinator.

One in four girls and one in five boys will have suffered this type of abuse before reaching their 18th birthday, she said. And most know who their perpetrator is.

“It’s usually not the old man down the street or the stranger,” Meyer said. “It’s usually someone they know very well and they love.”

Trained professionals at the child-friendly center see an average of six to eight children on a daily basis who have suffered some type of abuse or neglect or have witnessed it, said Forensic Interviewer Sara Munguia. 

“Holidays are usually hard for us because we know something happens” when school is out, she said. “right now, as a matter fact, our schedule is very high.”

Law enforcement and CPS officials refer cases to the center, where Munguia and SANE nurses work to determine if there is a basis for the allegations.

Not every child makes an outcry at the center. some are too young to speak, while others are not as willing to disclose their abuse, she said. but staff there uses other tools like a camera that can zoom in 30,000 times to help find clues.

Finding physical evidence, however, is often times a challenge.

“There might be findings, there might not,” Munguia said. “it doesn’t necessarily mean that nothing happened.”

‘LEFT THERE FOR MONTHS’

Flores is angered that her siblings were not immediately removed from the Cazares’ home even after they made numerous outcries to several professionals, including their case worker, she said.

“the kids told me they told her, but she didn’t do anything about it,” Flores said. the oldest “told a teacher she didn’t want to go back to that house and the teacher told her she had to.”

Other distant family also got wind of the situation, but they didn’t believe the children, Flores said.

“they called them liars,” she added. “they would all talk about it.”

Flores began keeping a folder with detailed notes about the children’s’ accounts after she found out about the abuse. she wrote everything down and has pictures of a McAllen school teacher who the children also told. whether he reported it to CPS remains unclear because of confidentiality issues.

“We’re not sure who dropped the ball, but a pediatrician knew, a teacher knew, a school counselor and a principal knew,” Myers said. “one of the girls made an outcry, and we don’t know what happened to that case, but it never moved forward and they’ weren’t taken out of the home once the outcry was made.

“they were left there for months.”

Flores also made at least two calls to the state’s abuse hotline, but staff never followed up, she said. it wasn’t until she called police May 2010 that an investigation was launched.

“CPS IS NOT A FIRST RESPONDER”

Everyone, especially a professional, is mandated by law to make a report when abuse is suspected, said John Lennan, regional spokesman for the Texas Department of Family Protective Services.

Section 261.101 of the Texas Family code outlines the mandate. if a professional — such as a teacher, nurse, doctor, day-care employee, juvenile probation officer or other licensed professional — suspects abuse or neglect, they must report it to the state within 48 hours.

 the law also applies to those whose communication may be considered “privileged” such as attorneys, members of a clergy and mental health professionals.

People can choose to remain anonymous when making a report to the state’s 24-hour abuse hotline at (800) 252-5400 or online at txabusehotline.org, Lennan said.

Intake operators in Austin gather as much information as they can from the caller to determine in which of two categories the case should be placed— Priority 1 or Priority 2.

Priority 1 calls require a state official to contact the child within 24 hours, Lennan said. Sexual abuse falls under this category.

Priority two cases will be handled within 72 hours, he added. He could not comment on Flores’s siblings’ case due to confidentiality issues.

“CPS is not a first responder,” Lennan said. “Sometimes I think people may think we are.”

Police should be called when a criminal act has been committed against a child, he said. Health professionals and law enforcement officials can usually make contact with his agency more quickly.

Last year, intake operators answered 748,277 calls from across Texas involving allegations of abuse for people of all ages.

‘YOU ARE SAFE’

The youngest of the children does not remember the abuse but had already started to show signs of inner conflict when Myers began seeing him, she said.

“He was three-and-a-half or 4 when she got him and all he ever knew was neglect and sexual abuse,” she said. “I was the most worried about him because he had already started to abuse animals.”

Meanwhile, the girls were at constant war with each other, but did not want to be separated from one another.

“(They) had a very unusual relationship — push you, pull you, love and hate me,” Myers said. “they were always in conflict because there were no resources, not enough food, no nurturing, and they were never safe. they couldn’t even form an attachment.”

Consistent boundaries had to be established in order to help them develop, she said.

“I wanted her to use the word ‘safe’ 100 times a day,” Myers said. “I wanted her to say ‘You’re safe. I’m going to take care of this. I’m in charge here and you’re safe here.’”

Constant love, medication and therapy made a big difference in their lives, both Myers and Flores said.

It’s difficult to prosecute the perpetrators of children 3 and younger because the victims can’t make an outcry, the professionals said. Speech development varies and if tangible evidence is not present, the cases will not be picked up.

“It’s hard to verbalize, and the child can not completely tell you what the adults want to hear,” Munguia said.

Myers once had a 14-month old patient diagnosed with genital herpes and CPS didn’t remove her from the home, she said. it wasn’t until after the therapist made numerous court visits that a judge placed her in the safety of her grandparents’ home.

“Justice for the littlest kids doesn’t happen,” Myers said.

In some degree, it’s difficult for children of all ages to explain what has happened to them, Munguia said.

“We’re adults and we know the parts of the body in our terms as opposed to the little ones,” she said. “So they’re going to tell you what they know in their verbalization.”

And that includes play, Myers said.

Many children make outcries while playing during therapy with her. Every toy in her office is specifically selected for much deeper purposes than its entertainment value, including a blue plastic gun.

“I have children that have seen a gun pointed at mom in front of them,” she said. “they have to play it out. they have to go through that and let you work with it therapeutically.”

Myers noted progress in the way Flores’ siblings play, she said.

Last week, the girls managed sustained play for the first time since Myers began seeing them. they followed a story line and swaddled dolls and nurtured them for an hour without conflict, she said.

The 6-year-old boy has made the most progress, she added.

“I heard a warmth in his voice when he talks to his aunt that I had never heard before,” the therapist said. “I can’t even tell you what a thrill that was for me — just that one thing.”

The road ahead of them is a long one, but Myers is confident Flores has the ability to undertake the challenge.

“It’s really hard for her to keep it all together, but I’m amazed,” Myers said of the young mother of four, who also has a biological 2-year-old son. “Norma is the best untrained play partner I have ever seen in a room. she is a total natural.”

Flores, however, fears their innocence is lost.

“There’s no way of giving their childhood back to them— no way,” she said.

Naxiely Lopez covers law enforcement and general assignments for the Monitor. she can be reached at naxil@themonitor.com and (956) 683-4434.

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