The Untouchables – A Shock Photography Project On Child Exploitation

12 Friday Jun 2015

Posted by Natasha in child welfare, Picture of the Month

In what is, to our mind, one of the cleverest and most thought-provoking photographic projects on child exploitation, Cuban photographer Erik Ravelo, and Brazilian artistic director Daniel Ferreira have put together a series of images to highlight child exploitation across the world and to raise awareness about the various attacks against children throughout the world from sexual abuse, shootings in American schools, sex tourism, war, nuclear disaster – even obesity and fast food.

Each image represents a child welfare issue:

The first image relates to pedophilia in the Vatican;

The second image focuses on child sexual abuse prevalent within tourism in Thailand;

The third photo refers to the war in Syria;

The fourth image highlights trafficking of organs on the black market, where most victims are children from poor countries;

The fifth photo relates to the readily available weapons, often for free in the U.S. and;

The sixth image highlights obesity, and the part fast food companies play in aggravating this phenomenon.

We think this project, which was produced in 2013, speaks volumes about the way children are treated around the world. And so we make this our image of the month.

Abuse Survivors Call For Independent Church of England Inquiry

12 Friday Jun 2015

Posted by Natasha in child abuse, child abuse inquiry

≈ 4 Comments

In this very interesting news item published on Premier Christian Radio, we are told that survivors and victims of abuse have just sent an open letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, urging him to implement a full-bodied Inquiry into the Church of England.

The Church of England’s track record has been embarrassing when it comes to addressing child sexual abuse within its community. Because of this, we held a debate in the House of Commons last year to highlight the need for the nation’s Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse to pay special attention to religious bodies and the extent of their involvement with child sexual abuse. There can be no question that these institutions need an independent and swift Inquiry – a significant number of schools and care homes were under the auspices of religious establishments during some of the worst periods for child sexual abuse.

The fact that these organisations still shield priests who abuse children by either forgiving them for their sins and allowing them to stay active within their community, or moving them to other parishes (where they simply continue to abuse other children), means that the law needs to assert itself and make it clear that religious custom is subservient to human rights legislation, not the other way around.

We have personal experience communicating with The Archbishop of Canterbury and his department (Churches have departments now, and TV stations, and comms teams), and whilst we found everyone to be polite and engaged, very little movement on the ground seems to take place. Case in point is the raison d’être of the open letter – it was prompted by the Methodist Church’s decision to publicly apologise, after an investigation uncovered reports of nearly 2,000 alleged abusers, including 914 allegations involving sexual abuse last month.

There is a short radio interview on the page too, with Revd Graham Sawyer, a spokesman for the excellent Ministers and Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors (MACSAS).

You can read Lambeth Palace’s response to the open letter, here.

Many thanks to Julian Whiting for alerting us to this news item.

An Audience With Jimmy Savile

12 Friday Jun 2015

Posted by Natasha in child abuse, child abuse inquiry, child welfare

≈ 2 Comments

It won’t be long before the national media start talking about this item, but journalist Jonathan Maitland has written a play about Jimmy Savile, which aims to look at the man who would be a monster, his victims and society’s reaction to sexual abuse.

It’s an ambitious project, not least of all because the crimes committed by Savile are still so fresh in the public collective consciousness. It’s also true to say that some will no doubt call it out as an opportunistic play…

However, it’s worthy of note as an attempt at trying to understand how and why this kind of abuse can and does take place, as well as the wider issues of societal lethargy and government apathy when it comes to sexual abuse.

The play is showing at The Park Theatre, an award winning new venue located near Finsbury Park Station. The performances run from 10th June – 11th July, 2015 and star Alistair McGowan as Savile.

The brilliant online magazine, The Conversation, offers an excellent summary and critique of the play, written by Bernard Gallagher, Reader in Social Work and Applied Social Sciences at University of Huddersfield.

If you do go, please do come back and tell us what you thought, we’d love to hear from you.

Are Family Law Judges Fit For Purpose?

12 Friday Jun 2015

Posted by Natasha in Judges, judicial bias

≈ 20 Comments

One of Researching Reform’s interests is judicial bias – the extent to which judges allow their personal sentiments to dictate the way they handle their cases – so the recent furore over Justice Pauffley’s remarks about hitting children and cultural norms fascinated us.

Judicial bias is a very real, and present problem. All of us are prone to bias, and research suggests that even judges are not immune, regardless of how bright or how well educated.

Last year, one of our favourite judges, Baroness Hale, observed that judges lead sheltered lives and that this could in turn jeopardise their ability to adjudicate impartially, and with the necessary kind of life experience.

Justice Pauffley’s remarks, in which she told the court that foreign families who hit their children should be made allowances for due to cultural norms, seem odd given that hitting a child is still not illegal, and applies to all families, both foreign and not, residing here. But bias is a varied and often unpredictable phenomenon and doesn’t always guarantee a linear pattern of thought. Justice Pauffley’s comments have always been direct and searingly honest – she has openly criticised the flaws inside the justice system and takes a no nonsense approach to poor professional practice. Her comment in this most recent case though, suggests a deep-seated attitude towards hitting children.

These sorts of difficulties are echoed in the slow nature in which family law judges have taken to trying to grasp the Voice of the Child. Many judges, despite having children of their own, seem completely at sea with children and unable to engage with them when it matters most – to help amplify their wishes and feelings, so they can be seen as well as heard. That children are still so misunderstood, or not understood at all in most cases, is testimony to the fact that our judicial system remains wanting.

It’s time for the Bar to select individuals who are experienced, plugged in and in touch with the world around them. And just as importantly, to find those who are passionate about children and helping to ensure the best possible outcomes for them. Better training too is needed for our current family law judges, so that they can learn to keep any biases in check and carry out their work in a professional and competent manner.

Justice Pauffley