Candid wrote:At this point you have two choices. One is to assume she's lying, put it out of your minds and do nothing at all. The other is to call the children's helpline in your country, tell them what you've told us, and take their advice.
There is a 3rd option...one the OP doesn’t want to pursue, because it will start a “family feud”.
-3- Go knock on the damn door.
It is never too late. Abuse isn’t a single event.
And this is what the thread boils down to, the OP and aunty gossiping about “bad parenting”.
They have not actually talked to the victim, because avoiding confrontation is more important to them.
The OP could easily dominant this situation. The OP could easily gain access to the niece. The OP could easily play a leadership role, using the accusation as leverage to change the dynamic of his relationship with these parents.
But, this leadership requires confrontation, tough conversations, commitment, sacrifice...all things the OP doesn’t want to pursue.
The OP doesn’t want to suffer the consequences of leadership.
It is easier to just gossip while using various justifications to maintain distance. It is easier to take the parents word for it, avoid any leadership role, and spin up an explanation that sounds plausible, eg attention seeking, metoo, etc. The “we” gossip and comfort each other while distancing themselves. Then one day, when it turns out abuse was taking place, “we” says, “We knew it! But there was nothing “we” could do.”