February 5th 2015 was an important day. The Home Secretary came to the House to deliver a statement on the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.  (Turn on the volume on the Parliamentary player)

Many people, including the author of this post, found the speech moving.  It was a seminal moment for many of us who were abused in childhood in institutional settings. Much of what so many abusees wanted was delivered in just twenty minutes by Mrs May. She had heard the roar of  criticism from abusees, as well as members of her own party, about the non-statutory status of the Panel Inquiry. (more…)

By Jonathan West 

‘Hear no evil, see no evil’ was submitted by its authors Professor Eileen Munro and Dr Sheila Fish in September 2015.

There appear to be the following oversights in the submission.

High Reliability organisations

One of the major suggestions in the paper is to examine how “High Reliability Organisations” in industries such as aviation and nuclear power achieve their levels of safety. Techniques mentioned include looking beyond the immediate cause of any error, and encouraging staff to highlight potential problems for action before a major failure arises.It is all very well looking at how these organisations achieve these levels of reliability, but the report’s analysis neglects entirely to examine why these industries decide such high reliability is necessary. (more…)

The last child protection consultation relating to institutional settings which the founder of Mandate Now and a colleague co-contributed to was the Singleton Review – Keeping our School Safe (March 2009). It was announced in late October 2008 just a few days after the first broadcast of the feature length documentary ‘Chosen.’ The film prompted significant activity at the Department of Education where the Secretary of State was Ed Balls. The Chair of a Safeguarding Board suggested during a call to me that there was nothing else on the horizon that could possibly have prompted the review, and no pre-announcement consultation with safeguarding boards had happened. It seemed this was a reaction to the documentary.

Sir Roger’s report has recently been cited in the serious case review published by Hampshire Safeguarding Children’s Board into pupil on pupil abuse at Stanbridge Earls School in Hampshire. Abuse appears to have occurred at the school for a much longer period than suggested by the limited scope of the SCR as this recent recent conviction of a former pupil indicates. Furthermore the report does not suggest boys were abused contrary article.  MN will not comment further on the central detail of this report as we speculate it may well be subjected to significant scrutiny. (more…)

Victims, survivors and abusees who are meant to be at the centre of the inquiry have been ignored by it for months thanks to a communications blackout. The exception was the pre-recess outline announcement on the 9th July.

This paucity of engagement with abusees by the IICSA about the progress of the inquiry has caused significant and unnecessary distress to many of those who are meant to be at the centre of it. This and other matters were mentioned in a letter to Mr Ben Emmerson, following a meeting with him on 8 May 14 at Millbank.

The meeting produced no change.

We provide the print exchanges below. What has become clear from the multiple communications several people known to us have had with the IICSA secretariat, is that the default among the Home Office personnel on secondment to IICSA is an unfamiliarity with the subject of the inquiry. We abusees might as well be widgets or some other inanimate object. Furthermore, there appears to be a disinclination by the executive (The Chair and the Panel) to address the important communications shortcomings. One would have to be living in a cave not to appreciate the havoc this failure has contributed to events since the beginning of the year. The Inquiry has also seen a media officer depart perhaps because he didn’t have a job to do or maybe he had been metaphorically locked in the stationery cupboard. (more…)

In June last year, following exchanges via twitter and email with Peter Wanless, the CEO of the NSPCC, it seemed likely both NSPCC and MandateNow were moving towards a meeting.  Disappointingly and  for reasons still unknown to #MN, this did not happen.  In February we were contacted by someone known both to us and the NSPCC who, because their family has been failed by the inadequate child protection ‘system’, was keen both parties met to explore our divergent positions on mandatory reporting.  The timing is pertinent given the approaching consultation on mandatory reporting which was secured by Baroness Walmsley (LD) via her S43 amendment in the serious crimes bill. Mandate Now undertook the ‘heavy lift’ assembly of this amendment for Lady Walmsley who coincidentally is also the Parliamentary Ambassador for NSPCC. (more…)

Released March 2015

This book provides the first comprehensive international coverage of key issues in mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect. The book draws on a collection of the foremost scholars in the field, as well as clinicians and practice-based experts, to explore the nature, history, impact and justifiability of mandatory reporting laws, their optimal form, legal and conceptual issues, and practical issues and challenges for reporters, professional educators and governments. Key issues in non-Western nations are also explored briefly to assess the potential of socio-legal responses sex trafficking, forced child labour and child marriage. The book is of particular value to policy makers, educators and opinion leaders in government departments dealing with children, and to professionals and organisations who work with children. It is also intended to be a key authority for researchers and teachers in the fields of medicine, nursing, social work, education, law, psychology, health and allied health fields. (more…)

Operation Outreach confirms at least twenty-two pupils and one visitor were victims of sexual abuse by Jimmy Savile at Duncroft.

The Report is available here: Operation-Outreach-29-4-2015-11186-link

Paragraph 1.6 from the report:

It became apparent that there was the potential for staff to have known abuse was occurring but either deliberately ignored what was happening or were aware and actively aided the abuse by continuing to allow Savile to visit and have access to the girls.

Please refer to sections 8 (Police Criminal Investigation), and 9 (Summary of Offences).

Can we hope for a statement from Barnardo’s?

On the 9^th April 2015 the child abuse inquiry website published a “Call for applications or nominations” for something called the “Victims and Survivors Consultative Panel” (VSCP).

The call starts with some fine words. “Justice Goddard has made it clear that she fully agrees with the Home Secretary’s view that the experiences of victims and survivors need to be placed at the centre of the Inquiry’s work. Victims and survivors will be given a strong voice and play a defined role in the institutional arrangements that she is putting in place.”

The document goes on to explain that there will be eight members of the VSCP. It describes the key criteria for membership of the panel:

a) Experience of issues associated with institutional responses to child sexual abuse
b) Experience of working collectively and collaboratively as part of a team and
c) Holds a current mandate to represent the interests of a defined group of victims or survivors of child sexual abuse.

Strictly speaking the role doesn’t require VSCP members to be victims or survivors of abuse. (more…)

The Government statement today once more relies on ‘common sense’ to change the culture and approach of ‘professionals’ (public servants) to the crime of #CSE. Reliance on this flimsy hope mirrors the statement from Mr Hunt (Health Minister) which detailed the breakdown of safeguarding at Stoke Mandeville and how the future is best served by doses of ‘common sense.’ Add to this the Conservative initiative of holding public officials to account with a charge of ‘wilful neglect,‘ and in Government imaginings, #CSE issue is sorted. In a Panorama programme about #MR Keir Starmer the former DPP explains why wilfil neglect is little more than a ‘fall back’ provision.

Anne Lawrence of MandateNow on #bbcpm explains the difference between MR and wilful neglect. Excellent interview.

And others agree. Under the headline Prosecutions Unlikely Under New Child Expolitation Offence  a law firm confirms the inadequacies of the proposals which are very far from a culture changer and are unlikely to be effective.

In Mr Mair’s introduction he alluded to the NSPCC supporting MR. Unfortunately this misrepresents the position of the NSPCC because the NGO’s proposal does not deliver MR.  We  explain here.