A
British tabloid Sunday Paper called the
News of the World has recently been stirring up
vigilante violence against
paedophiles by
publishing their names and adresses.
Leaving aside the social acceptability of these actions, there has been an unforseen consequence.
From the BBC News website published today on
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/wales/newsid_901000/901723.stm - an excellent site all round, if i may advertise.
A paediatrician at a south Wales hospital has been forced out of her home by vandals who confused her job title with the word "paedophile".
Graffiti was sprayed on the home of South African-born Yvette Cloete, a specialist registrar in paediatric medicine at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport.
Over the Bank Holiday weekend, the 28-year-old awoke to find the doors and windows of her home had been daubed with the word "paedo".
Dr Cloete said had already been planning to move house but that the incident prompted her to leave immediately to stay with friends.
"I have moved out of the area. I no longer feel safe", she said.
Both Gwent Police and Dr Cloete believe the only explanation is the "extraordinary ignorance" of the people who carried out the vandal attack.
A spokesman for Gwent Police said: "We would stress in the strongest possible terms that there is nothing to justify what was written on the walls and door of Dr Cloete's home.
"These people should think long and hard about what they have done to a valuable member of the community who has devoted her life to helping children.
Marie Thorn, a senior administrator at the Royal Gwent Hospital, said Dr Cloete was dealing "very well with the circumstances".
"As a happy coincidence she is moving away from the area - and I don't think this will be anything to make her regret that decision," she said.
"It is really quite staggering that this kind of mistake can happen. Some people are incredibly ignorant."