Info & Resources - Leaflets

An Overview

Many of you will be aware of the recent convictions for child sexual abuse of considerable numbers of former care staff and teachers who worked in care homes several decades ago. While some were undoubtedly guilty the vast majority maintain their  innocence.  

Many of those in prison know colleagues who have falsely accused; some were acquitted at trial, some had charges dropped and others were never charged. The tragedy - described by author, Richard Webster in his book, The Secret of Bryn Estyn, as a modern day witch hunt - could be coming to the place where you work!

There is an ever present fear among many of you of being falsely accused by a child (and/or by a parent),  and deep unease with a bureaucratic child protection that forces you to take precautions to protect yourself rather that to care for, or teach children, as one should.

Politicians and the child protection lobby

Concerns about being falsely accused of child abuse are rooted in the political atmosphere in the country reflecting public worries over childrens’ safety. Government and politicians seek credibility by accommodating the influential views of the child protection lobby, instead of questioning their absurd belief that there are uncountable numbers of people being abused by unimaginable numbers of abusers. The careers and salaries of the child protection lobby benefit by exaggerating the figures to justify the witch hunt for the imagined abusers. They manage to do this because they know that few politicians will risk their job by appearing to be soft on child abuse or by supporting those who have been wrongly accused of child abuse.

Trades union help?

You would expect trades unions to be concerned about injustice but there is a marked silence across the movement about false allegations of abuse -particularly sexual. With few exceptions the leaderships of the unions, like the politicians, keep away from the matter. Apart from the occasional teachers’ unions there are rarely any conference debates on the subject. Paradoxically, among the ranks of union activists and members are many of those who sympathise with the agenda of the child protection zealots. In UNISON, many of its social worker members (who tend to ‘believe the accuser’) are actively hostile to accused care home worker who belong to the same trades union. In some cases, they have zealously helped the prosecutions which have resulted in care being wrongly convicted. Although UNISON has given many of its accused members legal backup, this is on an ad hoc basis. The matter is not high up the agenda in the way it is with the NUT and NASUWT. There are few policy statements on the issue.

As for workers solidarity, union leaderships, even those who have been most vociferous in protesting at false allegations against their members, have remained suspicious of accused members of other unions. Fraternal concerns are seldom expressed. Where once unions took action in defence of their members they are now more involved with compensation claims and offering counselling. Unfortunately, this is part of the same ’victim’ culture that motivates the child protection activists and those who feel encouraged to make false allegations of child abuse. All this means that if you are accused and charged, and go to a trades union for solidarity support and legal help, you should be aware of what those who have been down this road have experienced. In some instances help has been excellent but all too frequently there are causes for concern.

Conclusion

Given that there is so much uncritical support for the ideology of the child protection lobby in their own ranks, it is unsurprising that politicians and unions have not been more critical of the lobby. The lobby has been complicit in the events that led to the wrongful conviction of former care home staff and teachers. The child protection activists are constantly seeking to prompt allegations which ‘unmask’ the abuse they alone are convinced is being carried out extensively in society. Like parents, those working with, caring for and teaching children are high on their target list. As YOU might be next, we recommend that you join F.A.C.T.