Working the System

In my last post I described, briefly and perhaps not very well, how I feel major charities and the NSPCC in particular are failing children. Today I want to explore that further, not by using individual cases I think in terms of child abuse in general its inappropriate to be specific and that the operative word is ‘use’. I don’t want to ‘use’ a child’s trauma to emphasize my case I think that is wrong. 

I’ve been reading a great deal about child abuse and child sexual abuse and they are not always the same thing, often an abuser will persuade a child, and how hard is that? that the sexual activity is mutual or the child’s fault. Its extreme abuse but its easy to see how a child may be persuaded that they have no choice and that its their own fault anyway.

I think since the eighties there have been charities like Child Line which is a twenty four hour call centre for children to call and explain their situation. Obviously anything that helps a child report and deal with physical or sexual abuse is a good thing. It is at least a potential start on the road to recovery. Child Line very quickly became a media and establishment favourite it trod the same path as the NSPCC and was taken over by the NSPCC in 2006.  

No child charity is there to replace govt child or social services. At their core all such charities should be separate from and wary of govt departments and procedures. It should be a part of all child representative organisations to advocate for the child if necessary in opposition to social services opinions. 

Time after time what we see is child help institutions and charities working with social services when imo they should be working separately and independently. What have the NSPCC to do with ‘team’ meetings? Of course they may be there if invited by the child or his representative, or if they have been independently monitoring the situation and feel they have something independent and relevant to add to the discussion. 

The thing is it must, has to be independent an alternative view not a reinforcement of social services decisions. Social services are not always right they have made glaring and tragic mistakes and child support groups and charities who work with social services must share the blame for that. 

If the child has a completely independent advocate at meetings there would be more questions and those questions might trigger real action to save a child. The nodding shop approach and that is what many of these meetings seem to be is failing children. Abused children become, if they live that long, abused adults carrying their trauma with them through life making adult relationships difficult if not impossible, many find it hard to respect the major child support groups that they believe failed them when they were children. More find it almost impossible to find the counselling they need because the trauma they suffered follows them leading them to be mistrustful and suspicious, often quite rightly, of child and adult support organisations.

The establishment has for decades seemed to believe that child abuse was not that bad, provided the child was not too seriously injured physically they were largely in favour of the spare the rod spoil the child mentality of the past. Even sexual abuse was thought of as easy to forget and no permanent harm was done. 

Its possible to look at the cases of today and see much the same attitude, there is a laxness about investigations and tragedies happen all too frequently because one social worker or another thought all was well when it obviously wasn’t. Its the mind set that has allowed tragedy after tragedy to happen and that guarantees more will happen. Its also that mindset that dissuades victims from going forward getting the help they need and where possible the justice they deserve. 

The police are said to be conducting some thirty or more active investigations into child sexual abuse throughout the UK and although I think some of these cases are historic and others may involve something other than child sexual abuse the number is a strong indication of the depth and seriousness of the problem and that’s before even approaching domestic child abuse. 

I’m not in favour of subscription only groups or internet sites I think that depending upon the club or site they may add to a victims sense of isolation and otherness. If children and adults are to be helped they must know they are not only not alone they are no different from anyone, they have more problems and they need more help but it shouldn't be a secret the adults kept secrets for too long and the children are being imprisoned by the secrets they keep.