Why would some Tory councillors think that child abuse is a subject to mock or joke about ?

Having gone to a full council meeting at Cromer last night, I was aghast to hear arguments given by Tories and some independents, if you can ever really tell them apart (some Tories regularly stand as independents in order to get elected then join the Tory group just after the election), against the Council adopting a child protection policy.

One Tory councillor objected to the part of the policy which made clear the responsibility of people to report suspected abuse of children (why you wouldn't want to report it, god only knows), some Tories objected to the fact that councillors might be asked (voluntarily) to sign up to it, whilst others said they were going to abstain against voting for a policy. The policy statement, lets be clear, that would help protect children from abuse, and at the same time give clear guidance to staff so that they can avoid malicious allegations being made against them.

After a lot of persuasion, and a call from the Lib Dems for a recorded vote so those Tories who oppose the child protection policy could be named, they backed down, but not before, and this is the very worst of it, some Councillors, and the noise came from the Conservative side of the Council Chamber, starting mocking and joking when one Lib Dem councillor gave an honest and brave account of the abuse he suffered as a child. He did so in order to highlight just how such a policy could have helped him as a child.

Quite why child abuse is ever a laughing matter must be asked of those Tories who sought to mock and laugh. Disgraceful !!!