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Researching Reform

Researching Reform

Category Archives: child abuse inquiry

Survivor Calls For Mandatory Reporting Of Child Abuse

05 Tuesday Dec 2017

Posted by Natasha in child abuse, child abuse inquiry, Researching Reform

≈ 5 Comments

A survivor who goes by the name of Gilo, has called on the Archbishop of Canterbury to implement mandatory reporting of abuse after the Archbishop failed to take a clear stand on the policy.

Gilo is part of a group of survivors who are campaigning for a review into compensation awards, and for mandatory reporting of child abuse allegations.

Gilo was sexually assaulted by the Reverend Garth Moore, a former diocesan chancellor, who died in 1990. After a long battle trying to raise awareness about his ordeal, the Church of England finally settled his claim for £35,000. The case spurred on the Elliott review, which set out important reforms to safeguarding procedures.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, also issued a public apology to Gilo, after ignoring 17 letters Gilo wrote to him. In his reply to Gilo, Welby suggests that mandatory reporting is a “complex issue”. He also confirms that the task of looking at mandatory reporting has been given to the Bishop at Lambeth, the Right Reverend Tim Thornton.

At the moment clerics are required to report safeguarding concerns and could be subject to disciplinary proceedings if they do not, however there is no legal requirement in Egland to report such information. Welby tells Gilo in his letter:

“As you know, we are now in the middle of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse and I am keen to hear its views and wisdom on the subject of mandatory reporting — which is not as straightforward an issue as is sometimes suggested.”

Gilo’s criticism of the Archbishop stems from his view that mandatory reporting is a complicated matter, at a time when bodies of research are emerging which suggest that mandatory reporting is not, and is overall hugely successful in the prevention and detection of child abuse. Gilo has also gathered several high profile supporters for his campaign to implement mandatory reporting including Baroness Walmsley, a passionate advocate of child welfare reform and Dr Julie Macfarlane, a law professor in Canada and herself a survivor of abuse.

Baroness Walmsley’s response to the Archbishop’s letter included the following thoughts:

That mandatory reporting is a “very simple matter”, not a complex one and that “if you know or suspect that a child is being abused, or has been abused, you must report the matter to the correct authorities. To fail to do so is to collude with the perpetrator.”

You can follow Gilo on Twitter – he also has a blog, which he writes under his real name.

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Crown Prosecution Service Makes Ground Breaking Statement Supporting Male Victims Of Abuse

08 Friday Sep 2017

Posted by Natasha in child abuse, child abuse inquiry, child welfare, Domestic Violence, Researching Reform

≈ 15 Comments

In its first ever public statement on the subject, The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has vowed to support male victims of sexual and domestic abuse. The statement was published this week on the CPS’s website:

“The Crown Prosecution Service has published its first ever public statement recognising the needs and experiences of male victims of offences including rape, domestic abuse, harassment, stalking and child sexual abuse.

Many male victims of these crimes never come forward to report them to the police. This can be for a variety of reasons, including fear that their masculinity may appear to be diminished if they report domestic abuse or that homophobic assumptions will be made around their sexuality if they are raped by a man.

The CPS has always been committed to securing justice for all victims, both male and female, and applies policies fairly and equally. It has worked with groups which represent the interests of male victims to explore the issues they face in relation to these offences.

The new CPS public statement sets out:

Plans to give prosecutors more information, to help them better understand the experiences of male victims and the barriers to them reporting offences;

A commitment to work with third sector organisations and campaign groups to challenge gender stereotypes and improve reporting;

Proposals to involve more national men’s groups, as well as groups working with boys and girls, in the scrutiny of CPS policies.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Alison Saunders, said: “The way society views masculinity can make it very difficult for men and boys who are the victims of sexual and domestic offences to come forward.

“This ‘public statement’ formalises the CPS commitment to male victims and recognises that stereotypes of masculinity and femininity can, and do, feed sexist and homophobic assumptions. These can deter male victims from reporting abuse and pursuing a prosecution.

“The statement addresses this challenge and I hope it will create an environment that gives male victims increased confidence to come forward and get the justice they deserve.”

The statement forms part of the CPS revised Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy 2017-2020 which outlines the CPS’s approach to all VAWG Crimes.

The CPS, in line with the United Nations conventions, ratified by the Government, recognises these crimes have a disproportionate number of female victims, hence the continued use of the term “VAWG”. However, the CPS also recognises the experience of male victims and the distressing impact on them.”

The statement was followed by reactions to the pledge from the Mankind Initiative and Survivors Manchester:

ManKind Initiative
“The public statement and the commitments it makes are landmark moments for male victims of crimes such as domestic abuse, stalking and forced marriage. We are very pleased with the CPS for sending a clear and inclusive message to both the criminal justice system, and to society as a whole, about the need to ensure male victims are recognised. I am certain this statement will encourage more men to come forward with the full confidence of the positive support and acknowledgement they will receive when they do so.”

Survivors Manchester
“We very much welcome this ground-breaking public statement on male victims of crimes currently included in the VAWG strategy, to ensure that the voices of male victims and survivors of sexual rape and abuse are heard. We look forward to continuing our work with the CPS to progress our collective understanding further across agencies. I am confident this will make a real difference in the lives of boys and men”.

The story was also covered by The Brief, over at The Times, which increasingly features child welfare stories in its daily news roundup. We highly recommend this newsletter, which is free. You can sign up here. Follow The Brief editor Judge John Hack over on Twitter for the latest.

A very welcome development.

CPSLogo

 

 

 

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Former Abuse Inquiry Panelist: Counsel Silenced Me So That May Could Become Prime Minister.

11 Friday Aug 2017

Posted by Natasha in child abuse inquiry, Researching Reform

≈ 21 Comments

In a controversial interview released today, former Child Abuse Inquiry panel member Sharon Evans makes a startling number of revelations about the Inquiry.

A child abuse survivor and journalist who founded children’s charity Dot Com, Sharon accuses the Inquiry of trying to stifle concerns about the way the investigation was being run so that Theresa May could be pushed into office as Prime Minister.

Ms Evans also said that there was no independence whatsoever at the Inquiry, and that the confidentiality clause which all panel members had to sign, effectively prevented her and others from exposing the truth.

She goes on to allege that Ben Emmerson QC, who was lead counsel for the Inquiry at the time, warned her that if she made her concerns public, she would be discredited. Sharon tells Talk Radio:

“I was taken to one side and it was made clear to me, I was told that Theresa May was going to be the Prime Minister, this inquiry was going to be part of this, and that if I didn’t toe the line and do as I was told, if I tried to get information out, I would be discredited by her advisors.”

Ms Evans also claims that she was given a 23 page document which she was to take her cues from when speaking to the Home Affairs Select Committee. The restrictions left her feeling unable to tell the Committee what she felt was the truth about the Inquiry and the way in which it was being governed.

In answer to the radio host’s question about who she felt was responsible for trying to suppress information, Ms Evans replied, The Home Office.

Ms Evans first came to the public’s attention for her initial attempts at speaking out about what she felt were internal conflicts within the Inquiry. She also went head to head with then lead counsel Ben Emmerson, telling the Home Affairs Select Committee that Mr Emmerson had threatened and intimidated panel members whilst acting as interim Chair for the Inquiry. Emmerson retaliated by telling the Committee that Evans had done “a great deal of damage” to the Inquiry.

The Home Office, which Miss Evans says is responsible for sweeping important information under the carpet, had previously sent Evans a letter accusing her of “extremely serious” breaches of confidentiality, a letter which the Home Affairs Committee went on to publish.

Fast forward two years and current Inquiry Chair, Professor Alexis Jaye, suspects that there are forces at work trying to destroy her investigation. She cites the incident of alleged sexual assault at the Inquiry as the catalyst for its near death experience.

Professor Jaye told the media in July of this year that “dark forces” were attempting to shut her down, and that, “strong vested interests would like to see this inquiry implode… There are institutions which would prefer to see us fail, because we are such a threat.’

Sharon Evans.jpg

 

 

 

 

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Children Stolen From Parents To Populate Colonies With “Good, White British Stock.”

27 Thursday Jul 2017

Posted by Natasha in child abuse inquiry, Researching Reform

≈ 10 Comments

The nation’s Independent Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse has heard how British children were sent to Australia to face lives of physical and sexual exploitation at the request of the British government, in order to populate colonial territories with “good, white British stock.”

In order to ensure that enough children were sent across, British authorities would lie to the children, telling them their parents were dead.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt gave a statement to the Inquiry this week, in which he apologised on behalf of the government for the policy which spanned several decades, saying it was “fundamentally flawed”. The policy led to the sexual abuse of thousands of children.

Hunt acknowledged that the abuse was not unknown to British authorities, and said the government would consider the recommendations made by the Inquiry, which are due to be published at the end of this year.

Yesterday saw the last of the public hearings looking at child migrants within the Inquiry’s Child Migration Programmes case study, part of its Protection of Children Outside the UK investigation.

Some links relating to the investigation:

  • IICSA Public Hearing, Wednesday 26th July (Transcript)
  • Former child migrant criticises former Prime Minister’s comments about abuse
  • Inquiry Contact Page 
fairbridge-children-molong-historical-society

Photo courtesy of Merseyside Maritime Museum.

 

 

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BBC One, Tonight: The Betrayed Girls

03 Monday Jul 2017

Posted by Natasha in child abuse, child abuse inquiry, Researching Reform

≈ 6 Comments

Following on from Three Girls, Another documentary has been made about Rochdale and other towns where child sexual abuse seems to have been particularly high.

This time, the focus shifts away from child protection professionals, and instead looks at other people involved who knew about the abuse but did nothing to stop it.

Interviewees for the programme include social worker Sara Rowbotham, detective Maggie Oliver, Ann Cryer, Andrew Norfolk, Mohammed Shafiq and Nazir Afzal.

BBC One’s The Betrayed Girls airs tonight at 8.30pm. The programme is described as:
“[A] Documentary about the child abuse revelations in Rochdale and other towns. Featuring the harrowing testimony of the victims and the shocking truth from those who spoke out, this film reveals how it wasn’t just the professionals whose job it was to protect the girls who ignored their plight, but others did as well.”

You can watch a short trailer about the film here. 

TBG

“We’d seen so many girls who had experienced this situation, we got to the point where we thought somebody’s going to have to die before anything is done.”

 

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BREAKING: One Of The World’s Most Powerful Catholic Figures Charged With Child Sex Abuse

29 Thursday Jun 2017

Posted by Natasha in child abuse, child abuse inquiry, Researching Reform

≈ 6 Comments

The third highest ranking official in the Catholic Church, Cardinal George Pell, has just been charged with child sex offences. Pell is Australia’s most senior Catholic figure, and caused an uproar two years ago when he was found to have failed child sex abuse victims by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

The Commission also found that Pell did not act ‘in a Christian manner’ during a court battle against a survivor who said he had been abused as a teenager by a priest from 1974 and 1979. The Commission observed that, through Church procedure, Pell had bullied and intimidated the survivor, and had used the threat of court costs repeatedly to try and force the survivor to withdraw his case.

Pell’s latest statement, in which he says he is “looking forward to his day in court and will defend the charges vigorously” suggests he still isn’t clear on Christian values.

Pell faces multiple charges, due to several complaints of non recent child sexual abuse against him. The first hearing will be on 18th July, at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.

Pell

 

 

 

 

 

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Damning Report Confirms Church Colluded With Convicted Paedophile Bishop Peter Ball

22 Thursday Jun 2017

Posted by Natasha in child abuse, child abuse inquiry, Researching Reform

≈ 6 Comments

A new report written by Dame Moira Gibb accuses the Church of England of concealing evidence of child sexual abuse at the hands of its clergy and colluding with convicted paedophile, Bishop Peter Ball.

Ball, who was the former bishop of Gloucester and Lewes, was jailed in October 2015 for the grooming, sexual exploitation and abuse of 18 vulnerable young men aged 17-25 who came to him for guidance and support. He was released from prison in February after serving just 16 months.

Gibb also criticises ex-Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey in her report, whom she cites as being largely responsible for the inexcusable way in which allegations were swept under the carpet. When complaints were first made about Bishop Ball, Ball went straight to the Church and other senior figures within the clergy and the Royal Family to seek out support and protection, including the then Archbishop, Lord Carey who obliged by writing a letter of support which was sent to the police and the CPS. (You can read the letters from Carey and others here).

Carey has now been asked to step down from his position as an honorary assistant bishop by the current archbishop, Justin Welby.

In her report, “Abuse Of Faith”, Dame Moira Gibb says the Church “displayed little care” for Bishop Ball’s victims,”  and that its “failure to safeguard so many boys and young men still casts a long shadow”.

Crucially, the report also confirms that Bishop Ball had suggested “on many occasions, to Lord Carey and others, that he enjoys the status of confidant of the Prince of Wales” and “sought to exploit his contact with members of the royal family in order to bolster his position”.

Those of you following this blog will be familiar with Bishop Peter Ball and brothers, Phil and Gary Johnson who have campaigned tirelessly to bring Ball, and the Church, to justice. An exchange between Phil and Baroness Butler-Sloss, disgraced former Chair of the Child Abuse Inquiry, which we wrote about two years ago, highlights the extent of the collusion, with high profile believers desperate to preserve the Church’s standing. In the recording we shared, you can hear Butler-Sloss’s attempts at defending the Church and minimising allegations of abuse at the same time.

Phil Johnson spoke to the BBC in 2016 about Lord Carey’s involvement in the cover up of allegations against Bishop Ball, highlighting that the Church had deliberately hidden police evidence on the matter.

Things came to a head in August of last year, when it was confirmed that Bishop Ball had been granted Core Participant Status at the Child Abuse Inquiry, leaving his victims and survivors feeling re-traumatised at the possibility of being cross examined by him.

Phil also wrote a statement in September 2016 criticising the CPS’s decision to reduce Ball’s sentence.

Dame Moira Gibb’s report will be a welcome development for survivors and victims and we hope that it will bring about a change in the culture at the Church of England and lead to better safeguarding measures being put into place.

For a full list of articles on Bishop Peter Ball, please take a look at our site.

Peter Ball

 

 

 

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Child Abuse Inquiry WILL hear Ealing Abbey Allegations

12 Monday Jun 2017

Posted by Natasha in child abuse inquiry, Researching Reform

≈ 3 Comments

Welcome to another week.

After leaving survivors and victims furious when it suggested that an investigation into serious child sexual abuse allegations at schools run by Ealing Abbey monks would be dropped, The inquiry has backtracked and confirmed that it will now hear evidence on the allegations at hearings scheduled for November and December, but not before the criminal proceedings on the matter are concluded.

Inquiry Chair, Alexis Jay’s statement from the IICSA website is added below:

Following the preliminary hearing this week, the Chair of the Inquiry has announced a decision in regard to the English Benedictine case study hearing in the Roman Catholic Church investigation.  Prof Alexis Jay’s decision is as follows:

“One of the issues for determination arising out of this hearing is whether or not evidence should be heard in relation to Ealing Abbey/St Benedict’s during the English Benedictine Congregation (EBC) case study hearing due to commence on 27 November 2017 and continue in December 2017.  Related to this is the issue as to whether or not the EBC hearing should be adjourned so as to enable such evidence to be heard alongside the evidence relating to the other EBC institutions currently proposed for investigation at that hearing.

Having considered all of the submissions, my decision is that the EBC hearing should take place as planned in November and December 2017 and that evidence in relation to Ealing Abbey/St Benedict’s will be heard but not before the relevant criminal proceedings have concluded. Reasons for this decision and my decisions in respect of any other matters will follow.”

The news will no doubt be welcomed by survivors and victims.

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Child Abuse Inquiry Changes Its Social Media Approach – And It’s Brilliant

01 Thursday Jun 2017

Posted by Natasha in child abuse inquiry, Researching Reform

≈ 2 Comments

Mention the nation’s Independent Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse and what most people remember are the fiascos over its Chairs and the seemingly never-ending conflicts of interest amongst its advisers. Few outside of Twitter will have noticed the Inquiry’s beleaguered twitter feed, which has caused considerable problems for the Inquiry, too.

The Inquiry’s refusal to investigate two catholic schools responsible for decades of abuse is the latest scandal to hit the headlines, and is an unfortunate development because whilst the project’s Twitter page has been a disaster in its own right, frustrating survivors and victims and damaging the Inquiry’s credibility, it is finally getting its act together.

The Inquiry’s initial social media approach featured an uninspiring Twitter feed populated with bland, almost mechanical updates on the Inquiry’s work but it was its ‘no engagement’ policy which angered victims and survivors the most, looking to the account for answers to questions that weren’t being answered by the Panel or the mainstream media. At its worst, the silence on the Twitter page forced survivors to look for important information through the press, which came to a head when victims’ personal statements were leaked and destroyed by an IT bungle at the Inquiry. 

The silence was interpreted as indifference by members of the public, and child abuse survivors who have strong links with the social media site, using it as both a lobbying platform and a way to highlight issues around child sexual abuse. It was a policy that cost the inquiry some of the small bit of goodwill it had managed to scrape back after its rocky start, and also highlighted the social media team’s complete lack of understanding around engagement and the nature of social media.

Within the last few days, a dramatic shift has taken place over on the Inquiry’s Twitter page. Gone is the utterly unmemorable logo (another, less important story) that was being used as the account’s background image and in its place a pleasant photo of Inquiry Chair Alexis Jay with a supportive message for survivors. The account has changed its handle from the slightly confusing @IICSA_Media to a much more focused handle – @InquiryCSA – and it is, at last, engaging with the public and the platform it is using.

Jay Twitter.png

Occasional, robotic tweets about its meetings have been replaced with warmer, more accessible language describing the Inquiry’s work, and the sharing of information both from survivors, the media and the general public. The team is ‘liking’ messages of encouragement and featuring uplifting stories from survivors who have chosen to go public with their experience. It’s refreshing. And it’s working.

IICSA Story Twitter.png

To date the account doesn’t seem to have responded directly to individual questions, but hopefully this will come with time. Twitter is the perfect platform for supporting survivors and victims of abuse, offering the ability to both direct people to the right place and show the public a more human side to what is essentially a profoundly human project.

Researching Reform wishes the Inquiry’s social media team lots of luck. You can follow the Inquiry’s Twitter account here.

Me IICSA Twitter

 

 

 

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Former PM: Government Criminally Negligent For Sending Children To Be Abused In Australia

31 Tuesday Jan 2017

Posted by Natasha in child abuse, child abuse inquiry, Researching Reform

≈ 9 Comments

Former Prime Minster Gordon Brown has accused the government of wilfully sending children to Australia during a period that spanned 40 years, in the knowledge that they were at high risk of abuse. Evidence is now emerging that many of these children were also abused in the UK before leaving to go abroad. Brown says the government’s involvement in this national disgrace is tantamount to criminal negligence.

Children in England were sent to Australia during the 1920s-1960s, with a view to ‘cleaning up’ the country. Many of these children had been separated from their parents.

A debate in the House of Commons in 2015 where Lord Blackheath admits the government’s involvement in facilitating child abuse during that period and enabling the cover up that followed, led to Researching Reform writing about the contents of the debate. In the debate, Lord Blackheath confirms that he personally arranged for children to be sent to Australia, knowing the sexual abuse that was waiting for them there. Blackheath also made these arrangements illegally – none of the children had legal permission to travel. 

Gordon Brown’s view of the legal implications is right. Government officials were well aware of the terrible abuse these children would experience once reaching Australia, and were equally unconcerned about the abuse they suffered before leaving. These children were also sent off without the correct legal permissions to travel, which should not be ignored in any future legal actions mounted.

If you were a child migrant and are trying to locate your family, the Child Migrants Trust may be able to help you. 

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