to a criminologist and writer.

Canadian Ms Lynda Laushway had only been on the Island a day when she interviewed a convicted child molester.

And Ms Laushway's initial reaction was that Bermuda has a serious problem but little in the way of treatment for offenders.

"When I arrived, most of the people who spoke to me seemed pleased that I was here to talk on child sex,'' she said. "It is obviously here and is a serious concern.

"The convicted sexual offender I spoke to said that, in Bermuda, there is no understanding, and no treatment available for child abusers. He is desperate for treatment but is unable to get any.'' Ms Laushway is in Bermuda to take part in the National Symposium on Children At Risk which will take place in the Princess Hotel today and tomorrow.

It is all part of an international awareness campaign to combat violence and sexual abuse of children.

Ms Laushway explained: "We are trying to bring it into the light of day.

Awareness must be raised to the different types of abuse and the different offenders.

"There are offenders who are only attracted to males, some only attracted to females; there is incest and violence. Some are just adult males who are attracted to women their own age but cannot get them, so they abuse children.

"Eighty-five percent of child abusers are known to their victims and there are no social or economic barriers.'' Ms Laushway has dealt with many cases in Canada where she says recent figures show that one-in-two girls and one-in-three boys have had an unwanted sexual experience by the time they are 18.

She said: "The long term effects on a child are phenomenal. Treatment is a lifetime process. There is no cure, it lives with them forever.

"There is a good possibility that most of our prisoners, mental hospital patients and street people have been sexually abused as children.

"Experts say that 70 percent of people who commit child abuse were abused themselves as children. It is a cycle that must end.'' The symposium will be opened this morning by the chairman of the National Drug Strategy Mr. Alastair MacDonald and conference organiser Ms Sheelagh Cooper.