That today we hear so many reports of people being arraigned in court and charged with molesting children, in one way or another, is not because the number of such cases is dramatically on the increase.

These things used to happen in the past too, probably with the same frequency. The difference is that today thankfully children are taught to expose such happenings, when in the past it was more likely that they would have been too afraid to do so or, if they did, they would have been told to keep the “secret”.

Being instructed at school, and sometimes even by their parents, about what could happen to them and how they should react is the first step towards them having the courage to speak up when they unfortunately experience sexual molestation by an adult – sometimes even before any physical contact has been made.

What has also changed is the possibility for adults with pervert thoughts to molest children – today, communications, in particular the internet and mobile phones, has made it much easier for the perpetrator to make contact with the victim.

Luckily, these communications leave a trail too, and careful parents who monitor their children’s computers and phones, have often come across such illicit behaviour. This has led to the arraignment of a number of people in court.

All that has unfortunately happened to other children should open the eyes of parents who think that it will never happen to their son or their daughter. Parents should not be so naïve as to believe everything that their children tell them, and should be able to detect any changes in behaviour that should put them on high alert.

Secondly, it is imperative that parents monitor what their children are doing as closely as possible. Yes, even children deserve their privacy, but this should not be afforded at the expense of the risks that children, due to their young age and immaturity, could find themselves faced with.

For one thing, computers should not be installed in children’s bedrooms and at the same time parents should make sure that access to certain sites is restricted. This would already go a long way to prevent anything bad from happening.

But there is another side to the story, and this concerns the way the courts of justice deal with people who are found guilty of molesting children. Generally speaking, the perpetrators tend to get rather lenient sentences, and most of them remain outside jail.

What is perhaps even more worrying is that, often enough, the courts ban the publication of the perpetrators’ name. It is said that the intention is to protect the identity of the victims, but there are occasions when such a line of reasoning is not justified, particularly when the aggressors and the victims are not related.

When this happens, perpetrators remain “hidden” behind a court sentence when society should have every right to know who they are, if they are living in the same neighbourhood, if they are seeking another job with a football nursery or in another school, if they are mingling with other youngsters in some other way.

In this sense, schools and other places where children meet – dance classes, football nurseries, drama centres, youth organisations and whatnot – should be on the lookout when employing new people. They should check their background before giving them the nod.

Parents have a right to know that their children are being well taken care of in those hours when they are not in their company.

The courts of justice have a responsibility to see that justice is done, but they also have a responsibility towards society, whom they seek to defend. Banning the names of child sexual molesters when there is no real reason to protect their identity could open the way for illicit behaviour involving other minors to take place again.