Jon Snow, Channel 4 News Presenter, 'Abducted' And 'Abused' When Six-Years-Old

Jon Snow 'Abducted' And 'Abused' When Six-Years-Old

Jon Snow has described how the aftermath of the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal has forced him to confront a time when he himself was abused as a six-year-old.

Writing on his Channel 4 blog, he describes how he was at the school where his father was headmaster when a member of the domestic staff abducted him.

Snow, 65, says: "He took me to his room and undressed me, and then himself.

Snow has been critical of the BBC approach to Savile in a previous blog

"Thank heavens someone saw the abduction and eventually a member of staff intervened and rescued me. I remember to this day fretting over not being able to do my braces up.

"And I admit that I have found Savile regurgitating the guilt and confusion that I felt."

In the wake of the Jimmy Savile revelations, Snow was highly critical of the way in which the BBC handled the allegations and how he had been able to get away with it at the time.

He called for a full investigation to uncover how such behaviour could continue for so long.

Noting that allegations of sexual abuse are "flying around the corridors of virtually every institution in Britain", Snow then goes on to look at sexism in broadcasting.

The Chanel 4 News presenter describes how when he started in journalism over 30 years ago, there was a culture of drinking that bred a tolerance to inappropriate behaviour towards female employees.

Snow thankfully notes that much has changed.

He says: "The desperate stench of cigarettes is gone. Women are journalists at last, on an increasingly equal footing."

Snow praises the "courageous individuals" who have come forward to talk of abuse in the wake of the Savile scandal.

He ends with: "No amount of effort in responding to complainants must be spared, but neither must it be allowed to become a witch-hunt.

"We face some delicate balances in which the welfare of many is at stake. But I suspect the journey has only just begun."

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