SAFARI - October Edition
Posted by News Editor
Thursday, September 29, 2005
The October issue of the SAFARI newsletter is now available.
In this issue: Did the CCRC Look At Your Case, UAI Conference, Defence Incompetence, Enhanced Status Update, Can you Recommend a Good Solicitor?
A foster carers group in South Australia has been threatened with legal action over an advert announcing its establishment. The Crown's Solicitors Office have alleged that the group made "false and misleading claims" by stating that that the Government had promised compensation for children abused in State care. The group called Care Workers Coalition are concerned that the prospect of compensation might lead to false allegations of abuse being made against current and former foster parents. For the full story
click here (PDF link).
Extract from HANSARD
12 Sept 2005 : Column 2527W
Child Abuse
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress the Senior Investigating Officers Handbook on abuse investigations' review group has made; and if he will make a statement. [13644]
Paul Goggins: The Senior Investigating Officers' working group is making steady progress in revising and updating this manual of guidance. It deals with the investigation of allegations of historical, institutional and complex child abuse. A conference involving relevant practitioners is due to be held in September and the target is to submit a draft of the revised guidance to the Association of Chief Police Officers in April 2006.
In October 2005 it becomes the duty of the GSCI (General Social Care Inspectorate) to assume responsibility for the independent review of local authority complaint procedures in England. If you have experience of local authority failing to deal with your complaint correcly or have concerns about their complaints procedure email them. Further details about how the GSCI involve themselves in local authority complaints procedure can be obtained here
The
National Union of Teachers have launched a 20 page document
Learning to Behave demanding that pupils receive consistent punishments for talking back, bad language and violence.
Its uncompromising stance will put pressure on the Government, which is accused of sending out mixed messages by publicly extolling zero-tolerance of bad behaviour, while insisting that head teachers cut exclusions.
In an attempt to turn the table on unruly children, who are quick to cite their "rights" when teachers attempt to discipline them, the union will lay down the rights of school staff "to work in a calm and ordered atmosphere if the best is to be achieved by every child". It describes the range of punishment, from detention to expulsion, and insists that head teachers and local education authorities back staff who apply the charter.
It also calls for support for teachers who are falsely accused of assault when they try to restrain pupils. The breakdown in discipline has become a serious problem for schools and is making it impossible for millions of children to learn. (more)
It Just Doesn't Figure
Posted by News Editor
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Children Now, UK's weekly magazine for social workers and voluntary children’s organisations, has been using the "16% figure" for the incidence of child sex abuse perpetrated by parents and carers and sourcing it as an NSPCC statistic. Trevor Jones, a social policy researcher has challenged this in a letter in the current (14th September) edition of the magazine as the NSPCC officially puts this figure at 0.4% for parents/step parents and 0.3% for professional carers (see Child Maltreatment in the United Kingdom, NSPCC, November 2000).
According to a Children Now contributor, the 16% of children sexually abused by their parents or carers comes from Jonathan Bradshaw’s "The Well Being of Children" and apologises for using inaccurate statistics. Trevor Jones would therefore advise anyone seeing the 16% figure in published form to challenge it and quote the official NSPCC statistics above. Also be aware that NSPCC always rounds up the figures so that 1% of children are sexually abused by parents and 1% by professional carers, teachers, etc rather than the actual combined total of 0.7%........hardly an epidemic!
Obituary
Posted by News Editor
Friday, September 16, 2005
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Mr. Common Sense. Mr. Sense had been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such value lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm and that life isn't always fair. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge). His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. Mr. Sense declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student; but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. Finally, Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, she spilled a bit in her lap, and was awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by two stepbrothers; My Rights and Ima Whiner. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on; if not, join the majority and do nothing.
Authorship Unknown.
News has just come through that George Anderson and Margaret Hewitt have finally heard that they would not face any re-trial for historical allegations of abuse said to have occurred when they were carers at the Macedon Home in Northern Ireland.
George originally faced 34 charges and Margaret 99 charges and were sentenced to a total of 29 years in what has been described as Northern Ireland's biggest sex abuse case.
In given their decision the Northern Ireland Appeal Court were highly critical of the prosecution case and considered the evidence in the case entirely unreliable especially after one complainant admitted lying in writing after the trial.
This case is a further illustration of the vulnerability of carers and teachers to false allegations and provides support for a fresh review of this issue by both the Home Affairs Select Committee and by the Government.
George and Margaret have been supported throughout by F.A.C.T. and have asked that their thanks be passed on to all those who have supported them through their darkest days.
A F.A.C.T spokesman said the trial of Margaret and George raises serious questions about the conduct of the police investigation and the response of Barnado's to these allegations. Once again there has been an hysterical response to ill founded allegations, and as a result, two innocent carers have suffered the indignity of having their reputations destroyed and the liberty taken from them. What this investigation shows is that the presumption of guilt is so deeply embedded in child abuse investigations that no can rely on them to reveal the truth.
Read what the BBC said here
News from Claire Curtis Thomas MP
The months from Easter 2005 were dominated by the General Election, the APGAI was one of the first groups to reconstitute in the new Parliament and our AGM was held on the 8th June. Our membership remains at 50 plus, giving the Executive a mandate to work on your behalf.
The Executive confirmed that our main concern continues to be with the processes involved in abuse investigations and that our main objectives are as follows:
Objective analysis of the investigation techniques used in abuse cases.
- The creation of an oral evidence gathering protocol, similar to that which exists for physical evidence.
- Prescribed rules for police officers on the mechanistic parts of the investigation. For example, it should be forbidden to mention compensation in interviews with complainants or witnesses.
- External scrutiny of the NSPCC’s, and other third parties’, procedures.
- The creation of new rules regarding advertising by private solicitors in prisons.
- Anonymity for the accused up to conviction.
- Imprisoned complainants or witnesses should be removed from the prison environment and taken to rape suites for interview, and be treated as sensitively as a complainant alleging rape, with appropriate support and aftercare.
- The video recording of all interviews between the investigating authorities and complainants and witnesses.
- The rules on disclosure to be tightened so that the defence team is not disadvantaged.
We will begin work without delay in October and plans are underway for a Conference on the ‘Interviewing of witnesses and the management of evidence in sex abuse cases’.
John Denham has been reappointed Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, I have not been reappointed but that should make no difference to our work. The Earl Howe and I had a meeting with John Denham at which the following items were discussed:
- The interaction between the CCRC and the Historical Abuse Appeal Panel
- Terms of reference of the CCRC.
- The Senior Officers Handbook on The Investigation of Historic Child Abuse and the lack of an oral evidence protocol.
Since that meeting I have heard that the Home Affairs Committee may follow-up the former Committee’s inquiry into The Conduct of Investigations into Past Cases of Abuse in Children’s Homes. This is excellent news and as requested I have made some suggestions as to what areas of the Report the Committee should look at, I have also asked Mark Newby (Historical Abuse Appeal Panel) to put a paper together for the benefit of the Committee.
Mark and I continue to work closely together and I value his support. For reasons beyond their control the last year has not been an easy one for the Historical Abuse Appeal Panel, a huge amount of work has flooded into them and they have had to cope with this in difficult circumstances. We should thank them for their perseverance.
From all this you will see that many people, unknown to you, continue to work on your behalf and in addition I am hopeful that the autumn will bring new initiatives, particularly in the Care Home cases, with the possibility of ‘spin off’ for others.
Our thanks to Claire Curtis Thomas MP for permission to publish this extract from her recent newsletter.
FACT Conference
Posted by News Editor
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Campaign on behalf of Falsely Accused Carers and Teachers
Annual General Meeting/Autumn Conference
Saturday 1st October 2005 11-00-5:00pm
Main Meeting Hall - St Chads R. C. Cathedral,
Queensway, Birmingham B4 6ET
Programme
10-30 am Arrival Tea/coffee available
11-00 am Annual General Meeting
12-30pm Lunch
2-00pm Mark Newby, Director of Historical Abuse Appeal Panel
HAAP update and new research initiative
2-40pm John Greer, solicitor
Success at appeal in Northern Ireland’s biggest historical abuse case.
3-20pm Tea
3-40pm SAFARI – Supporting all falsely accused with reference information
Phil Faber and Fly Hyett on the origins, workings and objectives of this well respected organization.
4-20pm Open Forum
5-15pm Closing Remarks
The conference will be chaired by the chairman of F.A.C.T.
Refreshments including tea coffee and lunch are available at reasonable cost.
According to Let Our Voices Emerge L.O.V.E. the Alliance Victim Support Group which supports people who claim to have been abused whilst in State care and are now those claiming compensation for abuse through the Irish Redress Board, has today made the surprising move of issuing a statement in support of the L.O.V.E charity. Let Our Voices Emerge, the charity made up primarily of ex-residential institution pupils came under fire from Victim Support groups when it claimed there were carers in the homes being fraudulently accused of child abuse. They are now seeking legal advice to restore the good name of these people. According to the charity's founder Florence Horsman Hogan, the cost of the Redress Board compensation system will be far in excess of what true justice requires - the real victims being the taxpayer, the genuinely abused, and the falsely accused.
The Alliance Victim Support Group statement says:
It has been difficult for many to accept that there have been so many false claims made about Religious from all Institutions. Human nature been what it is these claims have mainly been made to gain monetary awards and without a thought for the good names and reputations of the individual Religious or the Institutions.
As secretary to the Alliance Support Group I have been saddened to know that these false claims continue to be made and in particularly I have been saddened to hear of false claims made against many Christian Brothers and Nuns who I myself knew and whom I respected throughout my many years with them and now. They have every right to seek redress and we would encourage then doing so.
We would wish however that their own Religious Orders would persue a policy of vigorously defending their member’s good names and that of their Institutions. They should allow those Religious who were part of these Institutions to speak for themselves as we are doing.
They should go further. They should take legal action against those who have clearly made false claims and who have benefited from doing so. Above all they should publish the truth of these institutions if only to balance what the public up to now have not seen.
The September issue of the SAFARI newsletter is now available.
In this issue: "Scornful and derisive judge" slated in the Appeal Court; successful appeal statistics; expert witness offers SAFARI members free advice; Home Office asked by SAFARI to change their policy on dealing with those making false allegations; and more!