Victims of Child Sexual Abuse, Stalking and Harassment Can Now Challenge Lenient Prison Sentences

17 Tuesday Sep 2019

Posted by Natasha in child abuse, CSA, CSE, Researching Reform

The government has expanded a scheme which allows victims to challenge prison sentences they consider to be too lenient, so that it now includes victims of child sexual abuse, stalking and harassment.

Members of the public can also challenge sentences they feel are too lenient.

The plan to expand the scheme was unveiled this morning, in a Ministry of Justice Press Release. The move comes after the government’s urgent review into sentencing, which it launched in August.

The Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme will be extended to include 14 new offences, which will give victims of these offences the power to challenge sentences handed down for the crimes they have experienced.

However, the bar for cases to be accepted for review is set high, according to the Solicitor General, Michael Ellis QC MP.

The amendment covers controlling and coercive behaviour, as well as additional child sexual abuse offences, such as those involving the taking, distributing and publishing of indecent images of children and abusing a position of trust with a child.

Under the Scheme, prosecutors, victims of crime, their family and the public can ask the Attorney General for a review of certain sentences they believe is too low.

The Attorney Generals’ Office then has 28 days after sentencing to make a decision.

If the Attorney General thinks the request is appropriate, the case will be sent to the Court of Appeal for reconsideration – where the sentence could be increased if judges rule that the original sentence was unduly lenient.

The press release offers an example of how the scheme works in practice, mentioning an intervention where the Court of Appeal increased the sentence of a mother who allowed her partner to rape her daughter, from three to five years in prison.

Crimes such as murder, robbery, and some terror offences are already covered by the Scheme.

In 2018, the Scheme was used to increase the sentences handed down to 99 criminals, following a review by the courts.

The government has extended the scheme to include the following offences:

Abuse of position of trust: sexual activity with a child (s.16, Sexual Offences Act 2003),
Abuse of position of trust: causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity (s.17, Sexual Offences Act 2003)
Abuse of position of trust: sexual activity in the presence of a child (s.18, Sexual Offences Act 2003)
Abuse of position of trust: causing a child to watch a sexual act (s.19, Sexual Offences Act 2003)
Inciting a child family member to engage in sexual activity (s.26, Sexual Offences Act 2003)
Sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder impeding choice (s.30, Sexual Offences Act 2003)
Causing or inciting a person, with a mental disorder impeding choice, to engage in sexual activity (s.31, Sexual Offences Act 2003)
Engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a person with a mental disorder impeding choice (s.32, Sexual Offences Act 2003)
Causing a person, with a mental disorder impeding choice, to watch a sexual act (s.33, Sexual Offences Act 2003)
Possession of indecent photograph of a child (Criminal Justice Act 1988, s.160)
Taking, possessing, distributing, publishing Indecent Photographs of Children (s.1 Protection of Children Act 1978)
Harassment: putting people in fear of violence (s.4, Protection from Harassment Act 1997)
Stalking involving fear of violence or serious alarm or distress (Protection from Harassment Act 1997, s.4A, Protection from Harassment Act 1997)
Controlling or Coercive Behaviour in an Intimate or Family Relationship (s.76, Serious Crime Act 201,).

You can find out how to apply for a review, here.

Government Publishes Controversial Child Protection Toolkit

23 Tuesday Apr 2019

Posted by Natasha in child welfare, CSA, CSE, Researching Reform

≈ 3 Comments

A newly published government guide on how to disrupt child exploitation in the UK highlights the many problems with our child protection system.

The guidance, which was published on 15th April, offers a summary of the law and policy addressing child exploitation so that frontline workers can make the most of the powers available to them to prevent children from being trafficked and abused.

But the 78 page document, arguably decent for its pit-stop guide on legislative powers tackling exploitation, only serves to outline concerning gaps inside the child protection system and the failure of the law to properly define forms of exploitation.

While the press release says the toolkit is an attempt at safeguarding children from exploitation, most of the measures focus on available actions after a child has gone missing. The toolkit also offers no guidance on how to report or record details of missing children, nor does it encourage local authorities and child welfare bodies to ensure that robust details about these episodes are formally lodged.

As a bare minimum councils should be advised to record as much detail as possible about missing children, particularly why they go missing, where they go, who they go to, or with, what they engage in during their absence and how their initial escape was enabled. This information is crucial to understanding exploitation and stopping it. And all these details should be set down in records which should be made available to the public while maintaining the anonymity of every child involved.

The toolkit highlights another worrying area in child protection – the Child Abduction Warrant Notice (CAWN). These notices are not regulated by legislation or statute and effectively allow the government to threaten a suspect with arrest if they fail to comply with the Notice which can include not communicating with a child, without any tangible evidence.

Researching Reform wrote about similar Notices called C5s last year after finding a Notice online being used by police which revealed that suspects being issued with these leaflets were not told of their rights in relation to signing and agreeing to the documents. A police force slide show we found online about the C5 even calls suspects ‘perpetrators’, a term which should only be used for someone who has been found guilty of a crime. Another concern with these types of Notices includes police powers to monitor a suspect indefinitely.

The guide also explains that there are currently no legal definitions for child sexual exploitation or child criminal exploitation, making it a great deal harder to bring in suspects.

The need to engage with an exploited child’s parents should also be a priority for the child protection sector, instead the toolkit dedicates five small bullet points to parental involvement.

There is no sensitivity in the guide either on how to approach and engage with vulnerable children, which is likely to make any action selected by child protection workers fraught with complications.

The Best Practice section at the bottom of the toolkit is a nice touch, though in reality it doesn’t offer best practice guidelines so much as additional information on various topics covered by the guide.

If you’ve read the guide we’d love to hear what you think.

C5 Notice Page 1

Government Funds Helpline For Offending Paedophiles

18 Monday Mar 2019

Posted by Natasha in child abuse, CSA, CSE, Researching Reform

≈ 1 Comment

Welcome to another week.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid has pledged £600,000 to fund a support helpline for child sexual abuse offenders.

The phone line will be run by The Lucy Faithfull Foundation, whose work has been funded from a £2.6 million government pot dedicated to prevention work.

The Home Office’s press release about the phone line explains that the charity provides confidential advice to offenders who want to address personal child exploitation behaviours. The charity says it has seen a 65% rise in callers and visitors to the Stop It Now! helpline and self-help website in relation to viewing sexual images of children online.

The latest figures which were published in September 2018 indicate a 700% increase in child abuse images being referred to the National Crime Agency (NCA) in the last 5 years. The data also estimates that up to 80,000 people in the UK currently present some kind of sexual threat to children online, with exploitative material increasingly featuring ever younger children.

The press release says that over 2,000 people contacted Stop It Now! last year through the helpline and its secure messaging service in 2018.

No data has been offered on whether the help line has managed to reduce offending behaviours or the commission of child sexual offences by those who called through to the charity’s help line to ask for support.

SIN

New APPG For Survivors Of Child Sexual Abuse Criticised Over Inappropriate Questionnaire

09 Wednesday Jan 2019

Posted by Natasha in CSA, CSE, Researching Reform

≈ Leave a comment

A new All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) set up for adults who experienced sexual abuse as children has been criticised by members of the public over a survey it published last month.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse, whose Chair and founder is Rotherham MP Sarah Champion was launched to explore and identify the support and justice needs of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

As part of this effort the parliamentary group put together a survey to find out about survivor’s experiences of being abused as children. The survey includes around 14 questions grouped into five categories: disclosure, disclosure and support, reporting, the criminal justice process and demographics.

The first question, which asks for information on which country or region the individual experienced abuse, has to be answered before you can continue on to the next question. Respondents can then choose which of the remaining 13 questions, or segments, they’d like to answer.

The survey was posted on the MP’s Facebook page in December, and social media users were quick to point out its flaws. Several posters said that the survey was filled with leading questions, while others commented on the language used within the survey.

A Facebook user who commented on the post was surprised that the survey did not offer any options for survivors to explain that they were not aware that what was happening to them at the time was abuse. Another member of the public was concerned about the levels of awareness at the APPG on transgender issues, which the survey touches upon in its questions. Other posters were sceptical of the APPG’s intentions, viewing its survey as an exercise in gathering information to limit the government’s responsibilities for the child sexual abuse scandals that have emerged within state-run schools, care homes and sports clubs, and also questioning whether the APPG consulted with survivors before producing the survey.

Sarah Champion first came to the media’s attention when she criticised certain parts of the Muslim community in Britain after a large-scale grooming operation made up of Pakistani men abusing caucasian girls was exposed in her constituency. In July last year Champion had to increase her security detail after receiving several death threats, and faced being expelled from the Labour party for her remarks.

The APPG was launched on 13th November, 2018, and has an almost exclusively female officer base: Lilian Greenwood, Dr Lisa Cameron, Lucy Allan, Mrs Pauline Latham, Baroness Hollins, Baroness Uddin and Baroness Burt of Solihull. Jim Shannon is the only male officer at the APPG. The Secretariat for the Group is The Survivors Trust and is not listed on the Parliamentary Register though it should be, according to APPG Rules.

In a statement on her website, Champion offers a summary of the first meeting held by the APPG and outlines the Group’s plans for the coming year and beyond:

“The APPG will focus its initial efforts on consulting with victims, survivors and support services to issue a response to the Government’s Victims Strategy consultation, set to launch in early 2019. The APPG will host evidence sessions in Parliament, obtain the views of victims and survivors directly. The APPG will aim to highlight the need for specialist support services and to improve access to justice for adult survivors.”

Anyone who wishes to take part in the survey can do so here. Those who would just like to look at the questions can see them below.

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Afghan Children In Iran Are Being Forced To Fight In Syria.

23 Friday Nov 2018

Posted by Natasha in child welfare, CSA, CSE, Researching Reform

≈ 6 Comments

Iran holds the largest Afghan diaspora in the world, and of the three million Afghans in Iran, one million are estimated to be children. Emerging reports of undocumented Afghan girls being sold into sexual slavery, and research showing that boys are being forced to fight in Syria on behalf of the Iranian government are hugely worrying developments. They are also developments that this site feels deserve more coverage.

The piece was published this week on Kayhan Life, a fully independent media outlet focusing on news about the Middle East. By way of disclosure, Researching Reform’s editor is the managing editor for the newspaper, which also has a strong focus on child rights. If you are interested in child welfare and would like to know more about the obstacles children in Iran face day to day, you can access those articles here.

Our story this week highlights the sexual exploitation of Afghan girls in Iran and the forced conscription of Afghan boys, who are coerced into fighting in Syria by Iran’s government. You can read the article here.

We wish you a safe, and happy weekend.

Afghan-kids-Yazd

Slideshow Raises Concerns Over Sex Abuse Leaflets

15 Monday Oct 2018

Posted by Natasha in CSE, Researching Reform

≈ 7 Comments

A Hampshire police presentation discovered by this site, raises concerns about the strategy used by the force when serving child sexual exploitation leaflets to suspected abusers. Tactics include the use of threatening language inside the form, bullying suspects into signing the leaflet, and referring to suspects as perpetrators despite a lack of evidence to bring charges.

The leaflet, called a C5 notice, is being handed out in a bid to deter people from committing child sexual exploitation offences. The notices can be handed out where an investigation into a suspect has taken place but there is not enough evidence to charge them. Hampshire police has served C5 notices on 54 people since the force introduced the scheme in 2016, including a woman who had teenage boys over to her house. It’s not clear from reports whether there was any suspicious activity taking place at the woman’s home.

The original presentation Hampshire Police used to launch the scheme, offers information about how C5 notices should be used, regional details about victim and perpetrator profiles, police disruption tactics, and local CSE case studies. A website launched at the same time to raise awareness around CSE, called Alice’s Diary, compares children who have been affected by sexual abuse, to Alice in Wonderland.

The presentation was given by Chief Inspector Debra Masson in October, 2016 and refers to both proven offenders, and individuals eligible for C5 notices as ‘perpetrators’, a term usually only used for a person who has already been found guilty of a crime. As C5 notices are given to individuals who have not been charged with any offence, the term raises serious questions about the force’s understanding of due process. The slides also refer to suspected victims, just as victims, which gives the impression that all sexual exploitation allegations lodged with the police are already proven.

Equally concerning are the contents of Hampshire police force’s C5 notice, which includes a statement by the police that they will be monitoring the suspect – despite an investigation having already taken place which has not led to any charges – for an indefinite period of time. A form at the bottom of the notice also requires the recipient to sign a statement of understanding, which could be viewed as deeply unethical, given that no charges have been brought. There is also no clause in the C5 informing the suspect that he or she is not under any obligation to sign the notice.

Interestingly, the notice itself does not use the term perpetrator.

The leaflets have generated conflicting views amongst politicians, the police and lawyers. Labour MP Sarah Champion, who is also the co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Preventing Sexual Violence, believes the leaflets will act as a deterrent. Police and Crime Commissioner Vera Baird thinks the leaflets will have no effect on reducing sexual abuse, and Aine Kervick, a criminal defence lawyer at Kingsley Napley, believes the notice could target innocent people and affect their chances of employment as the C5 could show up in an enhanced DBS check. Hampshire Police denies that the scheme is a cost-cutting measure.

These are all important points, however the most significant issues here are the language used inside the C5 and the less than careful wording within the presentation, all of which are clear breaches of due process, and show a complete lack of respect for the legal rights of those targeted by these forms.

Alice In Wonderland CSE

Sajid Javid: “Keeping Our Children Safe Will Be My Mission As Home Secretary”.

03 Monday Sep 2018

Posted by Natasha in CSE, Researching Reform

≈ 6 Comments

Sajid Javid has promised to make tackling sexual exploitation of children a priority, in his role as Home Secretary.

During a speech delivered today at the headquarters of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), Javid warned tech companies that they needed to crack down on online child sexual exploitation (CSE) in the same way they were now going about tackling extremism online.

The latest figures reveal a 700% increase in child abuse images being referred to the National Crime Agency (NCA) in the last five years. The data also estimates that up to 80,000 people in the UK currently present some kind of sexual threat to children online, with exploitative material increasingly featuring younger and younger children.

Javid asked companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter to address five core areas:

block child sexual abuse material as soon as companies detect it being uploaded
stop child grooming taking place on their platforms
work with government and law enforcement to shut down live-streamed child abuse
for companies to be much more forward leaning in helping law enforcement agencies to deal with these types of crimes
show a greater level of openness and transparency and a willingness to share best practice and technology between companies

Javid also outlined new funding to tackle CSE, including an extra £21.5 million for law enforcement over the next 18 months to reduce the volume of offending and pursue the most hardened and dangerous abusers, £2.6 million for prevention work, with some of this grant going to the child protection charity the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, £250,000 for new ideas on how to detect and disrupt live streaming of abuse, and a further £600,000 for Project Arachnid – pioneering technology that helps to identify and remove Child Sexual Abuse material from the internet. The Home Secretary has also promised 11 councils £13 million to protect vulnerable children from exploitation and abuse.

You can read Javid’s speech in full, here.

France 2 Speaks With Researching Reform About England’s Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme

01 Tuesday May 2018

Posted by Natasha in CSA, CSE, Researching Reform

≈ 3 Comments

France 2 very kindly interviewed Researching Reform about legislation in England and Wales which allows members of the public to request information about convicted paedophiles who may be living in their community.

The legislation, also known as Sarah’s Law, and named after Sarah Payne who was abducted and murdered by paedophile Roy Whiting, allows the public to make formal requests to the police about individuals they believe may hold a record for child sex offences. The legislation works in tandem with a Child Sex Offender Register, which is held by police and not freely available to the public. If the police decide a request is in the best interests of any children who may be involved, they can decide to release the identity of a paedophile if he is on the register.

The police have been criticised for what appears to be reticence over granting requests for information. Between 2011, when Sarah’s Law came into force and 2014, only 877 out of 5,357 applications disclosed, were successful. The finding led the NSPCC to suggest that Sarah’s Law was not working as it was intended to.

Prior to our interview with France 2, we spoke with the team about the need to bolster legislation like Sarah’s Law with early intervention strategies, including better counselling and therapeutic services inside prisons in order to ensure that once convicted paedophiles have served their time, they are no longer a danger to children. We also talked about the ways in which convicted sex offenders sometimes try to cover up their pasts, by changing their name via deed poll – an article in 2016 revealed that over 800 sex offenders, including paedophiles, changed their names by deed poll to try to hide their convictions.

France 2 produced this report because they wanted to highlight the differences between France’s own system for monitoring paedophiles, with the UK’s. We’ve added a translation of their piece under the video, below:

“Sarah Payne was eight: in July 2000, this little English girl was abducted and murdered by 41 year old Roy Whiting, a convicted paedophile. The scandal spurred on Sarah’s parents and several organisations to campaign for a change in the law. In memory of this little girl, Sarah’s Law was created, which allowed anyone, from a parent to a member of the public to make a formal request to the police for information about an individual suspected of being on the sex offenders register. “If the police believe that it is in the best interests of a child, they will give the name and further details about the individual to the person who has asked for it, if they are on the register,” explains Natasha Phillips, a lawyer specialising in child protection.

The British sex offender register, which currently lists around 60,000 people is more accessible to the public than France’s own. Those registered for life include all sex offenders whose sentences are longer than 30 months; they must report to the police every time they change their address or take a trip abroad. The police can consult friends, school directors, sports club and association managers, and even homeowners when they receive a tenant’s file. Those authorised to access the register are committed to confidentiality rules, but there are exceptions. The press does not hesitate to publish photos of paedophiles, and groups like Dark Justice are taking the law into their own hands without legal backing from the authorities, tracking and publishing videos of paedophiles on the internet, even when the paedophile’s name has only been released the day before.”

You can watch the report here.

VIP Plot Case Has Been Heard, Says Court

02 Friday Mar 2018

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

≈ 6 Comments

A case involving a VIP plot to kidnap, rape and murder girls from care homes has finished, a clerk at Southwark Crown Court has confirmed.

The defendant, Gihan Muthukumarana, who was on trial for facilitating sexual activity with a child and three counts of possessing indecent images of children, had told an undercover police officer that he was putting together a plot to kidnap, rape and murder girls from care homes for ‘top political people.’ The defendant told the court that his story was a fantasy. A jury acquitted Muthukumarana of all charges.

This case remains a troubling one. Initial media reports suggested that the final hearing was on 13th February. Researching Reform called Southwark Crown Court on 23rd February, and was told that the case had not ended, and was only part heard. The clerk went on to check the details of the case and discovered whilst we were on the call, that it was on the court’s Warned list, and likely to be heard in full within the next two weeks.

Researching Reform contacted the CPS to ask for a transcript once the case had ended, however the agency said it was unable to provide one. We then contacted Southwark Crown Court, who told us that we would need to pay for the transcript ourselves. Southwark Crown Court sent Researching Reform the email below, in which a different clerk suggests that the trial began on 8th February, and ended on the 13th February:

CC Email image

We’re not sure how a case could be on the court’s Warned list on 23rd February, yet heard in full, ten days before that date. Conspiracy theories aren’t things we take to lightly, but given that this case involved some serious allegations against high profile people, the mainstream press seemed completely unaware of its existence and the formal statements we received from the court were conflicting, we’re keeping an open mind about this one.

CCS

New Definition For Child Sexual Exploitation Published

12 Friday May 2017

Posted by Natasha in child abuse, child welfare, CSE, Researching Reform

≈ 2 Comments

The government has released a working document for child welfare professionals and all those who work with children and families which outlines a revised definition for child sexual exploitation (CSE). It replaces the 2009 guidance ‘Safeguarding children and young people from sexual exploitation’.

The document, which was published in February of this year, defines CSE as:

“A form of child sexual abuse. It occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child or young person under the age of 18 into sexual activity (a) in exchange for something the victim needs or wants, and/or (b) for the financial advantage or increased status of the perpetrator or facilitator. The victim may have been sexually exploited even if the sexual activity appears consensual. Child sexual exploitation does not always involve physical contact; it can also occur through the use of technology.”

This definition is not statutory, meaning that it’s not a legal definition, however it has been published to help professionals detect CSE and take the necessary next steps to address it.

The guidance goes on to say:

Like all forms of child sexual abuse, child sexual exploitation:
• Can affect any child or young person (male or female) under the age of 18 years,
including 16 and 17 year olds who can legally consent to have sex;
• Can still be abuse even if the sexual activity appears consensual;
• Can include both contact (penetrative and non-penetrative acts) and non-contact
sexual activity;
• Can take place in person or via technology, or a combination of both;
• Can involve force and/or enticement-based methods of compliance and may, or
may not, be accompanied by violence or threats of violence;
• May occur without the child or young person’s immediate knowledge (through
others copying videos or images they have created and posting on social media,
for example);
• Can be perpetrated by individuals or groups, males or females, and children or
adults. The abuse can be a one-off occurrence or a series of incidents over time,
and range from opportunistic to complex organised abuse; and
• Is typified by some form of power imbalance in favour of those perpetrating the
abuse. Whilst age may be the most obvious, this power imbalance can also be
due to a range of other factors including gender, sexual identity, cognitive ability,
physical strength, status, and access to economic or other resources

The guidance also explains that “Child sexual exploitation is never the victim’s fault, even if there is some form of exchange: all children and young people under the age of 18 have a right to be safe and should be protected from harm. One of the key factors found in most cases of child sexual exploitation is the presence of some form of exchange (sexual activity in return for something); for the victim and/or perpetrator or facilitator.”

The document offers rough guidelines on which demographics are most affected by CSE, indicators for the phenomenon and the effects of CSE on children. It also offers suggestions on how to respond to incidences of child sexual exploitation.

If you have any questions you can contact the Department Of Education here.

CSE Know signs