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Chris and Beverley share their experience when Sarah Champion MP invited them to attend a parliamentary meeting in the House of Commons taking a pledge to end Child Sexual Abuse. Chris Survivor, Member of Victims and Survivors Consultative Panel to IICSA attended as a speaker, with John O'Brien CBE (Secretary to IICSA - Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse) David Greenwood, Child Abuse Solicitor and Head of Child Abuse Compensation Department at Switalskis, Jayne Senior MBE, Rotherham whistle-blower, The Baroness Newlove, Victims Commissioner for England and Wales. #ActOnIICSA If you have any questions please email: BreakingTheCycleToStepForward@gmail.com https://www.iicsa.org.uk/final-report https://members.parliament.uk/member/4267/contact http://survivorsofabuse.org.uk/ https://stepforwardpractice.co.uk
Following the previous episode with Chris sharing her story and how it relates to IICSA (Independent Inquiry of Child Sexual Abuse) Beverley asks Chris to share what the recommendations mean for her and the personal impact when keeping awareness of #ActOnIICSA campaign. Following the announcement by the Home Secretary on 16 January 2025 speaking about the 20 recommendations from the Inquiry - you will hear the latest update and now it's time for Action. If you have any questions or have any feedback you can email: BreakingTheCycleToStepForward@gmail.com https://www.iicsa.org.uk/recommendations.html https://survivorsofabuse.org.uk/ https://stepforwardpractice.co.uk
Child Sexual Abuse/Exploitation And why we must #ActOnIICSA In this episode, Chris shares her Lived Experience, including working with the Inquiry (Independent Inquiry of Child Sexual Abuse) and why we need to act on the recommendations. There will be pauses between segments with background music. Next week's episode will include a Q&A session with Chris, so click the subscribe or follow button to ensure you don't miss out on this special edition. If you have any feedback or would like further information please email: BreakingTheCycleToStepForward@gmail.com https://www.iicsa.org.uk/recommendations.html https://survivorsofabuse.org.uk/ https://stepforwardpractice.co.uk
"We live in a world where people think nothing of isolating a child from their family and peers, shaming them, punishing them, and often reducing them to tears in the name of entertainment for television shows and social media clips, all without the child's consent. Our governments seem hell-bent on making life as difficult as possible for families, and particularly for children, the only constituents who don't get a say in their futures. " Sarah Ockwell-Smith What is going on regarding the grooming gangs? Here we have another cover up from the British establishment - for 25 years people have been speaking up about the grooming and rape gangs and yet very little has been done. Here I talk about the different inquiries over the years and why they don't work. IICSA - the inquiry into child sexual abuse spent just under £200 million and of the 20 recommendations none, I repeat none have been implemented. Why is that we just don't seem to care about the people especially children?I also talk about duty of care and how the duty is always to the institution and rarely the person. Here is the BBC articles: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy767y0y6dzoWhat do you feel? Take care, Piers #groominggangs #childsexualabuse #IICSA --- Piers is an author and a men's transformational coach and therapist who works mainly with trauma, boarding school issues, addictions and relationship problems. He also runs online men's groups for ex-boarders, retreats and a podcast called An Evolving Man. He is also the author of How to Survive and Thrive in Challenging Times. To purchase Piers first book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Survive-Thrive-Challenging-Times/dp/B088T5L251/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=piers+cross&qid=1609869608&sr=8-1 For more videos please visit: http://youtube.com/pierscross For FB: https://www.facebook.com/pierscrosspublic For Piers' website and a free training How To Find Peace In Everyday Life: https://www.piers-cross.com/community Many blessings, Piers Cross http://piers-cross.com/
Liz Entin is an entrepreneur living in NYC and LA. She originally began her career in fashion in both New York and London and now is the founder of Why Get Wasted, a company that helps events, businesses, fashion shows, conferences, and any gathering eliminate waste and be climate friendly. (www.whygetwasted.com)She is also author and podcast host of WTF Just Happened?! which, inspired by a loss, examines scientific evidence of spirituality and an afterlife from a non-woo perspective. (www.wtfjusthappened.net)Liz grew up in NYC, where she was sent to the “top” NYC private (the equivalent of what is called public in the UK) schools, from kindergarten through high school (5 - 18 years old). She always thought of her time there as brutal and knew she was unhappy, but believed the schools were something to get through, in exchange for the huge payoff at the end. Recently, as podcasts on trauma and cults have become popular, discovering Charles Spencer's book, and this podcast, she has realized how traumatic they were and understood the lifelong damage they caused that she is now working to overcome. She has also come to realize how the NYC private schools idealize and base themselves on the British boarding schools.. She is in the middle of writing a book on her time in these schools titled The Marshmallow Castle - The false promises of the best schools. (www.marshmallowcastle.com / www.schooltrauma.com. Instagram: @the_marshmallow_castle)10 Questions / Talking Points 1 - Specifics I related to from reading Charles Spencer's book.2 - These schools are like cults.3 - Politicians and leaders attend these schools, are damaged, as well as unexposed to the needs of the average person and then bring this lack of empathy and trauma to the country4 - Direct imitation of British accents (unintentionally) and discussing how we are getting as good an education as anyone who attends Eton.5 - Combination of very strict rules, that are meaningless, and complete lawlessness when it comes to cruelty , safety, bullying. Shaming for breaking rules.6 - Insulation from the real world, learning nothing that is useful in the real world, and insulation from other social classes.7 - As a girl, femininity was looked down upon 8 - Gaslighting. Constantly being told how lucky you are to attend. A gaslighting of you and your parents from the school and society.9 - Constantly feeling as if you have to be accomplishing something. Being taught to always strive and not to listen to your needs or body. You are doing something wrong if you are not achieving at every second. 10 - The good of the school and image of the school comes above all else. Treated as a “class traitor” for saying something negative. --- Piers is an author and a men's transformational coach and therapist who works mainly with trauma, boarding school issues, addictions and relationship problems. He also runs online men's groups for ex-boarders, retreats and a podcast called An Evolving Man. He is also the author of How to Survive and Thrive in Challenging Times. To purchase Piers first book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Survive-Thrive-Challenging-Times/dp/B088T5L251/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=piers+cross&qid=1609869608&sr=8-1 For more videos please visit: http://youtube.com/pierscross For FB: https://www.facebook.com/pierscrosspublic For Piers' website and a free training How To Find Peace In Everyday Life: https://www.piers-cross.com/community Many blessings, Piers Cross http://piers-cross.com/
AEM # 115 Giles Moffat Boarding School Survivors Taking Their Schools To CourtHow do you take your school to court? How do you get a prosecution for sexual and physical abuse when no one else has listened?A fascinating conversation today with Giles Moffat about how a group of child abuse survivors took their schools to court.Giles talks about how he connected with Nicky Campbell, the BBC DJ, who attended the same school as him.Gradually they built a large network of survivors who managed to get not only the police but also the schools and courts to listen.A very powerful and inspiring conversation.---Giles became a boarder at the Edinburgh Academy in 1980, where he was abused like many others.In 2022 Giles formed the EA Survivors group with Nicky Campbell. Today he shares his insights into effective campaigning and the power of survivor groups.Questions for Giles:I would love for you to share some of your journey. How did you get into the work you are now doing?What were your boarding school experiences like?How did boarding school impact you as an adult?- naming perpetrators and the legalities around that (basically, go for it. We named several people in the media because of their age and have yet to receive a single legal letter in 2 years)Understanding UK defamation law (I have a qualification in this)Influencing prosecution (we lobbied the police and crown office and got 6 arrests in December 23)The experience of giving evidence in court situations The therapeutic and empowering benefits of speaking upWhat motivates survivors when they campaignHow to engage with the authorities and get the best out of them. Working with the media to achieve your aims.Planning and strategy for survivor groups. Historical cover-ups. You have worked in positions of leadership. How did your boarding school education impact the way you lead?Boarding school leaders: Could you please speak to those leaders who have been to boarding school. David Cameron, Boris Johnson. What do you feel about their leadership?What is the work that you are doing now?#childabuse #childhoodtrauma #nickycampbell #edinburghacademy To connect with the survivors group: https://easurvivors.info/For Seen and Heard: https://seenheard.org.uk/--- Piers is an author and a men's transformational coach and therapist who works mainly with trauma, boarding school issues, addictions and relationship problems. He also runs online men's groups for ex-boarders, retreats and a podcast called An Evolving Man. He is also the author of How to Survive and Thrive in Challenging Times. To purchase Piers first book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Survive-Thrive-Challenging-Times/dp/B088T5L251/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=piers+cross&qid=1609869608&sr=8-1 For more videos please visit: http://youtube.com/pierscross For FB: https://www.facebook.com/pierscrosspublic For Piers' website and a free training How To Find Peace In Everyday Life: https://www.piers-cross.com/community Many blessings, Piers Cross http://piers-cross.com/
Wyndham Wallace is a Berlin-based writer whose critically acclaimed first book, Lee, Myself & I – about his friendship with Lee Hazlewood, the man behind These Boots Are Made For Walking – was published in 2015. He began his career as a music publicist in the mid 1990s, before running City Slang Records' UK office for eight years, but now works as a music critic for, among others, Uncut and Classic Pop. He also worked as music consultant on Sebastian Schipper's Victoria, for which composer Nils Frahm won a German Film Award, and can be seen fronting Almost Fashionable: A Film About Travis, which won the Edinburgh Film Festival Audience Award. In 2024, he helped lead a number of victims of child sexual abuse over three decades to a public settlement with Horris Hill prep school, and he continues to campaign for justice for all those abused in private education, past and present.Questions for Wyndham:I would love for you to share some of your journey. How did you get into the work you are now doing?Your own experience at Horris Hill, and how sexual abuse was the only angle that the law would accept to bring a case even though other equally appalling things took place there, leaving other victims without satisfactionThe broader issues of a culture that has outlived its usefulness, if it was ever useful, and its wider effects on societyWhether, for all their talk of safeguarding etc, schools today have genuinely learned anything from the last decade or two of abuse exposure. With new cases emerging it would appear not much has changed at all.The absurdity of separating a child from its parents at a young age when it's clearly seen abroad as seriously detrimental, even as a punishment, to a childThe need for mandatory reporting and how Duty Of Candour could have helped me (and other Horris Hill victims) put this largely behind us as early as 1985.Your belief that what we are actually dealing with here is a cult, pure and simple. Most of the signs are there, and it takes victims years to deprogram. I believe it's also helpful to think this way in terms of our parents, who had been similarly inculcated and are victims too, yet never receive an apology from schools (even when former pupils do)The link between music and memory.What is the work that you are doing now?#csa #horrishill #boardingschool #sexual abuse #boardingschoolcultsFor more information please visit: http://www.wyndhamwallace.comTo purchase his first book: http://jawbonepress.com/lee-myself-i/--- Piers is an author and a men's transformational coach and therapist who works mainly with trauma, boarding school issues, addictions and relationship problems. He also runs online men's groups for ex-boarders, retreats and a podcast called An Evolving Man. He is also the author of How to Survive and Thrive in Challenging Times. To purchase Piers first book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Survive-Thrive-Challenging-Times/dp/B088T5L251/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=piers+cross&qid=1609869608&sr=8-1 For more videos please visit: http://youtube.com/pierscross For FB: https://www.facebook.com/pierscrosspublic For Piers' website and a free training How To Find Peace In Everyday Life: https://www.piers-cross.com/community Many blessings, Piers Cross http://piers-cross.com/
Podcast on Mental Health Awareness Day with Special Guest Chris Tuck Trauma and The Role It Plays on Mental & Physical Health Chris Tuck is an influential advocate in the campaign against childhood abuse, with a remarkable journey and a significant impact in various spheres. Policy development / Legislative change As a former member of the Victim and Survivor Consultative Panel (VSCP) for the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), Chris has been a vital voice. The VSCP, established in 2015, consisted of members with lived experiences of child sexual abuse, bringing a wealth of experience across fields like health, education, and social work/care. They contributed to strategy, research, and policy developments at ARU (Anglia Ruskin University), enhancing the work in consultation and collaboration, knowledge exchange, and research and practice development. In her role with the VSCP, Chris has been an advisor to the Inquiry, influencing policies and practices to support survivors. Her professional journey is characterised by her shift from a 20-year career as a Chartered Management Accountant to a trauma-informed health and wellness practitioner. Chris's lived experience of child abuse (all forms) and neglect; growing up in three domestic violent households informs her work. She established her own community ftness business in 2003 and founded the charity Survivors of aBuse (SOB) in 2016. Chris's psycho-educational Breaking The Cycle C.L.E.A.N.E.R Living Therapy Programme empowers individuals to recover from trauma and reach their full potential. Chris's work also extends to media, where she is an active campaigner, speaker, and commentator. She raises awareness of the effects of child abuse on an individuals' mental, emotional, and physical health. As an author, her book ‘Through the Eyes of a Child' documents her lived experiences and those of her siblings, with profits supporting her charity. She also authored ‘Parenting Without Tears' and the C.L.E.A.N.E.R. Living Health and Wellness Therapy book. Her role in the VSCP took her across England and Wales, engaging with stakeholders, speaking at events, and appearing on TV and radio. Chris Tuck's extensive experience as a motivational keynote speaker, her expertise in trauma, abuse, and recovery, and her role in lobbying on child sexual abuse at senior government and corporate levels have made her a powerful and authentic voice in this field. She has hosted her own radio show, co-hosts a weekly podcast, and creates social media awareness campaigns around child sexual abuse and exploitation. Her efforts consistently focus on connecting, communicating, and creating positive, long-lasting change. For more detailed insights into Chris Tuck's work and her contributions to the VSCP, visit her professional website at Chris Tuck Motivational Speaker and Trainer, and for a comprehensive understanding of the VSCP's role in the IICSA, refer to the IICSA's VSCP page and the Anglia Ruskin University's description of the VSCP. 1)www.christuckmotivationalspeakerandtrainer.co.uk 2)www.westwickhamfitness.com 3) www.survivorsofabuse.org.uk Social Media : christuck_wwhf
Gabriel Hershman is an author who also publishes under the name of Daniel Kupfermann. He has written 5 books, so far. Four were film biographies and written under the name of Gabriel Hershman. He has also written a memoir called, Don't Be So Sensitive.“I decided to write the memoir under a pseudonym as a demarkation from my other work but also to shield the work from other living family members.I grew up in London and then moved to Portugal and then Bulgaria. Writing a memoir is always a work in progress and it was only when I'd finished the book that I realised I'd been dealing with 4 family members who had attended boarding school and the strange effects on their psyche."Questions for Gabriel:I would love for you to share how you got into writing. What drew you to write your autobiography?What was it like growing up? Could you please share some of your journey growing up?What was it like being a day pupil at a school where there were boarders? What did you make of boarding at that age?Could you please talk about highly sensitive people (HSP)? What is it? P.7Your step-father Gerard's experience of boarding school: He was “sent away” “despatched” “being kicked in the teeth.” P.24 “he'd been through a tough time at boarding school” P.83The physical, mental and emotional treatment you received from Gerard. What was it like growing up with an ex-boarder? P58 – “Gerard criticised me...” and would then.. P.59 “lose his temper.”Even though Gerard had had a tough time at boarding school (your mother saying that he'd had “an emotional hysterectomy”) why did he want to send you away to one? P.83As I was reading the book I could see many of Gerard's traits as symptoms of trauma/ boarding school syndrome: only interested in beautiful women/ weathy people, trying to curry favour with people. He had to win everytime. Very critical of you.Leaving you for most of the winter age 10 with your alcoholic half-brother age 20. How was that for you? P.88 (Your mother leaving the same age her mother died age 10 – P.94)Having no one to validate your feelings and left alone (P.134) How was that for you?The experiences of your half-brothers and your mother's at boarding school (P.144)Your experiences of Dulwich - “Dulwich was remarkably sink or swim.” P.151 Bullying P.160What other aspects are there to these single-sex 'elite' schools that are detrimental to development?Four members of your family went to boarding school and all became problem drinker. Could you please talk to that?Your debilitating speech problem. Where do you think that arose from?How do people find out more about your work and booksTo purchase his memoir: https://amzn.eu/d/gR05hc9To purchase his books on Amazon: https://amzn.eu/d/eTOwAHNTo connect with him on LinkedIn please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriel-hershman-24955619/?originalSubdomain=bg--- Piers is an author and a men's transformational coach and therapist who works mainly with trauma, boarding school issues, addictions and relationship problems. He also runs online men's groups for ex-boarders, retreats and a podcast called An Evolving Man. He is also the author of How to Survive and Thrive in Challenging Times. To purchase Piers first book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Survive-Thrive-Challenging-Times/dp/B088T5L251/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=piers+cross&qid=1609869608&sr=8-1 For more videos please visit: http://youtube.com/pierscross For FB: https://www.facebook.com/pierscrosspublic For Piers' website and a free training How To Find Peace In Everyday Life: https://www.piers-cross.com/community Many blessings, Piers Cross http://piers-cross.com/
Jay Marshall is a design engineer who after working across, Formula 1, film, sound and human performance has been motivated to help stop child exploitation due to friends, his own and his family members' experiences. He is the co-founder of Safe Kids Spaces www.sks.fyi a 51% parent owned community company building AI technologies to secure children's online safety, wellbeing and digital sovereignty. Questions for Jay:I would love for you to share a little of your journey. How did you get into the work you now do?How technologies and online companies are harming our children but also how we can develop our way out of these problems using the same tech to protect children. For example, a conversation around how our Ai-Parent http://qrco.de/SKS-Ai-Parent could help children that boarded, (remembering the Alexa on your child's phone is swapped out for an all seeing virtual Ai CC version of the child's parent).The IICSA report, the flawed online safety bill, and the “Children's Digital Sovereignty” bill we are working towards partitioning.We should have the VPOC portal (the verified-parent-only-community company forum) in a couple of weeks, it would be nice to steer people there. This community effectively owns 51% of SKS Ltd and its technologies in perpetuity, the community regulates the company and R&D's the tech, will in the future onboard best fit staff throughout the portal, negate moral questions around our mission combatting CSA (because eventually we will polygraph everyone) and leave a sizeable 49% stake for investment and to help the organisation remain financially agile / independent.How the governments lack in direction and the ability act around CSA is affecting groups like ours.My and my families encounters with CSA.Homicidal ideation Promoting / restricting the child's agency / responsibility during abuse conformation and perpetrator confrontation ie pre / 0 judicial intervention of the child's abuse ie “You don't have to worry about a thing its all taken care of, to, what do you want to do about what's happened your in control?).Public School / school reform in generalHis public school experienceHis career in F1 and the music industry and how school, family and CSA experiences effected that journey.To find out more about Jay's work please visit: www.sks.fyiPetition:https://www.change.org/p/mandate-a-children-s-digital-sovereignty-bill-for-safe-online-interactions--- Piers is an author and a men's transformational coach and therapist who works mainly with trauma, boarding school issues, addictions and relationship problems. He also runs online men's groups for ex-boarders, retreats and a podcast called An Evolving Man. He is also the author of How to Survive and Thrive in Challenging Times. To purchase Piers first book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Survive-Thrive-Challenging-Times/dp/B088T5L251/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=piers+cross&qid=1609869608&sr=8-1 For more videos please visit: http://youtube.com/pierscross For FB: https://www.facebook.com/pierscrosspublic For Piers' website and a free training How To Find Peace In Everyday Life: https://www.piers-cross.com/community Many blessings, Piers Cross http://piers-cross.com/
Join us for a conversation with members of The International Taskforce on Child Protection (ITFCP). As the taskforce celebrates its 10th anniversary, we take this opportunity to hear the story behind its founding and its mission to protect children across the international schools community and beyond. We'll explore how international schools have and continue to adopt and adapt safeguarding standards, overcoming cultural and operational challenges to ensure a safe learning environment for all students. Our guests and members of the taskforce share their own learnings, opportunities, and challenges of collaborating across multiple international schools and organizations. We will also learn about the resources, services and professional development the taskforce provides to international school leaders and educators. About Jane Larson Jane Larsson has led the Council of International Schools (CIS) as Executive Director since her appointment in 2010. Over the past 25 years, Jane has led the international education community with a focus on the development of collaborative partnerships to enable and support educational exchange and the development of international and intercultural perspective. Prior to her appointment at CIS, Jane was Director of International Partnerships with the Visiting International Faculty Program (VIF) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where she led outreach to promote international educational exchange, establishing relationships with ministries of education, universities, international schools and educational associations. She began her career in international education as the Director of Educational Staffing and Publications for International Schools Services (ISS) providing recruitment services and resources to international schools. Jane lends her voice to key topics shaping the future of international education, those which enable school and university communities to provide socially responsible leadership as they continually develop their programs. She currently serves as Chair of the International Taskforce on Child Protection and on the Board of Directors of the International Commission Advancing Independent School Accreditation (ICAISA). https://www.linkedin.com/in/janelarssoncis/ About Jane Foster-Sarre Director, Safeguarding Works Ltd Area of expertise provided as part of the CIS Affiliated Consultant Network: Student Wellbeing: Protection, Safety, & Security including but not limited to School safeguarding audits Response to allegations of abuse and low level concerns Safe recruitment and safe working practice Policy development and review Investigations and risk assessments Jane is an independent safeguarding consultant providing expert advice on safeguarding and child protection. She specialises in promoting safe organisational culture, safeguarding in the workplace, and managing allegations and low level concerns against adults working with children. Jane is a qualified teacher, who has also worked in schools as the Designated Safeguarding Lead and Safeguarding Governor across ages 4–18 years. She has also worked for statutory education and children's services departments in the UK. Following the exposure of the criminal actions of William Vahey who abused more than 50 children when employed at an international school based in the UK, Jane was part of the statutory case panel convened to review the case and lessons learned and worked closely with the school to restore confidence in the community and reinforce the safeguarding structure. Jane is an accredited safer recruitment specialist and has contributed to IICSA - the UK Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual abuse. She is also a co-author of the International Protocol for Managing Allegations of Child Abuse by Educators and other Adults and the Guidance on Managing Low Level Concerns. Jane is currently Co–Chair of the International Taskforce for Child Protection (ITFCP) Recruitment Reporting & Regulations Group. Jane is an experienced auditor of safeguarding practice and has worked with international schools across the UK and Europe, Asia and Africa, both promoting best practice and responding to serious incidents where schools and boards need support. Jane has extensive experience of designing and delivering safeguarding training including delivering the CIS Foundation Workshop on Safer Recruitment and supporting the Deep Dives. As an independent advisor Jane has provided high-level safeguarding advice and training across the sectors including schools, universities, religious and sports organisations, charities, and private clients. Jane is also a specialist advisor to the safeguarding boards of a UK Premier League football club, a private equity company providing residential care for children, and a faith organisation and is a member of the National Safeguarding Panels for both the Football Association and Sports Resolutions which offers advice to a range of sports In addition to her independent role Jane is also a consultant for Barnardos, a UK based Children's Charity. Jane is a regular speaker at events and is a well-known figure to many private, public and third sector organisations working with children, including state, independent and international schools. About Dr. Christine Brown Dr. Christine Brown is an international consultant specializing in advising educators on Program Design for Teaching and Learning, Child Protection, Social Emotional Learning initiatives, World Language and ELL programing, working with challenging student placements and managing parent expectations. From 2013 to 2023, Brown served as one of six Regional Education Officers (REOs) in the Office of Overseas Schools, United States Department of State. She covered the Western European Region and for several years also the South America region. Brown also served the DOS as one of 5 initial co-founders of the International Task Force on Child Protection. As REO, she served on the Boards of ECIS, AAIE and AMISA. Prior to joining the Department of State in July 2013, she served as Deputy Director at the Carol Morgan School in the Dominican Republic. Brown served as an administrator in the Glastonbury, Connecticut Public Schools for 28 years, first as the Director of K-12 Foreign Languages and ELL, and for 8 years as the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. Brown has served as a president of state, regional and national language teacher organizations including the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages over her career. She chaired the American Language Standards Writing Task Force sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education as well as served as the consultant to the national Arabic and Korean language standards projects and as a consultant to the Startalk Language Project for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. She served as a board member of the National Defense Education Language Program. Brown chairs the AERO World Languages Standards writing project for DOS. She has testified before the United States Congress on behalf of language education, and initiated and co-chaired the Year of Languages Campaign in the United States. In February 2019, she was awarded the Keith Miller Innovation Award from the Association for the Advancement of International Educators for her work in Child Protection around the world. In March 2019 Brown received the Outstanding Graduate Student Award at Gwynedd Mercy University for her Doctoral Dissertation, The Effects of Early Foreign Language Study on English Reading Comprehension. In 2023, she received the NEASC Educator of the Year Award. In 2024, she received an AAIE Outstanding Educator Award and the ECIS Outstanding Educator of 2024 award. About Keith Cincotta Director of School Services andSenior Leadership Executive, International Schools Services Keith has worked in the International Education sector for 25 years first as a School Counselor, later as a High School Principal and most recently as a Senior Leadership Executive and the Director of School Services at International Schools Services. As a school counselor in Allentown PA, Islamabad Pakistan and Dubai he worked with many survivors of abuse and was part of teams that responded to reports of abuse. At ISS Keith is the representative to the International Task Force on Child Protection, is responsible for safeguarding initatives across ISS' managed schools and presents professional development and training sessions for educators. Keith is a trained facilitator for Darkness to Light and has facilitated the program for school, church and community groups. Keith holds Master of Education degrees in both Counseling and Educational Leadership from Lehigh University. https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-cincotta-578b1a17/ About Debbie Downes In August 2022, Debbie Downes joined The International Centre of Missing and Exploited Children as the Director of Global School Initiatives. In this role, she develops and provides child protection training, support, and resources to schools around the world. She has been supporting ICMEC's work as a regional trainer since July 2020. Debbie has worked in international education for 18 years, first as an elementary teacher, then as school principal, and then as Accreditation and Child Protection Lead for Quality Schools International. She developed and revised handbooks, policies, and resources to support child protection efforts at a group of 36 international schools. She also supported schools with on-site and virtual professional development. Debbie's background in child protection includes an MSW from the University of California at Berkeley and several years of experience working in the court unit of Children and Family Services in Contra Costa County, California. Debbie's overseas career began with 3 years as a health education volunteer with the Peace Corps in Kolda, Senegal. She has since lived with her husband, 2 children, and 2 rescue dogs in Thailand, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Slovenia, and her current location of Minsk, Belarus. https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-downes-educator/ Resources ICMEC EdPortal International Taskforce on Child Protection Child Protection Resources and Information CIS Global Education Blog Child Protection Workshop Online | Improving Safeguarding Practices in Schools International Schools Services ITFCP Managing Allegations Protocol ITFCP Safer Recruitment Checklist Make the Call: Verifying References: An Essential Practice for International School Leaders ITFCP Student Voice: Data, Guidance, and Resources Social-Emotional Learning and Child Self-Protection Curriculum Standards & Benchmarks John Mikton on Social Media LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmikton/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jmikton Web: beyonddigital.org Dan Taylor on social media: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/appsevents Twitter: https://twitter.com/appdkt Web: www.appsevents.com Listen on: iTunes / Podbean / Stitcher / Spotify / YouTube Would you like to have a free 1 month trial of the new Google Workspace Plus (formerly G Suite Enterprise for Education)? 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This episode is part 2 of the conversation between John, Chris and Beverley about his role as secretary in the IICSA (Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse) including other roles in safeguarding children and young people. Be sure to listen to Part 1 first to get the complete recording. If you have any questions please contact: BreakingTheCycleToStepforward@gmail.com https://www.iicsa.org.uk/final-report https://survivorsofabuse.org.uk/ https://stepforwardpractice.co.uk
What is the government doing regarding mandatory sexual reporting? After £200 million spent on IICSA, Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, what has been the outcome?Today's conversation is with two of the leading voices campaigning against child sexual abuse.Lawyer and partner, Dino Nocivelli and author, Alex Renton. What does this new amendment mean? And what can you do? To find out more about Voices Unbound please visit: https://voicesunbound.org.uk/ And Mandate Now: https://mandatenow.org.uk/ For the lastest article from Mandate Now about the new legislation: https://mandatenow.org.uk/the-governments-useless-child-sexual-abuse-reporting-law/ And this is the letter/ press release that you can send to your local MP: https://voicesunbound.org.uk/current-campaigns/ Alex Renton is a writer and journalist whose career has ranged from arts and food writing to politics and the investigation of child abuse. His career as a war reporter and development worker took him to the Middle East, Africa, East Asia and the Balkans. He has worked for The Independent, The Times, Newsweek, and the London Evening Standard and contributed to a host of other newspapers and magazines. He is also the author of the e-book Planet Carnivore: how cheap meat costs the earth (Guardian Shorts, 2015). Dino Nocivelli is a partner in the abuse department at Leigh Day law firm and joined the company in 2022. Dino specialises in actions for child sexual abuse survivors. Dino has appeared in a significant number of media publications providing his expert opinion and commentary, including among others the BBC, ITV and the Guardian. He has also provided evidence to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). Questions for Alex and Dino:What's happening with regards the mandatory reporting, IICSA and the Criminal Justice Bill?The government came out with the latest ruling regarding mandatory reporting last week. What was changed?Alexis Jay, the head of IICSA said that she was deeply disappointment by the new bill. Do you agree. If so why?“The measures are a sham – worse than useless: this legislation will put back the cause of getting good law in place to protect children today in any institution, from schools and care homes to hospitals and sports clubs.” Voices Unbound What can we do to turn this around? Who can we contact or speak to?--- Piers is an author and a men's transformational coach and therapist who works mainly with trauma, boarding school issues, addictions and relationship problems. He also runs online men's groups for ex-boarders, retreats and a podcast called An Evolving Man. He is also the author of How to Survive and Thrive in Challenging Times. To purchase Piers first book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Survive-Thrive-Challenging-Times/dp/B088T5L251/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=piers+cross&qid=1609869608&sr=8-1 For more videos please visit: http://youtube.com/pierscross For FB: https://www.facebook.com/pierscrosspublic For Piers' website and a free training How To Find Peace In Everyday Life: https://www.piers-cross.com/community Many blessings, Piers Cross http://piers-cross.com/
John O'Brien joins Chris and Beverley in this conversation, sharing his experience as Secretary to the ICCSA (Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse). Talking about challenges in setting it up and insight into decisions made about the inquiry. Chris and Beverley also ask him about his own experiences he brings to the setting up of this important project. This episode continues in part 2. breakingthecycletostepforward@gmail.com https://survivorsofabuse.org.uk/ https://stepforwardpractice.co.uk
Please note that some listeners might find this episode triggering. We cover some subjects which some people might find upsetting to hear.In this episode, the creator of Judge Dredd and 2000AD talks about his experiences of attending a Catholic private school in the UK.He shares his experiences of child sexual abuse while there. What happened?He also shares a lot of the back story around the abuse in the Catholic Church. Why has it gone on for so long?He talks about the safeguarding operations that the Catholic Church has put in and how effective they are, the RLSS, the CSSA.He also talks about the Knights of St Columbus and the Masons.---Patrick Eamon Mills is an English comics writer and editor (who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since. He has been called "the godfather of British comics". His comics are notable for their violence and anti-authoritarianism. He is best known for creating 2000 AD and playing a major part in the development of Judge Dredd who was inspired by some of the abusive and violent monks at his Catholic boys' school. He also writes film treatments and screenplays, novels, and features, notably on World War One and is known for the documentary drama, Charley's War.All of his stories are about fighting abusive authority figures. Pat would also be described as a whistleblower. He's got a really insightful grasp of the structure of the Roman Catholic Church, and how its highly organised structure has enabled a network of paedophiles to operate within it. He's working hard to expose this and make it more transparent to others.Questions:I would love for you to share some of your journey. How did you get into the work you now do?When did you first realise that love of writing comics?Could you please talk a little about your upbringing at Catholic Schools? What was being at Catholic schools like?At what point did you start to uncover and realise what had gone on at school?You started a website of survivors of abuse from your school. When did you realise that you weren't the only one to have suffered abuse? How did that feel to not be the only one?How has the Catholic Church responded in your opinion to the claims of sexual abuse? Why do you think this is the case?What about St Joseph's and the De Salle Brothers? How have they handled the claims against them?What advice would you give to people who were abused at school either day or boarding who now want to speak up? Why is that so few people who were abused are willing to speak up? How can we change the system so that it becomes part of our culture to whistleblow when abuse or bad things have happened?Could you please talk a little about the RLSS? How is this organisation supporting abuse survivors?Could you talk about the financial exploitation of the Global South? What did you learn in your research?I--- Piers is an author and a men's transformational coach and therapist who works mainly with trauma, boarding school issues, addictions and relationship problems. He also runs online men's groups for ex-boarders, retreats and a podcast called An Evolving Man. He is also the author of How to Survive and Thrive in Challenging Times. To purchase Piers first book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Survive-Thrive-Challenging-Times/dp/B088T5L251/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=piers+cross&qid=1609869608&sr=8-1 For more videos please visit: http://youtube.com/pierscross For FB: https://www.facebook.com/pierscrosspublic For Piers' website and a free training How To Find Peace In Everyday Life: https://www.piers-cross.com/community Many blessings, Piers Cross http://piers-cross.com/
Show notes and Transcript Kim Isherwood heads up the most important campaign group in Wales. Public Child Protection Wales seeks to protect children from state sexualisation and wake parents up to the evils being forced on their children. Kim joins us to discuss what first alerted her to how the education system is been used to groom our children. She explains how the Welsh politicians and media have simply gone along with this evil with many of them actively promoting it. Without PCP Wales many parents would be none the wiser to what teachers are doing to their children. What can the public and parents do to get involved in this battle to save our children? Join us to be inspired and hear Kim explain how you can become part of the fightback, and please share with family and friends. Kimberley Isherwood is first and foremost a mother and she is the Chair of Public Child Protection Wales (PCP Wales), a parent-led, not for profit organisation concerned at the way national and local Governments have failed children in safeguarding and education. Kim holds a degree in Criminology and Social Policy and a masters degree in Criminology and is a fully accredited Relationship & Sexuality Education teacher trainer doing a post grad in Applied Criminal Justice and Criminology. She is not afraid of hard work and is always ready to ask the questions others will not and last year PCP Wales took the Welsh Government to court over proposals to bring in comprehensive sexuality education for children as young as three. Connect and support Kim and PCP Wales... WEBSITE: https://www.publicchildprotectionwales.org/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/kimberleytish?s=20 https://twitter.com/WalesPcp?s=20 FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/publicchildprotectionwales INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/publicchildprotectionwales/ Interview recorded 10.7.23 *Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast. Check out his art https://theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com/ and follow him on GETTR https://gettr.com/user/BoschFawstin and Twitter https://twitter.com/TheBoschFawstin?s=20 To sign up for our weekly email, find our social media, podcasts, video, livestreaming platforms and more... https://heartsofoak.org/connect/ Please subscribe, like and share! Transcript (Hearts of Oak) Hello, Hearts of Oak, and welcome to another interview coming up in a moment with Kim Isherwood. I have followed Kim for about nine months now, and thrilled to have her on. She heads up an organisation called Public Child Protection Wales, and this is about safeguarding, protecting our children from the sexualisation onslaught that is coming all across the world. And she discusses why she's got involved in this, why she started the organisation, she discusses some of the teaching materials that are now being used to sexually abuse our children. And how parents, or if you're not a parent, you maybe have someone in your family, a child in your extended family, and you want to preserve their childhood life. You want to hold off this because there is an age-appropriate time for all of this. And Kim talks about that clash between parental rights and governmental rights. Kim Isherwood, it is wonderful to have you with us. Thanks for your time today. (Kim Isherwood) No, thank you for your time, Peter. I really appreciate this. Not at all. I've wanted you on for the last probably six or eight months. I've seen you at different things and what you cover is absolutely essential. As a parent, I understand that, you're a parent, but it's not just for parents, but those who have friends, nephews, nieces, whatever, because it affects everyone, I think, what we're going to discuss. But publicchildprotectionwales.org is where you can find Kim's excellent organisation. She's also on Twitter, @KimberlyTish. All those will be in the description, so make sure and follow what Kim is doing. But maybe before we get into PCP Wales, why it's needed, what you're doing, the education system, why it's not just Wales but all over the UK and actually worldwide what we're facing, could you take just a few minutes and introduce yourself to our viewers and listeners. Well yeah as you said my name is Kim Isherwood and I always described myself as a child from the streets. I was homeless on and off from the age of 14 to 21 and I spent a bit of time in a youth offenders institute and that's where I discovered that institutional child sex abuse. Everybody in there had been abused you know so that's what I developed a passion for that obviously you know very close to my heart you're living with these girls for a long time and you you get to see a lot of what they've been through. Moving on, then I became a mother. My eldest son has autism and ADHD, so I then furthered my education in the realms of social policy. I then went on to do a few, I've done three university courses, a certificate in higher education for vulnerable adults, social policy and criminology, and then most recently a master's in criminology. So I've kept, obviously, the two fields separate. One was my passion and one was a passion as a mother. And then in January, 2020, I discovered an article online regarding sex education in three-year-olds. And these two worlds just collided, Peter. I was absolutely amazed at how these two fields could cross in such a way. I tried my best to look a bit further. And obviously then I discovered it was far more sinister, than what anybody's given it credit for, you know? So that's when I started the campaign against the sex education, it was just a Facebook group. And then later on, it was about six months later, we discovered further failings within our system. And that's when we established Public Child Protection Wales. Because I've spent the last 15 years supporting families of children with additional needs, forced adoptions, removals, and things like that. With this campaign, with the sex education and the casework that I do on a one-to-one basis with families, we felt we had no option other than to set up this organisation to try and address these issues and obviously our immediate concern right now is the sex education but we do have plans to go on and address all the safeguarding policies, rewrite the training in Wales and basically you try and make this the safest place in the world for raising and educating children which is not rocket science. I see the passion and enthusiasm, massive concern, it comes across, it's plain for all to see, you know the topic and you have a deep concern of what is happening. You read about it just in the media, you became aware, it's more and more public what's happening, our newspapers report it, just like entertainment news now, really. How did it hit you? And it doesn't hit so many other people, because I have the conversation with parents and they nod, but it doesn't seem to really hit them or get them. Well, I'm the kind of person that I need to prove things wrong. So I first discovered the sex education in 2013, and it was an article online, and it was talking about masturbation from age four in Spanish schools introduced to the World Health Organization. People were saying it was Jewish propaganda because it came from a website called Israel 360 and obviously I went looking. I found the document, this article was not propaganda and I was naïve, very very naïve, you know you're looking at the World Health Organization how on earth are they saying we are sexual from birth and we should be masturbating from birth, you know? So one thing led to another and it wasn't long before we found the source of this data, and I use that term loosely, you know? And so for me, when I discovered it in the Welsh documents then, you know, like seven years later, it was an absolute no-brainer. Again, naïve, I believe this wouldn't hit the British Isles, you know, and it literally took my heart sunk. I read a headline saying the Welsh government have removed your parental opt-out for sex education from age three. Now I want to categorically state that with my experience with institutional abuse, had I not known the origins of these frameworks, I probably would have thought, hmm, age three, but then I would have thought to myself, do you know what, it's needed to keep these children safe. That's what I would have thought, that's probably what I would have, to know what I mean, come to the conclusion about. But knowing the origin of this documentation, it reads like models of offending, you know, so the process people go to offend, it's like a step-by-step instruction, so I would say it's a manual of offending. And that was something I just could not let go of, you know, I cannot let go of that. It's one thing when it's across the pond and you can pass it off as crazy Yanks going through a faze or whatever, but it's something quite different than when it's actually in your living room, you know. So we could not let it go and we will never let it go, you know, for that reason. I've been curious, kind of touching the political side, and then we'll get on to the website itself and what you have, because I, as someone maybe on the right, kind of in UKIP and all that, I've been happy to blame Labour, point the finger at Labour, but living in, someone from Northern Ireland living in London. England is just as bad when you have a pretend Conservative Party. We have it just as bad here. Northern Ireland's maybe the only part of the Union that has maybe held off a little bit more because it is more traditional in its viewpoint of many things. Have you looked at it politically and kind of wondered how it's not just one side of the political spectrum, but it seems to be right across. Everyone seems to have fallen for this. Yeah, well, what it was in, there's a document on our website, it was published by, Planned Parenthood Federation, and it's an overview of 25 countries. So in there on page 174, it discusses England, but in the corner of the page, it tells you that the studies in England apply to the whole of the UK. If you read page 8 it actually tells you and it states five select committees so we've assumed that this includes Southern Ireland. It states that all five select committees of the UK have adopted this sex education with the view for legislative changes and this took place in March 2017. So we're all in the same storm we're just in different boats so that would mean that it was the Labour government in Wales, it was a Conservative government for England, it was the SNP for Scotland, and I'm unaware who it would have been for Northern Ireland, I'm sorry. But yeah, so this is not a political issue, it seems to be, it's orders from above, you know, this is orders from above, this is the World Health Organisation, and the United Nations are pulling the strings on this. So again, I had no idea that all four UK countries were involved in this until after we'd started the campaign and my colleague had found the documentation. So even when we saw some of this less in common in England in 2018, I did think to myself, they need to get that sorted out, you know, because we knew exactly where this self-stimulation for four-year-olds had come from and again that was the United Nations. So yeah we're all in the same predicament here. A concerning thing is we've been legislated against in Wales harshly. Without having this lesson content as rough as they've had it in England and Scotland. But this will be applied to the whole of the UK. They've adopted the same thing. And the term I keep using is, if they have signed a contract for a BMW, they are not going to be driving a Focus into the classroom. It's that BMW that's coming. So this is something the whole of the UK need to be aware of now. We did prove this as well as fact in the judicial review. Our case should be out there now for public viewing. There are two claimants who referenced this global sex education, that's myself and one of the claimants that we had to anonymise. Well, this was proven as fact. These documents have now reached mainstream media with the Conservative politicians in Wales claiming they are outraged. Well, every Conservative politician in Wales had this evidence. They were asked to support us when we issued the letter before action to the Labour government and they have not supported us, but they will make statements on our behalf. So this is where we're at. This is not a party solution, it is a people solution. Yeah, the pretend outrage from so-called conservatives. Let me bring up the website. This is the front page of the website. Tell us about starting PCP Wales, kind of the initial starting, and how you have, I guess, developed it, rolled it out, got people involved. Well, to tell you the truth, we had to learn everything. We had to learn how to build the website by ourselves. We got a nice team together, we wrote the constitution, opened the bank account and we have been, we've been pretty much building a brand you know we if you look at our demonstrations now everybody's there kitted out in their uniform and eventually Public Child Protection Wales sex education will be a tiny part of that because we've just, we're not happy with the children's commissioner, we're not happy with the safeguarding procedures here in Wales and having a degree in social policy being devolved for just 20 years, we don't feel that is good enough, we feel that we do have the skills to make this country far safer and we are not supported by the NSPCC, we are not supported by the Children's Commissioner, we are not supported by Barnardo's, therefore we do not think they should be funded in the way they are, they are irrelevant to us on the ground, so we are building our own organisation simply because they are not good enough, they are not filling the criteria, they are not keeping our children safe, therefore we've built Public Child Protection Wales with the view to dissolve the rest of the people really. Tell us your mission statement about promoting a high standard of safeguarding to the children of Wales. I think people are quite shocked that that is not in place already. A lot of the things that you talk about, people think well this is common sense. I'm sure they're already in place and then when you begin to look you find out actually there are next to no safeguarding procedures to actually protect children from sexualization. Well this is another thing what we have done is, everybody's groomed by the system you believe schools are places of safeguarding, so the first thing we did was we put our team through level two safeguarding exactly the same as the teachers, so people could understand what was going on. I obviously sit in on this training, I explain the differences and I try to get people to really think. So people assume schools are places of safeguarding, they assume these people are vetted. Well the DBS only detects convictions, so unless you've been convicted of a sexual assault, that's not going to be flagged up anyway. A PNC check now that would be more in depth, because that flags up reports you know concerns without the convictions and when you actually look, at the safeguarding procedures in general all of the training, I am yet to find a single piece of training that educates school staff on what happens within their institution. Now we get reports published by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse on the rates of sex abuse in schools and they claim, and I'm quoting the document here, that sex abuse in schools is an open secret. With over 40% of children who are being abused, they're aware of it happening to other children. So a major issue here is the fact that they are not trained in institutional child sex abuse. Now my argument here is simple. To protect your car from a car thief, you think like a car thief. To protect your house from a burglar, you think like a burglar. So to protect a child from a predator, you need to understand the mind and behaviour of predators, yet that training is completely absent. When you speak to a teacher about institutional child sex abuse, they will say what is that? Well you work in that environment? It is littered with abuses, why do you not know? So what we have, we have a system that develops policy based on statistics. Now they will use stats from the Office of National Statistics and the Crime Survey England and Wales. There you will find records of familial abuse, that's abuse at home and that's only because it's been reported. Now we built policy on these statistics because of that's what we've collected, yet institutional child sex abuse goes on for longer periods of time, there is usually multiple victims and it gets, and it doesn't get reported you know and you can look at another report by by the IICSA that claims schools are reluctant to report abuse. So we're not collecting these statistics. We will see academic reports years later about what happened years ago. But those stats are never collected, and they are never used for the development of policy. Well, I am the person who looks for the hidden statistics. So I do FOIs in police stations. I look at the Education Workforce Council fitness of practice panels. And when we are getting in excess of 200 sexual assaults and rapes in one Police Force. For three academic years and schools are reluctant to to report this abuse then we really do have issues you know and we also um, so the so the safeguarding procedure in school is simple, the level two safe guarders report concerns to the safeguard lead who is level three, well I'm safeguard lead, all my job is to decide whether it goes to the police, social services or the safeguarding board. That's all my job is. Now if you look at another report published it was jointly commissioned by the Welsh Government, Barnardo's and the serious sexual assaults. I can't remember the name of it now, but it's the serious sexual assaults department it is and I actually know the lady who wrote this report it was Dr Sue Roberts. Now she took cases from social services. So, we've got teachers believing this stuff is going to social services and it's being dealt with. Well, the social workers are not trained in child sex abuse at all. No social services are trained in child sex abuse in fine detail. They do their third-party training and that's it. Not only does it mention that, it states the social workers do not know what to do with the disclosure of abuse. They're not allowed to ask questions around the disclosure of abuse and they very often have to go to their supervisors or line managers. So what we're dealing with here is a report and pass system. If it is reported and passed it goes to social services and then it kind of flops anyway. So these are issues that we need to address and I've met loads of social workers who are really into child sex abuse but they've had to go and do a master's in criminology just to specialise in that field you know so we've got all these lines of these disciplines and these academic disciplines but they're not crossing, they're not overlapping. So we're very much within a system that has groomed us into believing schools are places of safeguarding when we're actually living in a system that does not address institutional child sex abuse and I suspect that is probably the reason why the media and politicians will not speak to us because every time they do, we mention institutional child sex abuse and that is never aired. In actual fact, it was one time on Jeremy Vine, he said we'll forget about that for now. So this is the kind of thing we're dealing with. Nobody wants to look at what's happening within our school system anyway. They believe the safeguards. They believe correct terminology for your genitalia safeguards as well. And again, that's a myth that we are setting out to prove is false. One other thing you talk about in your mission statement is ensuring parental care involvement remains at the heart of all developments. And there's one side is, I guess, parents have trusted their children to the education system. I think what you're doing is helping wake parents up to that is not a trustworthy institution any longer. But then they think well don't worry as a parent I can get involved. I've seen story upon story that and personally I've seen, that's not the case. The school is not, schools are not necessarily welcoming parental involvement. Is that a fair assessment? That is absolutely a fair assessment and I'll bring your attention to a recent court case, the Claire Page case. So Claire Page wanted know her daughter was being taught in school via a third-party sex education organisation. They would not give her the resources. She found some very questionable stuff on the website, very graphic. Their personal lives as well you know are questionable and the court has actually decided it's not in the public interest to share these resources with parents. Now time and time again we keep coming up against this thing about copyright, the schools can't show us because of copyright and when you look at these third party organizations very often their only qualification is their sexuality, there is no safeguarding training even though we complain safeguarding trainers are not up to scratch. It's not there anyway. You know, they have no qualifications in child development, child psychology. There is nothing there. There's no professionalism there. But what we're actually dealing with here are complex specialist fields, you know, and they just being dished out by, it's where they're having a party during these people have got together for a party, cook this stuff up and they just throwing it out. Like it's the be-all and end-all. Well yeah, it's the be-all and end-all of childhood in a sense. Because, well probably 25% of our viewers are US and then probably about 65 UK. And we, Kim, you, we both watched some of the videos of school board meetings in the US, with the parents reading out some of the awful materials. And it seemed to be they have a place to air it. We, in the UK, seem to be quite different. We don't seem to have that same public forum to air it and then the school can pick parents off one by one. Yeah, well I've actually attended meetings and I've been kicked off the meetings because the government is sending out these people to front these organisations and tell parents things aren't, you know. So these organisations are supposed to be there to support the schools but then they're saying in the same sentence then that the teachers have the final say. Well how can the teachers have a final say over something you don't understand? They've brought you in for that so who is actually supporting who here and also when you ask them for the resources to back their statements, so correct terminology safeguards where's the research to support that? simply non-existent children can differentiate between good touch bad touch, where's the research to support that? it's practically it's non-existent you know, so these things these phrases are they throwing out there the non-existent anyway you know so if If they could back these things up, that would be something, you know, but they can't. Nobody will come in on a proper debate. No one will give us air time simply because what we are speaking is the truth and is common sense. And if it gets out what we are saying, then that's going to change the whole mindset of parents anyway, you know, because they are being told this stuff safeguards. Where is some of the push for it? I mean, I've been in my kids' schools, and you see the whole pride wall during Pride Month, and I don't think that should have any say. That's completely separate from LGBT lifestyles. When you're looking at schools, sexualisation in schools, that should have no part. Both cases, in a Church of England school, where I think sometimes in the UK we trust. And I'm saying that as a Christian, that we trust the Church of England. They will bring biblical, correct teaching. That's not the case. Where's the push coming from? Is it coming from those well-funded LGBT organizations like Stonewall? Is it fear of being called out? Where's it coming from? Yeah, so it is coming from these well-funded lobbyists. They are doing the work of the people from the top, you know, and that's it. Empty vessels make the loudest noise. They are getting all the airtime. You've got to have a victim and a demon for this kind of thing to work, so they will victimise people and then they'll demonise the common sense people then, you know. But this is coming from the third party lobbyists. They are open about it. You've got the work of Dr Ellie Barnes, who openly says she wants to smash heteronormativity. She references the work of Dr Alfred Kinsey and that work as tables of sexual abuse of children as young as two. So yeah we've got some questionable academics and like I said they are all linked to these lobbyist groups, they're all well funded and yeah that's that's where it's coming from basically. They have a say over everything, now a lot of people will say well you know but we we talk about straight relationships all the time we need to have this in school. Well actually no we don't because when I was in school you would only know your teacher's married if they had a ring or their name was Mrs. You know, if I said, Miss, have you got a boyfriend? I would be told to mind my own business. So that's a big point people are missing here. Where's the professionalism? What about parents when they speak out? I know a case in school I know well, and a teacher was finishing up and decided to explain to the children of seven-year-olds that she was a lesbian, getting married to a lesbian lover. And this is what lesbian was all about. And it started to describe lesbian sexual relationships to seven-year-olds. Obviously, no place in a school. When parents complained, they were threatened with being reported to social services. Is that... Tell us about that, because I think parents sometimes are a bit reticent, but I think it's probably you have to be wise and maybe how you approach engaging with a school. Yeah, well this is something that is happening. Parents are being reported to social services because what people are not aware of is our children now have sexual and reproductive rights. So the first step of this education is if you interfere you're breaching your child's right to an education. The step further from that then is you're breaching your child's sexual and reproductive rights. So we are on a slippery slope here, you know, parents don't have a single say at all, but I have always had a great relationship with my son's school only because it was a three-way partnership, you know, school, child and the parent. Where are we going with this? You know, we know exactly where we're going with this. It's damage limitation now, isn't it? Oh, yeah. What has been the response to you from organisations and media as you've tried to highlight the abuse that's happening in schools? Well, the media are not reporting anything. I film every single altercation with the media anyway, and I also send them the evidence afterwards to show that we are, you know, speaking the truth. But the media won't publish any of that. You know, they have been publishing facts of our case. So the World Health Organization documentation, UNESCO documentation, but they don't want, they don't wanna show you guys exactly what's going on, you see? So now this is gonna be tomorrow's chip wrapper more than anything. But what I keep saying to the media is this, you don't like us because when you point your camera into our crowd, you don't know if it's a Christian or a lesbian. So out here in Wales, we have united every single minority group, every single group, religious, non-religious, sexualities, we have united them all. But that goes against everything they promote. That goes against every narrative that they push out there. They don't want the UK to know there is a group of common sense people in Wales fighting for the safety of their children. They want people to think we are bigots. They want people to think we are homophobic. Well, half of our panel is part of the LGBT community anyway. So again, you know, this is why they won't report on us because they can't demonize us. They have given a statement saying that this is misinformation and they are yet to point out what that misinformation is because we've proven it in court as fact. On the website, again, people can get all the resources. Please do make use of it. And if you go to the here, the sex ed part, you can click resources, and there is a wide range of resources available there, telling you what is happening. And then it goes into some of the WHO stuff. Now, I guess it's strange, people don't think the WHO, What are they doing involved? When you look into this, you find organizations involved, which kind of surprises why they're getting. And they go through right from the beginning of zero to four, talking about masturbation, or at that age, children knowing what's best for them. I mean, tell us about how the kind of organizations, how they are pushing this agenda. Well, there's three theories, there's three underlying theories here. So one is we are sexual from birth. The other is the gender ideology, which means, well, they say gender is a social construct. Then the third is the queer theory, and that's being played as your hip and cool if you're queer. Well, actually, the main aim of queer theory is to queer all heteronormativity and to prove that there's not a binary between gender, sexuality, and the most concerning of all, there's no binary between adulthood and childhood. They don't believe in childhood, they believe childhood in a sense is a myth, and you know when you look into their work they say things like child plus adult equals okay, this is what we are dealing with here, these academic disciplines that's being promoted as something that's really cool, it's coming down from professors, you know in the universities so it's being sold as credible then but when you actually look into the stuff you expose these people for who they are, their social media then disappears. So these are people who cannot even stand by their conviction here, you know, if they could stand by that conviction, then that would be something. Tell us about the political pushback. As you've spoken, what's been the pushback, certainly from Welsh politicians? So there's been absolutely no political pushback whatsoever. There was a handful of politicians against this, and then they didn't get in on the next election. So we had one politician they went from 23,000 votes the previous term all down to 1,200 when I know of a thousand non-voters that voted anyway. We had one member of the Senate who wasn't even on the ballot paper, so the people who were speaking out about this they seem to have disappeared. We had Kirsty Williams who was flying the flag for this education who gave a fantastic speech if anybody wants to see that on YouTube, she gave a nice performance saying how the children of Wales are banking on her, they are banking on her for this education, she did not sit in the next election she got off on the next stop, so we've got the politicians are acting like we don't exist basically they're not giving us any airtime they have even said that this is paedophile conspiracies when what we have said is these are paedophile policies and you only have to look at the paedophile information exchange manifesto to see that, you know, so again we've proven that as fact as well. There is no political pushback, there is a group in parliament, a group of about 40 politicians who are fighting against this gender ideology but again they're from all different political parties So there is no political pushback whatsoever. This is a political pantomime. This is a political agenda going into our schools. So you wouldn't expect any political pushback then because they all seem to be singing from the same hymn sheet. I was shocked in Westminster whenever the case you mentioned, getting parents getting access to the educational materials, that then one of the MPs has asked the government, we need to have access and say, well, you're part of a conservative government for 13 years, this happened under your watch. How is that, that seems the most natural thing for parents to have engagement and understand what their children are teaching, and yet schools seem to have hidden it away, as if this is something wrong and therefore you can't see. It's literally, we are sexually engaging with your child and you don't have a right to know. It's a weird concept for us to understand as parents. So the government were going to launch a campaign as a matter of urgency against the misinformation that we were putting out there. Well, we were still waiting for this campaign because if this education is as good as they say it is, they should be shouting it from the rooftops, not hiding it from us. So as a parent or any concerned citizen, you know, the children are all of our responsibility. The children are the future. What happens to them shapes the world, you know. And this is what we're dealing with. If this was as good as they said it was, they would be shouting it from the rooftops. They would have me on a live debate there and then, I've offered all 60 ministers of the Senate, all 650 ministers of Parliament. So if this was as good as they said it was, they would have me on TV and they would absolutely destroy me there and then splash this all over the newspapers and say, this is moral panic, this is exactly what you're having, you can access it at any time, this is going to keep your children safe. But they cannot do that. They cannot do it and we all know why they cannot do it. Because it's too sinister. Tell us, coming near the end, tell us about people getting involved with you. How do people get involved? How do they make a difference? So they can subscribe to our website, publicchildprotectionwales.org or you can join different sex education groups on Facebook, Twitter, follow the people that you know, follow the people in your area. We are building a coalition, so a UK-wide coalition. We are no longer being trapped with these invisible borders. This is not a devolved matter, this is a global matter. We have to unite this kingdom. We are currently in the process of working with different groups like the School Gate Campaign, Rally for the Children Cornwall, there's lots of different groups. We are removing the logos from our flyers, we're putting our work together, we are compiling a four-page flyer which is going to address all the issues in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It's a universal leaflet, we will be raising money for all the groups to get this out there. We are on a mission to inform and educate. We're not here to debate and waste time, we're out there to inform people, connect, get people understanding they are not on their own in this, this is a global thing. We're supporting each other, we're meeting, we're networking, this is our opportunity now guys. We can cover a lot of ground over the six weeks holidays and then we can all meet in Parliament Square on the 13th of September to remind Rishi Sunak that we are watching, we are waiting, we are going nowhere. Our children are too precious to wait to be saved. So we will be looking into a nationwide sit-out, you know, removing children from school because that was powerful in Canada. There was 90 children, 90,000 children in this district and I think 30,000 were removed on the first day of Pride Month. That had a massive impact. We can do this guys, but we just get together, get networking. First point of contact, subscribe to our website, we'll keep you informed. Join the coalition against indoctrination and sexualization of children in schools. That's on Facebook, get on there guys and all groups are now working in unison. We are building a UK-wide coalition. This is a movement, only a movement can stop this. It was a movement that brought it in, only a movement can get it out. It has to be people power, no other way around it. Yeah, we've had Susan Mason on before a number of times, School Gates campaign does a fantastic job. Going to Westminster, that means what you're doing is important, not just for Wales, but wider. What you've started is looking at what's in Wales, but going to Westminster, shows actually that this is something that affects every single part of the UK and wider. Well, this is it. So we were saying we're going to start small and then take them all. We had to focus on the fight in Wales because it was a preventative campaign. You see, there was already less than content around the rest of the UK. So it was preventative campaign ours was, and we always knew what happened here in Wales would affect the whole of the UK. So we tried really hard, do you know what I mean, to destroy this legislation. But the judicial system is simply not on our side. We always said this was going to be a case of uniting the kingdom, but we did focus our fight in Wales only because we had that judicial review. Now it's a damage limitation campaign, we all need to be on the front line now and that's what we are doing in Public Child Protection Wales. We're ensuring each group has what they need, we're encouraging them to meet, we're going to be supplying leaflets all around the country, and like I said we're in the process of putting these together now. Factual information that covers all four countries, a universal leaflet, everybody has a right to know. And I guess also important for anyone watching who is a teacher or involved in the education process, we kind of sometimes think the education process has been captured by a Marxist ideology, and that is true. But there still will be many good people in the education sector. And I guess important for teachers, if they see something that they think is inappropriate, they can, I guess, whistle-blow, they can pass the information on and highlight it. Absolutely, yes, they could. And we will do everything in our power to keep that, confidential. We would never rename that teacher or where this information has come from. But we do have to be working together now. I suspect a lot of training that's gone on in recent years is alienating parents from the training and we do feel like you know the whole profession has turned against us but you can't do your job without us. Things are going to happen in your work environment where our children are, and the only people that's going to be able to help you are the parents. Now you've got to work with the parents because you are the ones the government has put on the front line. With this case law we've got here in work now, you are the ones in the firing line, we will be coming after teachers because that's our only option now. They've put you in this position, help us get you out of it. Kim, I really appreciate you coming on, what you're doing is absolutely essential and I think it's one of the key battles to actually protect our children from this ideology that wants the whole gender reassignment stuff, all of that, it's a slope that children cannot recover from, it's irreversible, some of that, and what's been forced on them. So thank you so much for coming on and sharing what you're doing with Public Child Protection Wales. Oh, thank you for having us. We appreciate this. You know, we appreciate all the support we can get.
On Monday 22 May Suella Braverman announced her findings on the IICSA report (Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse) and the next steps the Government are taking. Chris and Beverley share their own thoughts and insights as Chris was on the panel of Victim and Survivors, and both took part in sharing their story in the Truth Project. We have added links below for the IICSA report, Womens Hour and Channel 5 news episode with Beverley For anyone wishing to ask any further questions please contact us on the link below: breakingthecycletostepforward@gmail.com https://survivorsofabuse.org.uk/ https://stepforwardpractice.co.uk https://www.iicsa.org.uk/final-report https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001m5nc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3TQG_Ay470&feature=youtu.be https://tinyurl.com/4f242rph
After more than seven years taking evidence, six months ago the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse published their final report which put forward 20 recommendations for the government. This week the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, announced they had accepted 19 of those put forward. Professor Alexis Jay, who chaired the IICSA for seven years, joins Nuala to explain why she is deeply disappointed with their response. Dr. Katriona O'Sullivan grew up as one of five children living in dire poverty, surrounded by addiction. She is now an award winning lecturer, whose work explores barrier to education. She joins Nuala to discuss herlife story, as told in her moving, funny, brave and shocking memoir – Poor. Sales of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK will end by 2030, but women are less likely than men to consider buying an electric vehicle, and the gap seems to be widening. Erin Baker, Editorial Director from AutoTrader and Beth Morley, a mobility and human insights manager from Cenex, join Nuala to discuss. This month marks ten years since a law authorising same-sex couples to marry and adopt children was passed in France. But it wasn't until 2021 that single women and lesbian couples were allowed to get fertility treatment following two years of parliamentary debate. A new French film - La Graine or The Seed - looks at the journey of a lesbian couple, Ines and Lucie, on their quest to have a baby, set before the law came into force in France To discuss the current situation I'm joined by the director Eloïse Lang, & journalist for France24, Claire Paccalin. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Lucinda Montefiore Studio manager: Sue Maillot
What does one of the UK leading lawyers into child sexual abuse think about IICSA (Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse)? What does he feel about mandatory reporting? (At the moment there is no law that states that schools or organisations need to report child sexual abuse). What does he feel? Is this right? What needs to be done? And what about cases like Jimmy Saville, Bishop Peter Ball and John Smythe? How did the UK allow these paedophiles to operate and even support them for so many years? Dino Nocivelli is a partner in the abuse department at Leigh Day law firm and joined the company in 2022. Dino specialises in actions for child sexual abuse survivors. Dino has appeared in a significant number of media publications providing his expert opinion and commentary, including among others the BBC, ITV and the Guardian. He has also provided evidence to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).Areas to explore:I would love to hear some of your journey and how you got into the work that you are now doing?Could you speak about your work around child sexual abuse (CSA) and some of the cases that you have been putting together?How widespread is CSA in Britain?I would love to hear you speak about the IICSA process. What was IICSA? What were its aims? Did they succeed in these aims? What was the final verdict? Could you please talk about mandatory reporting? What do you feel about the importance of having mandatory reporting in schools and boarding schools? Has IICSA now made this a requirement by law?Could you talk a little about Jimmy Saville, John Smythe and cases like Bishop Peter Ball.What about boarding schools? What have you found out about boarding schools and CSA? In your opinion should these schools be able to retain their charitable status? How do people find out more about your work?To find more about Dino please visit: https://www.leighday.co.uk/about-us/our-people/partners/dino-nocivelli/To read some of his blog posts about boarding schools: https://www.leighday.co.uk/latest-updates/blog/2022-blogs/malsis-school-convictions-how-was-abuse-able-to-go-on-for-so-long/#childsexualabuse #csa #abuseawarenessweek #jimmysaville Five Leading Child Sexual Abuse Charities: http://www.frsb.org.uk/the-top-5-uk-sexual-abuse-charities/--- Piers is an author and a men's transformational coach and therapist who works mainly with trauma, boarding school issues, addictions and relationship problems. He also runs online men's groups for ex-boarders, retreats and a podcast called An Evolving Man. He is also the author of How to Survive and Thrive in Challenging Times. To purchase Piers first book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Survive-Thrive-Challenging-Times/dp/B088T5L251/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=piers+cross&qid=1609869608&sr=8-1 For more videos please visit: http://youtube.com/pierscross For FB: https://www.facebook.com/pierscrosspublic For Piers' website and a free training How To Find Peace In Everyday Life: https://www.piers-cross.com/community Many blessings, Piers Cross http://piers-cross.com/
The IICSA (Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse) report was shared on 20 October 2022 and in this episode Chris and Beverley share their own experience of sharing their story through the Truth Project and how this contributed to the Inquiry. In the first part of this Special Edition, we spoke about the Background of the Inquiry and how it came about. Join us to her our authentic, uncut conversation from a Lived Experience and Professional perspective breakingthecycletostepforward@gmail.com https://www.instagram.com/breakingthecycletostepforward/ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082797982675
Following the release of the IICSA (Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse) report, Chris and Beverley discuss the report and start breaking it down to enable understanding of why it was set up, who initiated it and how it is broken down. These special edition podcasts will be included over time to enable updates and clarity. You can download a copy of the report and read it yourself: https://www.iicsa.org.uk/ Breakingthecycletostepforward@gmail.com https://www.iicsa.org.uk/ https://survivorsofabuse.org.uk/ https://stepforwardpractice.co.uk
This is the second part on The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) report, published on 20 October 2022. They discuss IICSA recommendations for reform of the Limitation Act 1980, the appointment of a children's minister, and a redress scheme.
Adrian Goldberg hears a dismayed reaction to the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse - or IICSA.The Inquiry was commissioned by Theresa May in 2014 after the Jimmy Saville scandal and was designed to investigate the systemic failures that allow abuse to happen and then be covered up - especially in institutions such as schools, the NHS and the BBC.One if its key recommendations is for a law on Mandatory Reporting of abuse but Tom Perry from Mandate Now – who has been of the most ardent supporters of legislation like this - is not happy.Produced in Birmingham by Adrian Goldberg and Harvey White.Funded by subscriptions to Byline Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Adrian Goldberg hears a dismayed reaction to the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse - or IICSA. The Inquiry was commissioned by Theresa May in 2014 after the Jimmy Saville scandal and was designed to investigate the systemic failures that allow abuse to happen and then be covered up - especially in institutions such as schools, the NHS and the BBC. One if its key recommendations is for a law on Mandatory Reporting of abuse but Tom Perry from Mandate Now – who has been of the most ardent supporters of legislation like this - is not happy. Produced in Birmingham by Adrian Goldberg and Harvey White. Funded by subscriptions to Byline Times.
Ten years ago, the Jimmy Savile affair shocked the nation, sparking a moral panic about child abuse and institutional cover ups. In response, the government launched a national inquiry in 2014. This week, after eight years and over £180m spent, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse will release its final report. So what have we learned - and what has the inquiry achieved?This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes.If you've been affected by issues raised in this episode, you can call Victim Support's 24/7 support line on 0808 168 9111. Guest: Sean O'Neill, senior writer, The Times. Host: David Aaronovitch.Clips: Channel 4 News, Sky News, 5 News, BBC News, ITV News, UK Parliament, IICSA. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Producer Dawn Dickinson previews The Guardian This Week with an article about a sculpture that is being made out of a stash of gems from Philippine's former first lady Imelda Marcos. She also tells us about a new IICSA report that presents some revelations about reporting sexual abuse in schools within England and Wales. From the March 3, 2022 episode.
Today on NOW with Dave Brown, Dr. Margaret MacMillan from the University of Toronto reflects on the 50th anniversary of former U.S. president Richard Nixon's historic visit to China. Producer Dawn Dickinson previews The Guardian This Week with an article about a sculpture that is being made out of a stash of gems from Philippine's former first lady Imelda Marcos. Shaun Preece of Double Tap Canada describes Sony Electronics' LinkBuds, a new pair of wireless headphones. And in Central regional report, Karen Magee tells us about Canine's in the Classroom, a new program coming to a secondary school in Barrie, Ontario. This is the March 3, 2022 episode.
AEM - An Evolving Man Podcast #18 - Joanna Brittan- The Female Perspective of Boarding School - Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) On today's podcast I am interviewing Joanna Brittan who is one of the leading voices against the boarding school system and a leading campaigner for the rights of people who have been sexually abused at boarding school. Today we talk about her own journey at boarding school and what it was like for her. Often we hear about what boarding was like for boys but often there is no corresponding response for girls. Joanna talks about what it was like for her and some of the struggles she went through. Some of the topics that we talk about are: How the punishment for girls at boarding school was through shame rather than physical abuseHow boarding schools has affected her as a mother - literally not knowing how to bring her children up. How she has warned the Royal family not to send their children to boarding school and why What she thinks of the IICSA enquiry and why she feels that it has not lived up to its purpose About her brothers' sexual abuse at Sherborne Prep School and how she has campaigned against the school. The neglect of boarding school How peer on peer sexual abuse is the biggest taboo in boarding school child abuse and why no one speaks up. Detached mothering - why mothers allow their children to be sent to boarding school. The link between the Qatar Royal Family and Sherborne schools and how her father introduced the Qatar Royal family to the school and how she feels the school have betrayed them. --- Joanna Brittan is a leading critic of the boarding school system and has spent many years exposing child sexual abuse especially at Sherborne Prep School and Robin Lindsay, as listed at the IICSA inquiry. She also attended boarding school from the age of 8 until 18. For more information please visit Joanna on Twitter https://twitter.com/jebrittan2 or @jebrittan2 For the Boarding School Facebook Campaigning Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/boardingschoolaction/ And for the Boarding School Survivors FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/143749179546597 (it is private for ex-boarders only so you will need to ask to join). “Returning SHAME of CSA to abusive institutions where it rightfully belongs and always did.”#NeverOurShame#SherborneShame#CSA #boardingschoolabuse #childsexualabuse --- Piers Cross is an author and a men's transformational coach and therapist who works mainly with trauma, boarding school issues, addictions and relationship problems. He also runs online men's groups, retreats and a podcast called An Evolving Man. He is also the author of How to Survive and Thrive in Challenging Times. To purchase Piers first book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Survive-Thrive-Challenging-Times/dp/B088T5L251/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=piers+cross&qid=1609869608&sr=8-1 For more videos please visit: http://youtube.com/pierscross For FB: https://www.facebook.com/pierscrosspublic For Piers' website and a free training How To Find Peace In Everyday Life: https://www.piers-cross.com/community Many blessings, Piers Cross http://piers-cross.com/
In this episode of HJ Talks about Abuse podcast, Alan Collins and Feleena Grosvenor discuss the new Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (“CSSA”). In November 2020, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (“IICSA”) published the final report in relation to child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. The final report stated, among other conclusions and criticisms, that the Catholic Church appeared at times to care more about the impact of abuse on the Church's reputation than on the victims. The Catholic Church created the CSSA and published an Action Plan in response to the IICSA report. The CSSA creates a professional standard to which all Catholic Dioceses and Religious Life Groups in England and Wales will be accountable. This means that the body will be able to sanction clergy who do not meet those standards. Mr Nazir Afzal has been appointed as chair of the CSSA. His appointment is said to represent “a seismic shift in culture” that is desperately needed. He was the former Chief Crown Prosecutor in the Rochdale grooming gang cases as the Chair of their new safeguarding agency. The CSSA also appoints Stephen Ashley as the Deputy Chair. He is a former Assistant Chief Constable who authored a Home Office report on the conduct of the police during the investigations into sex offences committed by former television personality Jimmy Savile. We encourage anyone who has comments or concerns relating to this subject, or about abuse in general, to get in touch with Alan Collins or Feleena Grosvenor. Sources: Ex-prosecutor Nazir Afzal to lead Catholic Church child abuse body - BBC News Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency | Mysite (catholicsafeguardingproject.org) Microsoft Word - 2021.04.30 - IICSA Recommendations - Response Paper FINAL.docx (cbcew.org.uk)
In today's podcast I am interviewing Alex Renton who is the author of the book Stiff Upper Lip and producer of the ITV documentary Secret Shame about child abuse at boarding school.Alex is a writer and journalist whose career has ranged from arts and food writing to politics and the investigation of child abuse. His career as a war reporter and development worker took him to the Middle East, Africa, East Asia and the Balkans. He has worked for The Independent, The Times, Newsweek, and the London Evening Standard and contributed to a host of other newspapers and magazines. He is also the author of the e-book Planet Carnivore: how cheap meat costs the earth (Guardian Shorts, 2015).Alex has won many awards for his work in investigative journalism, conflict and development reporting and for food writing, including the One World Award and the Glenfiddich Trophy.Born in Canada, educated in English boarding schools and at Exeter University, Alex now lives in Edinburgh with his wife, son and daughter.Here are some of the questions that I asked him:I would love for you to share your own boarding school journey and how things changed for you in 2013 with the article you read about child abuse at the boarding school you attended?What are some of the insights that you have had from publicly sharing your journey? Have people in the main been critical or supportive of you?I would love to hear what you have found out re boarding school and complex trauma. I am hearing people talk about PTSD and boarding school syndrome. What is your sense of this analysis?What do you see are some of the main issues that we as ex-boarders present? e.g. relationship problems, emotionally shut down etc. My work is in helping people to heal from boarding school wounds. I would love to hear what you have found has helped others in the stories that you have heard? What has worked for you?I love in your book how you talk about initiation (P.41). I would love to speak a little about how boarding school could be seen as an initiation – although not a healthy one. What could we do instead to help initiate boys and girls?What is your vision for the future re boarding schools. Can we change the system? If so how do you feel we can change the system? Can we stop early boarding? What is the future of BS?What are you doing next? How do people get in touch with you or get your book?Alex also shared about the IICSA and said the following: “I think if we are going to get results out of it for children in residential care, in terms of solid safeguarding protocols and hard law to protect them and the whistleblowers, it will be largely because of Tom Perry's tireless work with mandatenow.org.uk.”In order to buy Alex's book (he has offered to sign copies for people if you contact him here) please go to https://stiffupperlipbook.com/contact/ and to buy it https://stiffupperlipbook.com/buy/For the ITV documentary that Alex helped to produce please visit https://youtu.be/uhWOM3iqF7cFor more information about Piers Cross:Piers is a men's transformational coach and therapist who works mainly with trauma, boarding school issues, addictions and relationship problems. He also runs online men's groups and runs a podcast called An Evolving Man. Many blessings, Piers Cross http://piers-cross.com/
Over the years we have heard many accounts of children being abused in the Education sector. By now, it would be hoped that lessons had been learnt and sufficient safeguarding procedures would have been put in place to prevent history repeating itself. It must be pointed out that abuse in a school environment could include any staff member, teacher or even a pupil. Abuse takes place in all types of schools including public, state, faith and special schools. Abuse can include physical, emotional or sexual and can be committed by both male and female perpetrators. Public boarding schools take the focus of this blog. Here, many children are away from home from potentially a very young age, placed in the trusted hands of the school for long periods of time, monitored by adults who are deemed safe and responsible to look after them. In November 2020, former teacher Matthew Mowbray from Eton College hit the headlines when he was charged with sexually assaulting three boys. Eton is a prestigious public school with formal pupils such as Prince William and Prince Harry, Hugh Laurie and David Cameron, to name just a few. Mowbray was dismissed from Eton after his arrest in May 2019. He appeared at Slough Magistrates' Court in November 2020 charged with offences including sexual assault, voyeurism and taking indecent photographs. The abuse period is understood to stem over 10 years. Mowbray would visit the students late at night when they were in bed. The abuse only came to light when another pupil told a housemaster what he had seen. Mowbray pleaded guilty to eight offences of the eighteen brought against him. In December 2020, Mowbray was found guilty of eight charges and was sentenced to five years imprisonment. At the time of writing this blog, Clifton College in Bristol also issued a public apology after a former teacher was jailed for taking indecent images of pupils in 2015. Sadly, yet again this is another school to add to the list where sexual abuse has been disclosed. In 2018, ITV broadcast documentary ‘Boarding Schools: The Secret Shame’ which revealed the true extent of abuse in UK’s boarding schools. Journalist and presenter, Alex Renton, was sexually abused as a young boy by his teacher, Mr Keane, at one of the country’s top boarding schools, Ashdown House in East Sussex. The broadcast investigated some of the private schools where paedophiles groomed and assaulted young boarders repeatedly, sometimes over decades. Schools which featured in the broadcast included; Sherborne Preparatory School where headteacher Robin Lindsay abused pupils over three decades between 1970s -1990s Loughton School Herefordshire where headmaster David Panter abused pupils St Aubyns East Sussex where teacher George Pilgram abused pupils In preparation for the documentary, ITV’s Exposure made Freedom of Information requests to every police force in the UK and 24 responded. The results from 2018 showed: Since 2012, 425 people have been accused of carrying out sexual attacks at UK boarding schools At the time there were at least 31 ongoing investigations. The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) are finalising a report into the exploitation of children in residential schools. A public hearing on the second phase of the investigation took place in November 2020. The investigation is to explore how children and other agencies respond to allegations of sexual abuse by school staff and address broader questions of school culture governance, leadership, training and recruitment. IICSA has an Inquiry Information Line you can contact on 0800 917 1000. In December 2020, drama ‘A Teacher’ was released on BBC iPlayer. The drama played out the sexual relationship of a female teacher and male pupil. The 10-part series explored the significant impact on the pupil in later life and how it impacted his studies, relationships, and friendships. Importantly it focused on how the pupil did not realise he had been abused until years later. It is important to see such documentaries in the media to highlight that females in a position of power can abuse too. All schools are expected to have sufficient safeguarding procedures to prevent abuse. If a school employee has committed abuse, it is possible to make a civil claim against the individual’s employer under vicarious liability if it can be established the abuse occurred during the course of employment or in a relationship akin to employment. Schools and local authorities are insured against claims for childhood sexual abuse and therefore are more likely to be a viable Defendant in comparison to the individual abuser who may face multiple claims and have limited assets. The Defendant will depend on whether the school is a state or private school. The Local Authority is responsible for state schools and in a private school setting, responsibility lies with the owner or the governors of the school. The following organisations are available to contact for support: Victim Support Line: Offering emotional and practical support for anyone who has been a victim of crime. Telephone: 0808 1689 111 victimsupport.org.uk Rape Crisis: Services for women and girls who have been raped or have experienced sexual violence - 0808 802 9999 https://rapecrisis.org.uk/ Survivors UK: Offers support for men and boys - 0203 598 3898 https://www.survivorsuk.org/ NSPCC: help@nspcc.org.uk 0808 800 5000 Child Line: www.childline.org.uk/0800 1111 NAPAC: Offers support to adult survivors of all types of childhood abuse. www.napac.org.uk We encourage anyone who has concerns about sexual abuse to get in touch. You can contact Alan Collins or Danielle Vincent.
In recent weeks we discussed the Church of England failings to protect individuals against abuse as established by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). We further discussed failures of the Church of England in respect of the abuse perpetrated by Bishop Hurbert Victor Whitsey. Today we turn to the Roman Catholic Church. The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) has published their findings report after 7 weeks of public hearings. The full report can be found here. The report confirms between the period of 1970 and 2015, the Catholic Church received more than 900 complaints involving over 3,000 instances of child sexual abuse in England and Wales. Since 2016, there have been more than 100 reported allegations each year. However, as with all abuse figures, the true scale of abuse is likely to have been significantly higher. The report noted the changes brought about by Nolan and Cumberlege inquiries resulted in improvements over the years including more formal handling of reports of child sexual abuse, better training and greater cooperation with the statutory authorities. However, the report found this was in contrast, with slower progress in other areas. The report found leading Catholic Cardinal, Vincent Nichols, prioritised the reputation of the church' above his duty to sex assault victims. At the time of writing, Cardinal Nichols has refused to resign despite the report findings that he demonstrated 'no acknowledgement of any personal responsibility to lead or influence change'. This follows IICSA’s 2018 report in which he apologised for failing starting “We humbly ask forgiveness … for our slowness and defensiveness and for our neglect of both preventative and restorative actions”. The report has found that the Catholic Church repeatedly failed to support victims and survivors, while taking positive action to protect alleged perpetrators, including moving them to different parishes. The report highlighted the case of Father James Robinson, who was moved to another parish within the Archdiocese of Birmingham after complaints were first made against him. Robinson abused children between 1959 and 1983 before fleeing to the US. He was later jailed in 2010 for 21 years. At the time of his imprisonment, the church still refused to defrock him. The inquiry criticised that the Holy See and the Apostolic Nuncio because its ambassador to the UK, did not provide witness statements to the Inquiry despite repeated requests. The lack of cooperation stands in direct contrast with Pope Francis’ statement in 2019, calling for “concrete and effective actions that involve everyone in the Church”. The report makes 7 recommendations: Leadership - The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales and the Conference of Religious in England and Wales should each nominate a lead member of the clergy for safeguarding to provide leadership and oversight on safeguarding matters to their respective Conferences and the wider Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. Training - Ensure that safeguarding training is mandatory for all staff and volunteers in roles where they work with children or victims and survivors of abuse. Compliance - Publish a clear framework for dealing with cases of non-compliance with safeguarding policies and procedures. That framework should identify who is responsible for dealing with issues of non-compliance at all levels of the Church, and include the measures or sanctions for non-compliance. External auditing - These independent reports should be published. Canon 1395 - The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales should request that the Holy See redraft the canonical crimes relating to child sexual abuse as crimes against the child. Having a Catholic Safeguarding Advisory Service website and policies and procedures manual Having a National Complaints policy and escalation process assessed by an independent adjudicator The final report is due to be put before Parliament in 2022. We encourage anyone who has concerns about sexual abuse to get in touch with Alan Collins or Danielle Vincent.
Well this is a bit of a ramble, but the main story is how a prominent Leicester MP Greville Janner had credible allegations of sexual abuse made against him over a long period of time but was never investigated. It is suspected that the Security services of MI5 and Special Branch protected him due to his position of being an influential Jewish personality who had a relationship with leaders of countries of the Middle East.There is also the story of how paedophiles infiltrated Children's homes in the Leicester area in the 1960s,70s, 80s and probably beyond. There seemed to be a paedophile network active in the Leicester area probably protected in part by Freemason influence.We also see how inquiries into abuse in the 1990s after the Frank Beck child abuse trial were not very effective and probably did not stop all the abuse.We examine how the Carl Beech case in 2018 impacted on inquiries, to the extent that the case seemed like an attempt to hijack the debate on child abuse after the Savile case had bought forward so many historical claims.It is hoped that the ill-fated Independent Inquiry of Child Sexual Abuse inquiry (IICSA) will provide some answers when it produces its report in 2022. They will produce a separate report on the Janner case.I would also like to state again that this podcast is not edited in any way and is recorded in one take, so apologies over any stuttering or mispronounced words.Of no interest to anyone other than myself, this is the 80th podcast I have produced.
In this week's episode of the HJ Talks About Abuse podcast, our Partner, Alan Collins, talks to Nicole, a sexual abuse survivor about her experience of going to court when her abuser was prosecuted. Nicole’s case is interesting not just because of her story and the experiences she shares with us, but for two particular reasons: There was a “Goodyear” hearing; and The judge made a Criminal Compensation Order What is a “Goodyear” hearing? This is the procedure by which a defendant can obtain an indication as to the sentence to be imposed upon a plea of guilty “and is governed by the decision in R v Goodyear[2005] EWCA Crim 888). At the defendant’s request, the court can indicate the maximum sentence it would impose were the defendant to plead guilty at that stage of the proceedings. Proceedings should be held in open court. In Nicole’s case, the defendant’s lawyer asked the judge what would the sentence be? Having been advised a suspended prison sentence, the defendant pleaded guilty and was duly sentenced. In the podcast Nicole explains how she felt at the time, and offers her reflections. Criminal Compensation orders The criminal courts on sentencing offenders are required to consider making a compensation order which is defined in the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 (PCC(S)A 2000), to mean an order which requires the offender to pay compensation for any personal injury, loss or damage resulting from the offence. Unfortunately, many, if not most victims of sexual abuse are not awarded compensation. Nicole is something of a rarity because as she explains, she was awarded compensation. We have raised with both IICSA and the UK Parliament the fact that so few orders are made, when clearly in many cases they should be. The APPG Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse in its report said: “Survivors’ experiences of court and applying for compensation” wrote: The inquiry also heard how judges are not using their powers to issue Criminal Compensation Orders at the conclusion of a trial, with only 26 issued in 2017. Of those awarded, some were as low as £20 for the ‘rape of a male child under 13’. We will be asking Westminster to tell us what progress has been made to remedy this glaring defect in the justice system.
After the damning report into safeguarding practices in the Catholic Church at the IICSA inquiry, the Church has announced it's next steps. What are they and do they go far enough? William Crawley hears analysis from the BBC's Harry Farley, reaction from a survivor and asks Carol Lawrence, a member of the Safeguarding Review Panel, will these changes make the Catholic church a safe space? A recent investigation by Vice has alleged that apps, including a Muslim faith app, have had their data sold to the US military by a location data firm. William Crawley interviews Joseph Cox the journalist who led the investigation and also talks to Rob Pritchard, a former cyber security researcher at GCHQ. And also on the programme, the award winning diocesan choir which kept the young people of west Yorkshire singing through lockdown. Producer: Catherine Earlam Rosie Dawson Series Producer: Amanda Hancox
Catherine Pepinster, the well-known author, broadcaster and commentator and former editor of The Tablet, discusses the Catholic Church's terrible record on abuse in the light of the report from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-tablet/message
In this episode of the HJ Talks About Abuse podcast, Alan Collins and Danielle Vincent explore the Church of England’s proposed compensation scheme for victims of abuse. An interim pilot scheme has been drawn up to initially compensate 10 survivors. A statement read ‘The pilot scheme is designed to enable the Church to respond in particular to those survivors’ cases which are already known to the Church, where the survivor is known to be in seriously distressed circumstances, and the Church has a heightened responsibility because of the way the survivor was responded to following disclosure”. Compensation funds have now been approved by the Church’s Cabinet, the Archbishops Council. Initial estimates suggest compensation will amount to potentially £200 million. The scheme will look to compensate these 10 individuals as a ‘pilot’ before finalising the full Redress Scheme which will then be opened up to the masses. At this time, it is unclear what the time scale will be for this. The Church of England compensation scheme follows the ongoing investigation and criticism by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). The IICSA has held several hearings into abuse in the Church of England and the Catholic Church The finalised report is still awaited, such hearing being delayed by the current covid pandemic. The inquiry’s report is expected to heavily criticise the Church of England for its failure to act on disclosures of abuse and to treat survivors with compassion by protecting clergy at the expense of children and vulnerable adults The Most Reverend Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury and leader of the Church of England, and Vincent Nichols, the archbishop of Westminster and most senior Catholic cleric in England and Wales, have previously both given evidence in person to the IISCA, apologising for abuse and its cover-up. The Archbishop of Canterbury told it that he was ashamed of the church and abusers should go to prison. ‘These decisions feel like a turning point. We continue to pray for survivors and all those the Church has failed. A separate 2017 investigation by the IICSA into abuse by former bishop Peter Ball found the church failed to protect boys and then concealed evidence of Ball’s crime and prioritised its own reputation above the needs of victims. Ball was jailed for 32 months in 2015 for sexual abuse against boys carried out over three decades. Ball was allowed to remain in the Church after accepting a reprimand for his behaviour in 1993. The redress scheme has been publicised as the turning point in the Church’s treatment of survivors abused by bishops, clergy, churchwardens, employees, volunteers, congregation members and people with church connections. The Archbishops’ Council also committed the Church of England to greater independence and transparency in the way it deals with abuse. The scheme has been a long time coming for many victims whose complaints were never investigated or dismissed. Reporting of both current and historical abuse in the dioceses have risen experientially based on the initial data disclosed in the last few years. In 2017 there were 3,287 complaints, compared with 2,195 in 2015. It is understood the increase is from vulnerable category victims. It is predicted thousands of individuals will come forward to apply to the scheme who may not have already disclosed their experiences The criteria an applicant will be required to meet to be eligible to apply to the scheme and the finer details of the compensation awards tariff available has yet to be disclosed at this time. It is thought the scheme with cover sexual abuse, physical and psychological abuse. The history behind the scheme is outlined by the Church’s lead bishop for safeguarding, the Rt. Rev’d Jonathan Gibbs in a BBC interview on 4th October 2o20: bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000n4vy The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) runs The Truth Project offering victims and survivors of child sexual abuse the chance to share their experiences and be heard with respect. 5000 people have spoken out. The link to this is here https://www.truthproject.org.uk/help-and-support#233150507 We encourage anyone who has concerns about sexual abuse to get in touch. You can contact Alan Collins at alan.collins@hughjames.com or Danielle Vincent at Danielle.vincent@hughjames.com
‘But Where are You Really From’, is a new book by Amanda Khozi Mukwashi, the CEO of the international aid charity Christian Aid. It tells the story of her family’s migration across southern Africa and her own journey to the UK. As we mark Black History Month, Amanda explores the real questions she believes we need to be asking ourselves and each other about where we come from. Damming, shameful and disastrous. Words used by Church of England bishops and the Archbishop of Canterbury himself to describe the report on the Anglican Church by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. Amongst the findings published this week it said the church spent decades failing to protect children from sexual abuse, instead, it prioritised protecting its own reputation. William speaks to three people who have seen the impact abuse in the church can have; solicitor Richard Scorer, victim and survivor advocate Andrew Graystone and a survivor of adult abuse, Jo Kind. The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell tells William how the church plans to respond to the report. For the first time Liberal Judaism in the UK will allow Jews marrying non-Jews to receive the traditional wedding blessing, under the chuppah, a symbolic canopy. Until now it has only been permitted for the marriage of two Jews. The decision means Ruth and Andrew Seagar can renew their vows under the chuppah, 38 years after their first wedding and they tell us what the decision means for them. Producers: David Cook Rosie Dawson Series Producer: Amanda Hancox
the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has documented the church of England has failed to protect children and young people from sexual predators for decades, preferring instead to safeguard its own reputation, and created a culture where abusers were able to hide Also, The TEC Train Wreck continues in slow motion as Bp Love has been found guilty of violating a Resolution of General Convention which intends to force the Bishop to allow Same-Sex Wedding in conservative Diocese.
In Episode 116 Emma-Louise Fenelon speaks to Richard Scorer, Head of Abuse at Slater and Gordon, about progress of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and in particular the investigation into abuse within minority religions. The episode also examines the impact virtual hearings has had on evidence to date.
In this episode Partner Alan Collins and Sam Barker discuss the proposed changes to the limitation laws that apply to childhood sexual abuse. In England and Wales, the limitation legislation states that you have three years to bring a claim for sexual abuse unless you were a child at the time of the abuse in which case you would have three years from the time you turn 18. Very similar laws in Scotland and Australia have now been reformed. Alan has been consulting with IICSA's investigation into limitation law in England and Wales. While judicial thought about limitation has changed a lot in the last 30 years, there is still more reform that could be made to make the legal system more open, accessible and fair to survivors of child sexual abuse.
A review of the some of the safeguarding news stories from last month. In this edition we speak with co-host Sarah Castro MBE about the IICSA, the NCA and John Carr's Cappers.
In this podcast Alan Collins and Dr Michael Salter, Associate Professor of Criminology at The University of New South Wales, discuss the risks associated with posting supposedly private images online. Alan asks the question whether posting private and intimate images is now seen as acceptable behaviour? Dr Salter in answering this question highlights research in this area and how paedophiles are able to exploit this behaviour by gaining access to children. Alan highlights that IICSA as part of its research, revealed that children and young people come under pressure to share images. The research also shows however, that they have considerable insight and that there is much to learn from their insights. Before the invention of the smartphone, child abuse images were created by adults and Alan recalls a case that he worked on called 'Green Field House' where in the 1960's, boys from this institution appeared in pornographic photographs and films which were clandestinely commercially produced. So in one sense this is not a new problem but now a radically developing and different one. Children and young people engaging in the sharing of images maybe doing so innocently, maybe naively and consensually. What is of further concern is that there maybe coercion. The research points to pressure to conform and engage, and that can become coercive. All of this has considerable ramifications because it can lead to both physical and psychological harm for the young people concerned.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse is commencing its investigation into Child Protection in Religious Organisations and Settings on 16 March 2020. This is a wide ranging investigation into child protection practices in religious organisations which have more than a trivial presence in England and Wales. The hearings will run for two weeks and will conduct an investigation into the adequacy of child protection practices in, for example, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Jewish orthodox community, Scientology and Paganism. Hugh James represents an advocacy group of current and former members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses called the EX-JW Advocates Opposing Crimes Against Children (the “Group”). To explain, the Group: Is made up of survivors of childhood sexual abuse within the Jehovah’s Witnesses UK, former elders of Jehovah’s Witnesses UK with deep knowledge of practices adopted by bodies of elders at congregations across the UK and former member activists who assist survivors across the UK; Certain members of the Group maintain a website and Facebook group with resources and immediate help for those who have been affected by Jehovah’s Witnesses UK and access to the site administrator who can speak with the member or ex-member in confidence; Advocates for change within Jehovah’s Witnesses UK in respect of, amongst other things, the 2017 safeguarding policy, internal practices and procedures following the disclosure of child sexual abuse within a congregation, support to survivors of child sexual abuse within Jehovah’s Witnesses UK and understanding of child sexual abuse not as a ‘sin’ but a crime; and Raises awareness in respect of Jehovah's Witnesses UK reluctance to co-operate with secular authorities in investigations and prosecutions members who have committed an act of child sexual abuse and the failure to bring those allegations to the attention of the police at first instance. The Group is focussed on highlighting to the Inquiry the cultural issues within the Jehovah’s Witnesses which inhibits reporting of allegations of child sexual abuse to the police and stifles proper safeguarding at an institutional level. The primary point of concern is the recent policy shift within the Jehovah’s Witnesses of deflecting safeguarding responsibility onto parents within the religion rather than the institution itself. Whilst it is of course a parent’s responsibility to care for their children, it is bad practice on an institutional level to take an “arm’s length” approach to safeguarding by passing total responsibility to parents. This is particularly the case in inward facing and isolationist religions like the Jehovah’s Witnesses which restrict a child’s interaction with the outside world. Other cultural issues which inhibit proper safeguarding include shunning, the two witness rule, scriptural investigations, a view of society’s laws as “Caesar’s laws” and reputational concerns. These issues are not all specific to the Jehovah’s Witnesses and practice like shunning and the two witness rule is practiced in other religions, like certain sects of Jewish orthodoxy. Overall, the Group advocates for mandatory reporting along with external regulation and training. In the course of the investigations conducted by the Inquiry it has become very apparent that religious institutions are almost incapable of properly self-regulating and appropriately reporting allegations of child sexual abuse or individuals who pose a risk of harm to children to authorities. The Jehovah’s Witnesses as an organisation has been exposed in the respect in a recent High Court decision called Lancashire County Council v E & F & Ors [2020] EWHC 182. The “choice” to report must be taken away from these organisations. Another issue of great concern which again is not specific to the Jehovah’s Witnesses is the lack of external oversight and input in regard to safeguarding training and it is clearly the case that if bad practice is the basis of training, it will create a systemic issue which is difficult to correct. All religious organisations in the UK should be legally required to meet mandatory minimum standards but for those with charitable status there should be sanctions for failing to do so. The Inquiry will hopefully be able to recommend meaningful change but it has taken on a monumental task over a short period of time.
The answer as far as we are concerned is No! The reason why this question features in our latest podcast is because it was said at the recent IICSA hearing into accountability and reparation. IICSA was and is looking further into redress for child sexual abuse (CSA) survivors. Evidence has been given that suggests the existing justice systems are not working effectively for survivors. Many are unable to claim compensation, and where it cannot be awarded, often is not. There are powerful arguments to say that much needs to change, but it is not clear how and whether the lot of survivors can be improved. The civil justice system has come under scrutiny and that will be the subject of a further podcast, but for the moment let’s look at what happens when a survivor approaches us for the first time. We try to provide a holistic approach in the sense that we point out that the survivor is in charge of the discussion, and no one is ever going to make them do anything that they do not want to do. We recognise that survivors in other settings, perhaps, feel compelled or obliged to do as they asked. We try to engineer a sense that they feel no compulsion to do anything, and to do nothing is fine. We consider it vital to allow the survivor to tell us whatever they feel necessary. Yes we may ask questions to clarify or to understand what we might have heard. If asked we can advise as to the legal options that might be available. We might signpost the survivor to the police, or elsewhere for services that they might need. This is the opposite of telling survivors what to do. It is not our place to tell them. It is our place to advise and inform, and to represent if that is what they want. We have to be frank when advising. If legal action is appropriate we have to advise that and explain what is involved. If legal action is not possible we have to explain that too. We have to do this so that survivors can make informed decisions and it’s about empowering and not telling them what to do. That is an important and fundamental difference. It is clear from the IICSA hearings that there is a major information deficit for survivors who by and large are not being informed of their civil rights by those who are in a position to do so. Survivors are too often dependent on those who ought to know but do not, and that just exacerbates the problem. This is a cause that we are trying to pursue with parliamentarians who we consider have a particular responsibility to make sure that the laws that have been passed to assist with redress are observed and enforced.
The IICSA Roman Catholic Church investigation has recently concluded. IICSA was examining safeguarding in the Roman Catholic Church and the interwoven issue of mandatory reporting. The last day of the hearing (8th November 2019) was concerned with the hearing of submissions by the lawyers representing the various parties. I was concerned to make the point that there was a moral and legal obligation on the Roman Catholic Church to accept what needed to be done to ensure that there was adequate safeguarding so that children and young people would be safe. I quote in part the submission I made: Over the course of the last few days, we have heard much about cardinals, bishops, dioceses, conferences, commissions, priests, and I have to say, or I have to confess, that I do not pretend, even now, to fully understand how the Roman Catholic Church, in these many guises, actually functions, but it is abundantly clear that, when it comes to safeguarding, the levers of power are operated by a very small number of people. Maybe that helps to explain why the Roman Catholic Church has failed when it's come to safeguarding and continues to fail when it comes to safeguarding. Those failures arise from a failure of leadership which is the fruit of a dysfunctional culture. It is patently apparent that the Roman Catholic Church in this country is incapable of fulfilling its safeguarding obligations. Those safeguarding obligations can only be met when the culture is right and when there is the right leadership. It was very telling yesterday, I thought, towards the end of Cardinal Nichols' evidence, when he was asked about mandatory reporting and the seal of confession. He said, and I quote: "The history of the Catholic Church has a number of people who have been put to death in defence of the seal of confession. It might come to that." He went on, but for my purposes, we will leave it at that. That patently demonstrates that the Roman Catholic Church has hitched its star to a wagon where the primacy of the Roman Catholic Church and the interests of its priests are paramount at the expense of all else, and in this context, the interests of children, young people and survivors. I ask myself, what is leadership in the Roman Catholic Church? And I would like to repeat a quote, give a quote, from Cardinal Newman, who converted from the Anglican Church to the Roman Catholic Church in the mid 19th century, and he was appointed as a cardinal in 1879. He said this: "Among the obligations of a cardinal, I am pledged never to let my high dignity suffer in the eyes of men by fault of mine, never to forget what I have been made and whom I represent, and if there is a man who more requires the support of others in satisfying the duties for which he was not born and in making himself more than himself, surely it is I." That speaks of humility. It speaks of humility to me. That is my understanding. The leadership of the Roman Catholic Church needs to express humility because there can be no other way. If the Roman Catholic Church is to genuinely embrace safeguarding, given all the opportunities it has had so far -- with Nolan[i] and Cumberlege[ii] -- it has got to find a new way, and it is quite clear, I would submit, that it's incapable of doing it by itself. And so it is inevitable that there is going to have to be statutory intervention. A regulator or a commissioner is going to have to be appointed by parliament to ensure that the Roman Catholic Church meets the most minimum standards of when it comes to safeguarding. How those various orders and dioceses and various bodies come to terms with that will be of their choosing, but if they are to have a future, a future that enables them to work with children and to have a future, then they are going to have to embrace those minimum standards, and maybe, from what you have heard, you may be of the opinion that maybe there is a chance there, but that chance will never flourish unless the Roman Catholic Church conforms to what is expected by our society in the 21st century. There can be no other way. It is no good for a cardinal to say, "If we don't like it, we will reject it". That is not acceptable. It is not acceptable in the civilised world in the 21st century. The issue is not what is said in confession. The seal of confession is not a talisman. Mandatory reporting, in itself, is no panacea, but it's an expedient part, an important part, an integral part, of what safeguarding is all about. It is essential that the Roman Catholic Church comes to accept that. It cannot, as we heard earlier on, simply "pick and mix". It's not going to work. What is going to be required, in my submission, if there is to be statutory regulation, is some minimum standards, and we will expand on this in the written submission. But getting back to culture and leadership, one of those minimum standards should be that child safety is embedded in institutional leadership, governance and culture, and I will repeat that because I say this goes to the heart of what you are looking at: child safety is embedded in institutional leadership, governance and culture. Such standards, or something very similar, would provide a benchmark by which the Roman Catholic Church can measure itself. It also provides a benchmark for a regulator or commissioner to judge or to measure the Roman Catholic Church by. That must surely be the way to go[iii]. If the Roman Catholic Church chooses not to, then it has to live with the consequences. I am sure you are not going to simply produce a retread of Nolan and Cumberlege, because it is patently apparent, as I have said, in all that you have heard, from the evidence submitted to you, that mandatory regulation with mandatory reporting is going to be necessary I would like to close on this note, to pick up on what the cardinal said to you yesterday, and it was telling when he talked about the history of the church, but very revealing. Perhaps it was unfortunate for him to have said it in the context of this inquiry, because it reminded me of the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was executed in Flossenburg concentration camp in 1945 for standing up against tyranny, oppression and wrong. He went to his death because of his faith and because of what he thought he was fighting for and for what he thought he was going to his death for. He said this: "The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children." It is inevitable in my opinion that mandatory reporting will be introduced and it is only a question of when. It is impossible to see how there can be an exception for catholic priests who may hear about CSA in confession. The Roman Catholic Church will have to find a way to move on from its entrenched position in relation to the seal of confession. [i] http://bitly.ws/6NFs [ii] http://bitly.ws/6NFx [iii] The Tablet www.thetablet.co.uk 14.11.19 accepts that priests are going to have comply with the law or face prison
Our latest HJ Talks About Abuse podcast is on the topic of 'empathy'. We have chosen this as a subject because we were asked by one of our listeners to explain how we manage our emotions when dealing with Child Sexual Abuse cases. The question is apt because empathy or perhaps the lack of it was explored at the recent IICSA hearing in to the Roman Catholic Church. Baroness Hollins when she gave evidence to IICSA said, in relation to church leaders in the Roman Catholic Church: "I think my perspective is that people understand the need for procedures and policies, but at a cognitive level. There is a sort of cognitive empathy, but not an emotional empathy. It's the failure to actually understand at a deeper level what the...why this really matters. I believe that we can teach empathy. "I believe empathy can be taught. But if it hasn't been taught, and if...and not everybody develops empathy naturally. If people have grown up in a particularly empathetic family, maybe they will have more emotional connectivity and more emotional understanding. But my sense is that some people didn't get it at an emotional level, and that doesn't mean they didn't get it at a legalistic perspective." As lawyers we have to be professional and strive to the highest of standards, but we are human! We can only be taught so much, and we have to find our own way in developing the skills we need to relate to people, and not just clients. We can watch and learn and see how others deal with unfamiliar situations and conversations. Turing to Child Sexual Abuse it is needless to say not an easy subject to discuss, let alone raise in conversation, but through experience we have hopefully learnt enough to do so. We have to remain emotionally detached. That might sound cold but we have to be in order to be objective. Clients such as Child Sexual Abuse survivors come to us not for sympathy, but for advice and representation. We cannot deliver if we lack objectivity and so we have to remain emotionally uninvolved, but we can and should have empathy. Empathy is not sympathy. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another or to put it another way, standing in the shoes of another, whereas sympathy is feeling sorrow or pity. The practical difference as practitioners is to try and see matters from the client’s perspective as opposed to saying “I understand what you are going through” which unless you have gone through their experience it is impossible. To provide objective advice and representation we have to be conscious of that distinction. Can empathy be taught? On the basis of experience and training then yes, and with it that ability not to get caught up emotionally in the clients’ cases. Of equal importance is to recognise it is a privilege to represent survivors and to listen to their accounts which very often have not been shared before. Likewise we have the unique opportunity of witnessing how a survivor very often has been able to overcome the adversities of life inflicted upon them as result of the abuse, and that in a way can be humbling. This in its own way gives us a sense of perspective and assists in helping us to remain objective. As for empathy in the Roman Catholic Church leadership we will discuss that some more in a future podcast.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse works to highlight the needs of survivors across the country, and to give a voice to their concerns in Parliament. They published a report earlier this year: Can adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse access justice and support? Part One: Achieving quality information and support for survivors, can be found here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c8faf788d97401af928638c/t/5cd05b45eb3931052c31b479/1557158727790/Achieving+quality+information+and+support+for+survivors.pdf We were pleased to assist the APPG with its investigation, as we are concerned that survivors have to navigate a complex set of support systems to gain access to justice. Much of what is available is patchy and in our experience differs in quality. The system is very often hampered by a lack of knowledge, on the part of many whose task it is to advise survivors of their legal rights and entitlement to services. Survivors are entitled to be treated as equal citizens and not as a class apart, which again is a frequent refrain. It is also worrying that those who have the ability to make a difference seem to treat survivors of CSA as somehow “different”. This just entrenches the problem. This causes real difficulty for survivors because they miss out too often on quality advice and assistance that would enable them to access the services they need and could make a real difference to their lives for example, specialist therapy. We also see survivors not being told about their right to be compensated whether through criminal or legal proceedings. We are pleased to see that IICSA has recently recommended that this be put right. It is down to the Home office and Ministry of Justice to make sure that survivors are told of their rights to access justice, and that specialist help is available.
The Archbishop of York has said that a slow "environmental genocide" is taking place in Nigeria’s Bayelsa State. Speaking in an exclusive interview with the BBC as part of a commission investigating oil spills in the Niger Delta, Dr John Sentamu said that oil companies needed to end a culture of double standards in Nigeria. The BBC’s Mayeni Jones travelled with the Archbishop to Nigeria earlier this year, ahead of the publication of the commission’s interim report this week. She spoke to him about what he found there. Women aren't allowed to be ordained as monks in Thailand but some women have instead been ordained abroad, and have returned to the country to live as female monks. It began with Dhammananda, who was the first woman in Thai history to be ordained as a female monk. She is being celebrated as a member of the BBC 100 Women list this year. Aurora Almendral met her and heard her story. The Catholic Church is the focus of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) this week. Donna Birrell reports on what the inquiry has heard. To mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Edward hears from a couple with an extraordinary story to tell. Producer: Catherine Earlam Peter Everett Series Producer: Amanda Hancox
IICSA (Independent Inquiry Child Sexual Abuse) as part of its Accountability and Reparations investigation will be looking at redress schemes. Redress schemes are often seen as vehicles to deliver justice to victims outside the litigation process. They naturally as a consequence have an attraction, but might it be superficial? Justice of course can mean different things to different people. Usually the general components are: Compensation Recognition Apologies It will be interesting to see what IICSA has to make of redress schemes when they come under its spotlight. We know from our work with survivors that redress schemes can deliver justice when there is no alternative, perhaps, for complex legal reasons. We have experience of such schemes in a wide set of circumstances: State schemes such as those that operated in the Australian states The Historic Abuse redress scheme in Jersey The current Jersey Redress Scheme Lambeth Bespoke schemes in relation to offenders. The success or otherwise of such schemes is very much dependent on the small print. The devil is often in the detail. Navigating successfully can sometimes be fraught and what ought to be straightforward turns out not to be, and can be very testing not just for the applicant but their lawyer too. Redress schemes which might also be known in some contexts as compensation schemes can be found in non-sexual abuse arenas too. There is the Windrush Compensation Scheme which was set-up by the government in the wake of the scandal that erupted when it came to public notice that some of those who came to the UK to live from the Commonwealth were being wrongly deprived to live and work here. This primarily concerned those who were of the “Empire Windrush” generation and their descendants. Redress under the scheme could mean compensation for loss of employment, homelessness, detention etc. Applicants are encouraged to apply online. There is a right of review and there is no litigation. How effective from an applicant the process and outcome will be, remains to be seen. There is a risk and concern that they might be under-compensated in comparison with what a court might award in the event of successful litigation. There is also the miscarriages of justice scheme: MOJAS MOJAS is available to all those who were innocent but convicted of a crime. It is also open potentially for those victims of trafficking who would have had the benefit of protection under Article 26 ECAT. Victims and survivors should always remember that there are time limits with schemes. They should never sit on the fence, but apply or at the very least seek expert legal advice.
In this brand new episode I have the pleasure of sitting down to talk to former ITV and BBC Journalist Anna Brees who is now training whistleblowers and citizen journalist on how to produce broadcast quality media with their mobile devices, in order for them to be able to share their authentic stories with the widest audience possible. Anna explains the difference between Old and New Media and how we are now able to release our own stories and do our own investigations without the need for big budget productions or to go through a mainstream (old) media channel. We also talk in depth about Anna's passion for helping the victims of child sexual abuse to get their stories heard through her training courses and sharing her skill and experience. Anna also talks about IICSA who recently conducted the investigations in to child sexual abuse in parliament and how their Youtube Channel has only reached a small audience, why this could be and what this says about the world in our post truth era. To help share these important testimonies from the IICSA please subscribed to the channel below and share the videos, CSA is a global issue and happens in all sectors of society. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOVrA6CKedUmM4PU38XS4HQ Anna has also interviewed and helped former Scotland Yard Detective John Wedger who is a police whistleblower who was silenced due to his investigation into Central London. John had his wages withheld for three years and he was threatened with prison sentences in order to silence him, this cannot be allowed to happen and it is thanks to journalism of people such as Anna Brees that their voices can be heard by as many people as possible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6C0pHau30c&t=1s To contact Anna about her work and her training courses visit her website below https://www.breesmedia.co.uk/ Join Anna on her Twitter and Youtube Channels here https://twitter.com/breesanna https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi9eHpvhK9fYnqALwPX4MNQ And take her brand new course here to get your own broadcasting channels and career started. https://vimeo.com/ondemand/mobilevideotraining Citizen Investigators are doing incredible work but we must be careful to place new information in context of what we know about how the world truly operates. Anna is an incredible journalist who has courageously stepped away from the Old Media to help foster into life the New Media. I would like to thank Anna for giving me her time and agreeing to be a guest on my show, please support her work and continue to share Anna's content. Sign up for all the latest info and podcast via my website https://www.glitchinthecode.co.uk/
Hattie Williams, senior reporter at the Church Times, has covered the proceedings of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in the Anglican Church from the beginning. The final hearing ended on 12 July, and a report is due next summer. Hattie talks to Paul Handley, editor, about the experience, and what she thinks the Church can learn.
At the height of the English Civil War, the City of Chester was not only scarred by battle, it was also devastated by plague. One house, at 9, Watergate Street, was spared, it is still known as ‘God’s Providence House’. In 1652 a special oak relief carving was made to commemorate this building. Now, 367 years later, it has just turned up in a house-clearance sale in Shropshire and it goes to auction on Wednesday. Edward talks to the man who identified the carving Jeremy Lamond. The Archbishop of Capetown Thabo Makgoba met with Nelson Mandela in his home in 2009, in response to the request of his wife, Graça Machel. This moment marked the beginning of a moving relationship between southern Africa’s Anglican leader and Mandela until his death in 2013. We hear how this relationship influenced the Archbishop. "To fail at safeguarding casts a stain over every good thing the church does" those were the words of the Archbishop of Canterbury told the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse (IICSA): this week. This comes at the end of two weeks as the inquiry has examined the extent of any institutional failures to protect children from sexual abuse within the Anglican Church. Donna Birrell has been at the inquiry. Production Team Carmel Lonergan Emmie Hume Editor Christine Morgan
The Hugh James abuse team is running a series of podcasts into sexual abuse in religious contexts, but rather than focus on those which are often reported in the media, we will discuss religions which are often overlooked. In this three-part series, we will look into Judaism, Islam, and Baptists. The prevalence of child sexual abuse in religious institutions has recently been highlighted by the Truth Project’s thematic report. In that report, Judaism and Islam represented only 1%, respectively, of the sample analyzed. But does this mean those religions have less of a problem with child sexual abuse than other religions? The results would suggest this is the case. However, a study conducted in the United States would suggest otherwise. Dr. David Rosmarin of Harvard and Dr. David Pelcovitz of Yeshiva University published a study entitled “childhood sexual abuse, mental health, and religion across the Jewish community” which posits the prevalence of any form of child sexual abuse was statistically equivalent to national rates (save for involuntary penetration of women, which was less). The study found that individuals who had left the Orthodox community are more than four times as likely to have been molested as children than the general population. Notably, in that context, a history of involuntary penetration was greater among formerly, but not presently, Orthodox Jews. This suggests those who leave the Orthodoxy possessed a higher likelihood of having experienced sexual abuse. The study concludes that childhood sexual abuse was found to occur across the spectrum of Jewish religious affiliation, with greater prevalence among formerly Orthodox individuals. As such, the results compiled by the Truth Project in this instance might well be misleading, inadvertently of course. It begs the question – is there underreporting of child sexual abuse in the Jewish community? To flesh out this issue, in our view it is relevant to focus on two things – a study produced by David Katzenstein of New York University and Lisa Fontes of the University of Massachusetts and a case study of an Australian Supreme Court case of Erlich v Leifer. To start with the article – the title might give you some indication as to its main thesis: Twice Silenced – The Underreporting of Child Sexual Abuse in Orthodox Jewish Communities. The article notes from the outset that CSA appears to be as prevalent in Orthodox Jewish communities as elsewhere. We would like to highlight what we believe is a very important point from the outset – the report states in the opening paragraphs that “where religious authorities do not follow their legal obligations to report CSA, those children who are isolated from institutions outside the religious community, such as when they are schooled either at home or in religious institutions, appear to be at special risk for continued abuse over time without intervention”. This is particularly relevant to religious institutions such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, which we hope the IICSA will shine a very bright light on in the upcoming hearings but also represents how this can lead to problems in religions with strict orthodoxy and a desire to be very closed in. Within the Jewish faith, like many, CSA is abhorred. Some Rabbis have understandably called CSA a “matter of life and death” because of its far-reaching harm. So why then, does it continue and why is there underreporting in respect of CSA in the Jewish community? Katzenstein and Fontes posit that the underreporting reflects both the systemic reasons for this in minority religions, and some reasons which are specific to Orthodox Judaism. For the former case, feelings of shame and self-blame and fear of disclosure lead to underreporting, and for the latter, the laws of Mesira and Loshon Hora for example, which is very specific to the Jewish community. Interestingly, an early scholar on this subject, referenced as Featherman in the report stated that “as a minority culture with a long history of persecution, Jews have learned not to draw attention to their differences or take actions that might bring shame or notoriety to their families, including reporting CSA to secular authorities”. This lines up well with the conclusions of Katzenstein and Fontes that five overarching themes emerge when looking at reasons for the prevalence of underreporting and those are: Mesira and Loshon Hora (prohibitions against reporting to secular authorities and of speaking ill of a fellow Jew); Fear and intimidation; Stigma and shame; Reliance on rabbinical courts; and Patriarchal gender roles The first point there is one we will deal with in more detail, as it is likely something most listeners have never heard of. The law of Mesira equates communication with secular authorities to report another Jew’s transgressions with treason and Loshon Hora, a prohibition against speaking ill of others, is often considered to be the reason that abusers cannot be publicly named. Loshon Hora is a serious biblical sin that encompasses all manners of speech including gossip, slander, and derogatory speech against a fellow Jew. It should be noted that the Rabbinical Council of America in 2003 noted that reporting sexual abuse does not violate Mesira, and many Rabbis have spoken out that those laws are inapplicable in cases of CSA. But one must consider the practical realities of such laws and the inherent effect it might well have, as is the case in many religions where the practical effect of a practice is different than the publicised explanation. The next point of interest is the reliance on rabbinical courts. Rabbinical courts have adjudicated civil matters for generations but have no power to detain, arrest or jail. Katzenstein and Fontes report that reports of CSA have been taken to these courts which have sometimes investigated the allegations, pledged to monitor the accused and at times ordered restitution to a survivor but typically did not inform the police. Unsurprisingly, many reports state that the courts are woefully unequipped for the forensic investigation of allegations. Katzenstein and Fontes conclude that while the Catholic Church is structurally one centralized institution with a single authoritative figurehead and in this way differs from the array of institutions in Orthodox Jewish communities, the propensity to protect the reputation of communities, institutions, and leaders over protecting and safeguarding child victims is sadly similar. The barriers to reporting as highlighted in the study are not altogether surprising, as we see similarities between religious institutions and CSA generally, and those which have esoteric rules and laws which pertain to those within the institution itself. Of course it is relevant to note that the study was conducted in the USA and is centrally relevant to the communities focused on, but nevertheless, one must consider the application of the findings in communities across the world. One highly reported case which made it to the courts outside the USA is the case of Erlich v Leifer in Victoria, Australia. The claimant, Dassi Erlich was sexually abused by the school principal, Malka Leifer. A 2017 story in the Australian summed up the case well: Erlich was only 15 years old and no one in her ultra-orthodox Adass Jewish neighbourhood in East St Kilda knew then that she was being abused by a doyenne of that community, the respected female principal of the Adass Israel School. Erlich herself would not understand what it all meant until years later, when memories haunted her and then almost killed her. She would have to reject the tightly knit religious community of barely 2000 people and all she had known in order to seek justice. Then came the police statements, the court case, the million dollars in damages and the stunning news that her community leaders had spirited Leifer out of Australia in the dead of night to Israel, where she continues to evade justice. In a cruel twist, Erlich also learnt that two girls close to her were abused by the same woman. The case has garnered international notoriety not only due to the sexual abuse, but due to the sheer disrespect for the law of the land and the survivor shown by the community leaders who assisted in Leifer being able to escape Australia before she was arrested. Leifer remains in Israel and has resisted a number of extradition attempts to be brought to justice in Australia. Former Victorian Supreme Court Judge Jack Rush analyzed in detail the structure of the school, the community and the role of Leifer and found an extremely tight knit, inward community. Justice Rush rejected evidence that secular and religious studies were equally important, finding that the Strategic Plan of the school was to, amongst other aims, produce “graduates who are able to preserve Orthodox Jewish traditions and practices and pass these on to the next generation”. In short, the focus on the religion and the community was paramount and Leifer, as the principal, was the operating mind and will of the school, with supreme authority. It became evident through the evidence provided by members of the board, one of which a Barrister at the Victorian Bar, that their stories in relation to the lead up to Leifer’s departure was inconsistent. It was clear however, that there was knowledge of more than one victim (in fact, three), that no report was made to the police of the abuse initially and an Adass community member paid for the airline tickets of Leifer and her family to Israel. Much could be said about this sequence of events, and arguably facilitating Leifer’s avoidance of the Australian authorities, but Justice Rush aptly summed up the sequence of events as “extraordinary” and he was unable to understand what legal obligations required the school to pay for the airfares of Leifer. This case is an interesting and telling case study into a closed culture which was highly resistant to the publicity the sexual abuse might attract, and the involvement of secular authorities from the outset. Justice Rush ordered the school to pay $1,024,428 in damages. Leifer remains at large and the most recent attempt at extradition was in June 2018, following which Leifer was placed under house arrest and under supervision of a local rabbi. This is of patently unjust and Leifer ought to be extradited and face Australian courts for her crimes.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (the “Inquiry”) has announced a hearing into child protection in religious organisations and settings. So, what does this mean? The Inquiry has to date examined large religious institutions in the UK such as the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Church, along with other religious instructions and state based organisations. However, this has left quite a significant gap in the field as many religious denominations and other institutional religions have escaped scrutiny. This is a welcome announcement given the figures released by the Truth Project indicate more than one in ten survivors who shared their account were abused in a religious institution, which equates to 11% overall, and of that group, almost a quarter, being 24%, were abused in institutions to be examined in the new hearing. The first relevant question which arises is which religious institutions are subject to this hearing? The Inquiry considers a religious setting or organisation to include: Places where people gather to engage in collective rituals designed to bear witness or share collectively in their religious faith (e.g. mosques, temples, festivals); Places of tuition regarding one’s faith tradition or cultural matters related to religious observance or faith, such as preparation for rites of passage (e.g. Jewish yeshivas and chedarim, Muslim madrassahs, Christian Sunday schools); and Places where children and young people gather in connection with their religious beliefs (e.g. youth groups, camps) The Inquiry will focus upon those religious organisations with a significant presence within England and Wales, including but not limited to: “Non-conformist” Christian denominations; Eastern and Coptic Orthodox communities; Pentecostal churches and independent charismatic and house churches; The Church of Latter Day Saints; The Jehovah’s witnesses; Islam; Judaism; Hinduism; Jainism; Sikhism; Buddhism Given the scope of such a hearing, it is difficult to see how exactly the Inquiry will deal with such a prevalent issue across such a broad range of religions. However, the way in which it will be dealt with can be gleaned from the scope, which is effectively the four corners of the hearing. The scope indicates that the Inquiry will examine these institutions on a “thematic” basis focussing on management of child protection within religious organisations and settings including the training and understanding of child sexual abuse, policies and procedures, vetting and barring, responses to allegations of child sexual abuse and internal processes for auditing, inspection and oversight of child protection practices and procedures. What this means is the Inquiry, unlike in previous hearings, might not have any specific case studies in respect of abuse in the past and the religious institution's response. Whilst this is understandable given how unwieldy and time consuming it would be if each institution were to be examined both specifically by reference to case studies and broadly in respect of their practices and procedures, it must not be lost sight of, however, how important those case studies are. The reality is that many of these religious institutions will publicly abhor child abuse and denounce it as a sin. It would be outrageous not to. We do not suggest for one minute that individuals, leaders or even the institution is not genuine when publishing such material. The problem is in the implementation. What we do know is that no matter how loud the protest against child abuse by religious institutions, the reality of dealing with sex offenders, allegations of child abuse and internal practices are often not reflective of those public positions. This reflects a wider problem in these institutions, which is a reluctance and often a hatred of being governed by secular laws and society. So the Inquiry has a real chance here to dig deep into these institutions and establish which ones have outdated practices which must change, whether by external legislation or from within, and which ones do not have proper safeguarding practices. We believe the answer will be fairly predictable - mandatory reporting is required. This will avoid ridiculous internal policies which exist to avoid reporting child sexual abuse to secular authorities and focus on dealing with it internally. Whether the Inquiry should go further and adopt positions such as in Victoria, Australia and recommend failure to protect laws should also be considered by the Inquiry. In Victoria, a criminal offence was introduced in 2015 which applies where there is a substantial risk that a child under the age of 16 under the care, supervision or authority of a relevant organisation will become a victim of a sexual offence committed by an adult associated with that organisation. A person in a position of authority in the organisation will commit the offence if they know of the risk of abuse and have the power or responsibility to reduce or remove the risk, but negligently fail to do so. This offence encourages organisations to actively manage the risks of sexual offences being committed against children in their care to protect them from harm. It is our view, that given the magnitude of the problem, this is a necessary step. There is one sure-fire guard against child sexual abuse and that is to place in a person who is in a position of authority within a relevant institution criminal responsibility for negligently failing to take steps to protect a child from a known risk of abuse.
In this episode, Partner Alan Collins and Sam Barker discuss Criminal Compensation Orders (CCO) and why the courts ought to be making better use of them. Listed below are some of the key points about Criminal Compensation Orders that are brought out in this week’s episode: The court must consider making a compensation order in any case where personal injury, loss or damage has resulted from the offence. It can either be an ancillary order or, a sentence in its own right (which does not attract a victim surcharge). The court must give reasons if it decides not to order. The position is clear but this power appears to be more honoured in the breach than in the observance. The courts are not making use of the power in CSA cases, and the police who are supposed to be providing the CPS with the information are clearly not doing so in either a uniform or purposeful manner. The evidence before the International Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in relation to the reasons why so few orders are made is somewhat contradictory if not vapid. It would have been useful to have heard from the judiciary in relation to this but, be that as it may, it is clear that orders are not being made when it is submitted as they should be. Victims are routinely asked to give consent to the release of their medical records in criminal proceedings and provide impact statements for the very purpose of assisting the court when sentencing. It is something of a paradox that victims provide this information yet the question of compensation appears at best tangential and at worst something of an inconvenience. IICSA might conclude that CSA survivors are being let down through a general lack of awareness of, and lack of purpose, behind a fundamental statutory provision which is designed specifically to help deliver justice. The courts have issued to them guidelines provided by the Sentencing Council which stipulate inter-alia that compensation should benefit the victim, not inflict further harm on them. Subject to consideration of the victim’s views, the court must order compensation wherever possible and should not have regard to the availability of other sources such as civil litigation or the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. Any amount paid by an offender under a compensation order will generally be deducted from a subsequent civil award or payment under the Scheme to avoid double compensation. Any financial recompense from the offender may cause distress. A victim may or may not want compensation from the offender and assumptions should not be made either way. The victim’s views are properly obtained through sensitive discussion by the police or witness care unit, when it can be explained that the offender’s ability to pay will ultimately determine whether, and how much, compensation is ordered and whether the compensation will be paid in one lump sum or by instalments. If the victim does not want compensation, this should be made known to the court and respected. Paradoxically, of course, criminal courts routinely obtain medical and in particular psychiatric reports in relation to the accused (or the offender) before sentencing, and this begs the question why more attention cannot be given to the victim? Maybe the answer lies in the fact that the defendant is legally represented whereas the victim is not and his or her voice sits in the hands of the police and CPS. The MOJ’s “Victim Strategy” document interestingly makes no reference to CCO’s. Yet it recognises the requirement for the need of the provision of impact statements. It also appears that it recognises through research that the police are not providing the information which confirms, possibly, the impression that IICSA might have formed from the evidence it has taken, that is needed for CCO’s to be made. Again, and this is paradoxical, it is said that there is a concern that if survivors are advised about the right to compensation, let alone seek it, this may enable a defence to be run on the basis that he/she is making a complaint of sexual abuse only to secure compensation. Therefore there is at best a reticence in advising survivors. Yet no evidence has been placed before IICSA to show whether cases fail because they have done so. What evidence is there that a survivor has been accused of making a false allegation (which could lead to their own prosecution of course) in anticipation of a judge making a CCO? The statutory power to make a CCO is a creature of Parliament which decided that those convicted of offences should pay compensation. Accordingly, why is it that the will of Parliament, and the rights of victims, cannot be respected? What is there to prevent there being a statutory instrument or practice direction to prohibit such a defence from being run by the accused? It is submitted that this is a practical answer to a nonsensical problem which is distorting the thinking in some quarters on the part of those who have the responsibility to advise survivors. Through successful civil proceedings, brought by survivors against their abusers, compensation is awarded and obtained. This demonstrably demonstrates that if compensation orders were made and enforced they could be effective. Andrew Griffiths MP on 28th March 2019 presented to Parliament a bill to require the Lord Chancellor to report on the use by courts of compensation orders for child sexual abuse offences. This is the report from Hansard: I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to require the Lord Chancellor to report on the use by courts of compensation orders for child sexual abuse offences; and for connected purposes. People come to this House for many reasons—to deliver Brexit, to fight racism, to champion social justice, to reform Parliament—but I am sure that everyone in the House, from all parties, comes here to help the victims, the vulnerable, and those with the least voice, and there can be fewer in our society more in need of our help than the victims of crime, and in particular victims of child sexual abuse. In this place, we regularly discuss the abuse that has occurred in our country. It has occupied much of our time in the Chamber. We have discussed the horrendous abuse that took place in the 1970s and in the Catholic Church and the Church of England. More recently, we have spent much time talking about the horrific and widespread abuse in towns up and down the country such as Rotherham and Bradford. The suffering of those children is indescribable and unimaginable, and it is only right that this place does all it can to reduce the possibility of such things happening again. Nobody can take away from those victims the pain that their abuse has caused, the trauma and the suffering that they have endured, not just as a child when the abuse happened but, all too often, in later life, when the trauma comes back and bubbles to the surface. We all want to do our very best in this place for those survivors. As someone who was himself a victim of child sexual abuse, I know how difficult and traumatic it is to discuss such issues. I kept my secret hidden for some 40 years. I locked it away, chained it down and hoped it would never surface. I convinced myself that if I did not give it words, I could deny it a reality. That was my view. How wrong I was! Talking about what happened to me, and explaining it to other people, was the best thing I could have done. I hope that other people who see this debate or read my testimony will think about coming forward and speaking out about their abuse and the trauma they have suffered. To talk about these things takes courage. If it took sitting in a psychiatric ward with a psychiatrist for me to be able to talk about my trauma, how much more difficult must it be for victims who find themselves in the courtroom—in that intimidating and forbidding place—who have to suffer cross-examination by a skilled and forensic barrister? All too often, they have to face the perpetrator—the person who caused them so much pain and anguish over their lifetime—across the courtroom. And yet they do it. They speak out. They find, from somewhere within, the courage to be able to do that. Surely we—Parliament, the judiciary and the police—should support them in any way we can if we are to stamp out the scourge of child abuse that we see all too often in our country. The House has mandated support for those victims. One of the objectives of the Criminal Justice Act 1982 was to increase the use of criminal compensation orders to ensure that victims of crime were compensated by right, as a norm, without the need for expensive civil litigation and the prospect of having to retell and relive the story of their abuse in the courtroom. That was consolidated in the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000. The Sentencing Council itself says: “the court must order compensation wherever possible and should not have regard to… other sources such as civil litigation or the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.” So if everyone agrees that survivors should receive compensation as of right, and judges have the power to award that compensation straight away, at the time of sentencing, CCOs in child sexual abuse cases should be used regularly and to good effect. Surely that is a given, is it not? Sadly, the answer is a resounding “No”. In 2017, the last year for which figures are available, there were some 6,861 convictions: 6,861 people were found guilty and sentenced for committing a child sexual abuse crime. Yet in how many of those 6,861 cases in which a CCO could have been used was one received? How many would the House suggest—50%, 25%, even 10%? The shocking reality is that just 26 people received compensation: just 0.4%. That is a criminal act. We should be ashamed that we are treating victims of child sexual abuse in that way. It is an outrage. We are letting down the survivors, and we must do something to change that. The power is there. It lies in the hands of the judges, but they are simply choosing to ignore the use of CCOs. Despite all the guidance that the Ministry of Justice has issued and all the advice that has been given to the judiciary over many years, the courts are simply ignoring it, either by design or by accident, and compensation is not being given to the people who so justly deserve it. Moreover, although the police are supposed to be providing the CPS with information at an early stage so that judges can make the necessary decisions when sentencing, that information is simply not being collated. The crazy thing is that all too often the police do collate information for the courts, but when in this instance, when there seems to be an obvious opportunity to use CCOs for a good purpose, the information is not being gathered. Evidence shows that victims are being let down through a general lack of awareness and a lack of purpose behind a fundamental statutory provision. How can it be that we are not using such a simple tool to help those victims? I am sorry to report to the Minister that the Ministry of Justice’s “Victims Strategy” document, although it is a great document—very worthy and very laudable—makes no reference to the use of CCOs. My Bill asks the Government to report routinely to Parliament on the use of CCOs in child sexual abuse cases. Let me quote a well-known phrase that my dad used to use: “What gets measured gets done”. I firmly believe that such reporting, if adopted by the Government—in association with other simple and straightforward methods—will stimulate the judiciary to secure for the victims the compensation scheme that they deserve. I thank all the Members who have supported the Bill so far, particularly my hon. Friends the Members for Lewes (Maria Caulfield) and for Congleton (Fiona Bruce), the hon. Members for Rotherham (Sarah Champion) and for Batley and Spen (Tracy Brabin), and my hon. Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth (Sarah Newton), all of whom have been hugely helpful, as has Alan Collins of Hugh James, the solicitors, whom I also thank. However, there must be more that we can do to help those victims. It is in the Minister’s hands. Victims of child sexual abuse deserve better, and we can deliver it. I ask the House please to accept the Bill. Question put and agreed to. Ordered, In our experience offenders often have the ability to pay meaningful compensation. Through civil proceedings, we have recently recovered for clients – survivors – compensation in excess of £100,000 which has and does enable them to rebuild their lives. Click here for more information about sexual abuse claims.
Partner Alan Collins and Sam Barker discuss the progress being made with the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). If you have any questions about the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse or would like to suggest a topic for a future legal discussion, email Sam Barker at samuel.barker@hughjames.com.
Poonam Taneja reports on the Empire of the Sikhs exhibition, a rare collection of stunning objects and works of art that reveal the remarkable story of the Sikh Empire and the European and American adventurers who served it. BBC Religious Affairs Editor Martin Bashir looks ahead to this week's review by the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse (IICSA) of the case of Peter Ball, the former Bishop of Gloucester, who was imprisoned in 2015 for abusing young men. Following the publication of new Vatican guidelines on what it means to be a consecrated virgin, Edward Stourton speaks to Elizabeth Rees who explains what life is like as a consecrated woman. Secunder Kermani reports on the influence of Sufi mystics on the outcome of the upcoming Pakistan elections. Jasvinder Sanghera tells Edward Stourton why her forced marriage campaign group Karma Nirvana is handing out spoons at a school to help tackle the summer holiday spike in forced marriage cases. Following a debate in the House of Lords of a bill calling for civil partnerships to be extended to siblings living together, we hear from one person living in a 'platonic partnership' about why they believe this is a matter of correcting a serious injustice. Do Christians and atheists have more in common than is commonly thought? Krish Kandiah thinks so and says why in his new book Fatheism. He's joined by Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of Humanists UK. to discuss the current climate of conversation between believers and non-believers. Producer Catherine Earlam Louise Clarke-Rowbotham Series Producer Amanda Hancox.
This week, we discuss a £200,000 fine for the IICSA, a move to suspend the EU-US Privacy Shield, how much a data breach might cost your organisation, and the sentencing of two National Lottery hackers.
Richard Scorer joins Emma-Louise Fenelon to discuss the progress of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse #RichardScorer #independentinquiries #IICSA
This week's episode focuses on the ongoing work of the UK's largest ever public inquiry, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (https://www.iicsa.org.uk/) or IICSA. IICSA is charged with discovering what went wrong in numerous institutions, including the Anglican church, where for decades ordained ministers sexually abused children and young people with impunity, covering-up their crimes and ignoring complaints. Julie was one of those abused as a young person and this podcast includes portions of her testimony to IICSA in March (with thanks to Mandate Now http://mandatenow.org.uk/ for providing the audio), as well as a reflection on the process with her lawyer, David Greenwood, and finally a comment from Gilo, a survivor of abuse himself and a leading activist, on the day that IICSA published its Interim Report. In other news: The National Action Committee on Access to Justice has released their report on Canada's progress toward A2J in 2017, and has listed NSRLP as a contributor to its justice development goals; and the Canadian Bar Association has released a new report on the role of lawyers in the justice system when considering the rise of self-represented litigants. For more on this episode see our website: https://representingyourselfcanada.com/shameful-history-sexual-abuse-in-the-anglican-church/
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