Safeguarding girls and protecting women post Jimmy Saville & #metoo

From the Sunday Times article on "Karen White, formerly known as David Thompson and Stephen Wood"

It is now becoming clear that White is a dangerous repeat offender against women and children. White has committed crimes in prisons, probation hostels and psychiatric wards.

There must now be a serious case review and investigation given the numbers of Safeguarding failures against children and vunerable adults.

www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/why-was-convicted-paedophile-allowed-to-move-to-a-female-jail-nmpbfm272

Current thread, OP bd67th wrote:
"DQ by association requirements now scrapped for schools, already.
hub.unlock.org.uk/scrapping-of-disqualification-by-association-requirement-in-schools/

Because no male teacher would ever dream of using coercive control to get his wife to take the rap for his child porn abuse images so that he could carry on teaching and having access to vulnerable children.

Never mind a bus, you could drive a cruise liner through that loophole. And it's already in effect. And where are the Press on this?

I am increasingly sure that there is a deliberate and very quiet removal of safeguarding across the board going on. The TRA/self-id aspect is just the most visible."
thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3360238-DBS-DQ-by-association-now-SCRAPPED-for-schools

from Sunday Telegraph today, article:
'My husband's a paedophile – but I still love him'
(Extract)
The national picture is obviously murky, but by any available measure, this is one of Britain’s fastest-growing crimes. Government figures released late last year revealed a 700 per cent increase in the number of indecent images referred to law enforcement agencies since 2013.

Police now arrest an average of 400 people every month for viewing child abuse material. Most are men, but confound other stereotypes.

“We see men of all ages and backgrounds, family men and respectable professionals,” said West Yorkshire police assistant chief constable, Catherine Hankinson. The 149 adults they arrested last year included four company directors, two solicitors and four tech professionals." (continues)
www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/husbands-paedophile-still-love/?li_source=LI&li_medium=li-recommendation-widget

Additional NSPCC thread includes responses from the charity over a long period time to detailed Safeguarding concerns:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3350778-My-letter-to-NSPCC

In the recent announcement of pay increase for public sector workers (health, education etc). Social Workers did not receive increase.

Whilst newly qualified SW are coming into the profession, a very high number of thos with experience have left / intending to leave at a time when their skills and capability will be desparately needed.

www.theguardian.com/society/2018/sep/01/children-social-care-services-councils-austerity
Revealed: cash crisis pushing child services to tipping point
Fears of new case like Baby P’s as ministers told emergency funds are needed to protect thousands of vulnerable children

The Observer understands that the Treasury was repeatedly approached for more funding by concerned ministers before the last budget, but the requests were turned down. Theresa May has also been warned by MPs that unless action is taken the funding crisis could cause another tragedy like the Baby P scandal of 2007.

And

According to the Local Government Association (LGA), which represents 370 councils, there is now real pressure on attempts by councils to keep children safe from harm.

The annual number of referrals to children’s social care has increased by 100,000 children in a decade. The number of child protection plans, which assess their risk of harm and find ways to ensure their safety, is up by 23,000. The number of children in care is up 12,000 in a decade.

The government has been handed an internal report into the causes of the increasing numbers, but ministers have refused demands to publish its findings.

While some believe the increase is a sign of better reporting and more willingness by councils to intervene, councillors and social workers say the axing of early intervention services, such as family centres and parenting help, has fuelled the problem.

and

Conservative MP Tim Loughton, the former children’s minister, said: “It is really worrying that the pressure on children’s social care has not received the attention that it really deserves. For years, local authorities have tried to protect spending on vulnerable children, only too mindful of tragic cases like Baby P, but finances are so stretched that in many authorities it is hard to see how that will continue.

“There is a very real worry that it is only a matter of time before vulnerable children hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons again and we have echoes of some of the really tragic cases of the past.”

Roy Perry, the Conservative leader of Hampshire county council and vice-chair of the LGA’s children and young people board, said: “These figures clearly show the huge and increasing financial pressures children’s services are under, with many councils being pushed to the brink by unprecedented demand. It is not just increased pressure for care for the elderly causing the problem for local authority budgets.

There is a fascinating thing about this article. Whether it's deliberate /conscious I don't know but it's only conservatives who have been quoted in this article.

That of course could be accidental, just that these people were easier to get a quote from or reflect that Conservative councils are having more financial issues with social care. Or it could me that Labour are more preoccupied with other things and it's not as high on their agenda.

There should be high-quality, statutory relationships and sex education, alongside strong school safeguarding policies, to ensure that all children are kept safe in schools.

If this is truly their belief, why are they effectively allowing current safeguarding measures to be disregarded and dismantled?

Mumsnet post following decision not to go ahead with the NSPCC live chat linked above:
(extract)
"However, in view of the questions asked in this thread, we asked the NSPCC for a statement:

The NSPCC doesn’t consider there to be specific child protection concerns in relation to trans-inclusive policies. Any space and activity involving children should have strong safeguarding policies in place, with a proper risk assessment to minimise the risks to all children involved. And every adult working with children should undergo rigorous safety checks and vetting procedures to ensure that young people are safe in their care.

Trans young people are at particular risk of physical, sexual and emotional abuse from peers. This can heighten the risk of abuse by adults as children turn online for support and access to networks of those sharing similar views and feelings. There should be high-quality, statutory relationships and sex education, alongside strong school safeguarding policies, to ensure that all children are kept safe in schools."

Or not - if you follow LemonJello's link you'll find out why

Mumsnet are doing a Facebook live with NSPCC re safeguarding tomorrow

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnet_facebook_live/3343961-Facebook-Live-about-talking-to-kids-about-staying-safe-from-abuse-with-NSPCC-Thursday-30-August-12-30pm?pg=1&order=

Me. I'm angry. I'm very angry.

I agree. Class is always, always a factor in British politics, and there are a lot of people who're angry about the failure of the left to do its job.

Angry, I think there is an argument to push the point hard. The one trick ponies trying to centre themselves against that aren't going to reflect well. Making it about a British issue rather than an international issue, plays better to the audiences this needs to drop into, to get attention and political strategists panicking. Plus it gets the story that REALLY needs to be told out there.

All this squabbling about who's a woman and who's a fascist and so on is brilliant displacement activity for a left that has been so thoroughly captured by privilege that it is oblivious to the power differentials it's supposed to be addressing

And this is why I'm often tempted to respond to cries of misgendering and so on with #middleclassproblems. Our social services framework is falling apart at the seams and this is what people are worried about?

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/children-care-councils-social-services-15083287
Children in care crisis: Councils are struggling to cope with huge rise in number of youngsters needing support

SPECIAL REPORT: More and more children are being referred into the care system, while the cost of accommodating them goes through the roof

Extracts:

The number of vulnerable children needing support from Greater Manchester’s social services departments is soaring, an M.E.N. investigation has found, leaving town halls facing a growing financial black hole.

and

Councils in other parts of the country, including Northamptonshire, Torbay and East Sussex, have all hit the national headlines recently after cutting their services to the bare minimum due to extreme funding pressures.

But an M.E.N. analysis of children’s services budgets across Greater Manchester shows most are now also unable to balance the books, between them facing a shortfall of at least £25m a year due to soaring pressures.

and

Official government figures for the numbers of children in care only run up to March 2017, but in Manchester, Tameside and Oldham alone - where all three councils are struggling to recover from damning Ofsted inspections and all are under particular financial pressure - there has been a 13pc increase since then, with around 2,500 children now in the system across the three boroughs.

During the year to March 2018, Stockport saw a 23pc rise and Wigan a 7pc increase, while Bolton saw a 9pc rise in the year to last December.

In Oldham, the number of children being flagged as potentially at harm DOUBLED last year.

and

Oldham - which we revealed earlier this month is now facing an ‘intolerable risk’ due to rising demand and lack of experienced social workers - is £3.4m overspent, Tameside by £8m, Salford and Bolton by £6m, Bury £3.2m and Stockport £4.5m.

and

A major driver for its overspend - as in other parts of the region - is the placing of children outside the city due to a lack of homes. Accommodating children far away from their hometown has been linked to a greater likelihood of them running away.

and

In Oldham, a leaked report revealed by the M.E.N. earlier this month referred to ‘unsustainable levels of increasing demand’ and high social worker caseloads. Referrals to the department have almost doubled since March 2016, at the same time as the council struggles to improve in the wake of a damning Ofsted inspection.

The town hall is running a £3.4m overspend and has taken a further £8m out of reserves to plough into the service. Oldham also has the highest national average figure for children going missing from care.

and

Changes to legislation have also seen an increase in the duty placed on councils to look after children with special educational needs and disabilities, care that is often particularly expensive but, again, has come with no extra government money.

and

But the children’s commissioner believes many of children who are just starting to become at risk do not get the support from social services many people might imagine, because there simply isn’t enough money in the system.

“Actually the reality is often they don’t get that help,” she said.

“I think the general public makes an assumption that if there’s severe mental health issues or addiction or even abuse, that social services will be stepping in to help but the reality is that increasingly they won’t.

“I think if the general public knew that, they’d be quite shocked by it and would want it to change.

“It can’t be children that carry the brunt and the risk.”

This is the background on the ground. How much time and effort and money is being invested into raising awareness of trans issues, when there is also this shit going on, and there are comments openly saying that kids are knowingly are being left in abusive situations because the bottomline is that Social Services don't have the money to help?

Much of this stems from the problems related to austerity and living on the bread line. Poorer working class kids are totally invisible to politicians who are too busy prattling on about it being 'abusive' to misgender.

Just how far detatched from reality are politicians. THIS should be grabbing all the bloody headlines if they want 'woke' points.

current relevent thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3344556-Let-s-talk-about-how-safeguarding-is-being-disregarded

A timely bump for this thread

Who trained the BBC on trans issues?

The BBC, it seems, has learned nothing.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3346800-Andrew-Gilligan-Sunday-Times-Challenor-Green-Party?pg=3

David Challenor and the Green Party.

A great deal of discussion coming out of the The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) today:

www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2018-08-09/major-enquiry-finds-decades-of-sexual-abuse-at-ampleforth/

Asked why the proportion of girls self-harming appeared to have risen sharply, he said: “If you look at social media, my hunch is that girls are probably more sensitive to some of those factors than boys.”

Oh, mate...the fact that media in general, not just social media, is jammed with stuff about how "perfect" women look - and there is so little concerned with boys' appearance - might be a bit of a factor here. As opposed to our delicate, fluffy bunny sensitivities.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/self-harming-by-teenage-girls-doubles-in-20-years-x2vbzm87m?shareToken=aa76c3a10f27546edb439bb8a6ddcf6c
Times
"Hospitals are treating almost twice as many girls for self-harm as they did 20 years ago, prompting warnings about the pressures that social media and school work are putting on young people.

Charities called the figures heartbreaking and told The Times that more needed to be done to stop children reaching crisis point.

The number of hospital admissions for girls who self-harmed jumped from 7,327 in 1997 to 13,463 last year. The number treated for attempting an overdose rose more than tenfold from 249 in 1997 to 2,736 last year, according to NHS data that has been published by ministers. Admissions of boys for self-harm stayed broadly constant, from 2,236 in 1997 to 2,332 last year. The number attempting an overdose jumped from 152 in 1997 to 839 last year.

Despite the growing problem of self-harm, ministers have conceded that treatment for mental health issues is worse than for physical illnesses.

Jon Goldin, vice-chairman of the child and adolescent faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “I think there are a range of factors putting pressure on young children — academic pressures, exam pressures, social media . . . with fear of missing out and comparing yourself unfavourably to images you see online.”

Asked why the proportion of girls self-harming appeared to have risen sharply, he said: “If you look at social media, my hunch is that girls are probably more sensitive to some of those factors than boys.” There were also “completely unhelpful” groups online that urged teenagers to self-harm." (continues)

I'm disappointed by Jon Goldin's comment

thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3327896-Self-harming-by-teenage-girls-doubles-in-20-years-The-Times

A lesson in silence. There are reasons why certain groups are more vulnerable and are more likely to stay silent.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/silent-voices-telford-grooming-horror-13031169.amp?__twitter_impression=true
Silent voices of Telford grooming horror speak out for the first time
EXCLUSIVE: The revelation explodes the vile lies of racist groups who have tried to exploit the vulnerable young victims in a bid to stir up hatred and fear

Until now, the abuse victims had been understood to be almost entirely white girls preyed on by Asian gangs.

But we have spoken to a number from both Indian and Pakistani backgrounds who were also targeted.

Some said they still cannot bring themselves to talk to police because they fear judgment and retribution.

And look at this gem

A key figure in safeguarding children in Telford attacked our investigation in the town, claiming it could stop current victims from coming forward.

Andrew Mason, who chairs the area’s Safeguarding Children Board, claimed in an email our 18 months of research had been conducted “on the back of a fag packet”.

He made his comments as he begged a journalist from news website The Huffington Post to write a positive story about how child sex abuse in the town was handled.

In an email seen by the Sunday Mirror under a Freedom of Information request, Mr Mason admits “terrible things happened in Telford” and “many mistakes were made in the past”. But in an astonishing outburst he added: “Perhaps as I write this a sexually abused young person in our community, plucking up the courage to come forward, might see what is being said, change their minds and say nothing.”

In fact, the week we exposed the scandal more than a dozen girls told police for the first time of their abuse. Our story also prompted a public inquiry.

Meanwhile Telford and Wrekin Council, led by Councillor Shaun Davies, has hired a PR expert to help revamp its image. Council officials were told the appointment of Jan Jennings would help press officers with “strategic messaging and reputational recovery.”

Image is more important than safeguarding and the press staying silent is a tool to keep a lid on reports of abuse. If no one knows about it, then the safeguarding department looks good and people don't know there is a problem or can deny there is a problem. What this muppet says, flies in the face of the pattern of #metoo behaviour where people coming forward encourages other too. Also see Jimmy Saville.

Whats this thread about again?

PR. PR is more important than human rights and human worth. Its used to justify the unjustifiable.

Call it out when you see it.

Current situation in Canada in a 'women-only' hostel for recovery from substance misuse issues:
OP JoanSummers wrote:
"I just listened to this and it is grim. A woman living in a shelter in Canada has been refused advice and representation by Ontario Human Rights Legal Support Centre because she 'misgendered' (what sounds to be) a male presenting 'transwoman' when making her initial enquiries to them about her own rights when that person was moved into her room by the shelter causing Kristi and other residents to feel vulnerable, scared, and traumatised.

Here is the audio:

Here is the article:
nationalpost.com/news/canada/kristi-hanna-human-rights-complaint-transgender-woman-toronto-shelter/

My take on the call is that the org isn't refusing to advise or represent Kristi because of the misgendering alone (although that is part of it) - I read their response as saying that a woman who refuses to share a room with a male bodied male presenting self identified 'transwoman' (or makes a complaint to the shelter about the situation) is potentially committing a crime because the male person has legal protection under Canada's 'gender' legislation. In this situation the Legal Support Centre cannot support the woman now because in the future the male person may decide to take legal action against that woman for discriminating against them.

Which means that in Canada women no longer have any usable rights as a group defined by sex, right?"

thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/a3326360-Canadian-woman-denied-legal-rights-support-because-of-misgendering-a-male-presenting-transwoman