Here’s an uncomfortable scenario.  Every right minded person finds the daily revelations of historic child abuse disgusting and deplorable.  And I for one am no exception.

But some aspects of the issue give me cause for concern.  Not relating to child abuse or rape – let me be quite clear about that.  But on the surrounding area of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviours.

Nowadays boundaries are very clear even though they continue to get crossed.  Forty years ago the situation was less so.  Just as racism was tolerated and even celebrated (remember “Love Thy Neighbour”?) so too was sexual harassment rife (the “Carry On” films and Benny Hill).  I would expect that everyone of us old enough to recall those days will have at the very least witnessed it or may even have experienced it.  It was a cultural norm.

So here’s the thing.  Supposing you were approached by the police investigating a complaint that you yourself did something inappropriate on April 29th, 1975.  How could you defend yourself?

But secondly there is a moral/legal question here, which is “Should the mores of one era be accountable to the mores of another?”  For example, suppose a law was passed in 40 year’s time banning smoking or eating meat – issues which today encounter only “soft” moral opposition.  Then suppose that 50 years from today you were accused of eating meat or smoking on a certain day back in 2015.  Would that constitute natural justice?

You would argue, “But we all were”, “It wasn’t such a big thing then”, or “Times have changed” -  not a million miles away from the defence we hear put about historic sexual harassment.

Not a perfect correlation, I will agree; but sufficiently close to make you think.