Child Abuse In Care Homes: Children Subjected To 'Violent & Sadistic' Sexual Abuse

Children in care homes are being subjected to sexual abuse of a "violent and sadistic nature", England's Deputy Children's Commissioner Sue Berelowitz has warned.
She made the comments as the government announced new reforms that aim to better protect youngsters who reside in the country's 455 children's homes.
The action comes following a report published by Ms Berelowitz, which was ordered after the jailing of a sex abuse ring in May which preyed on vulnerable girls in Rochdale. Only one of the girls was in care at the time of the abuse but all were known to social services at some point in their childhood.

The ongoing inquiry has highlighted evidence that children in care are particularly vulnerable to child sex exploitation, with some residential homes being specifically targeted by abusers.Ms Berelowitz said her research found perpetrators come from all ethnic groups, as do their victims, who are as young as 11 and are largely but not exclusively girls.

Speaking alongside Children's Minister Tim Loughton as he announced the new measures, she said of the abuse: "It is of a violent and sadistic nature. I've been in the children's services field for a very long time, and I have never come across the scale of violence and sadism that I'm encountering now. The stories that children and young people tell us are truly horrific."

"I think it's quite right and proper that the Government is paying special attention to this group of children as the state is their parent and therefore we have a special duty of care to children who are under care orders of one kind or another."

A spokesman for Ofsted welcomed the government's commitment to reform, adding that its own inspections of children's homes were constantly reviewed.

Child Abuse 'Rife' Across England Says Deputy Children's Comissioner

MPs are to investigate the sexual exploitation of children, after an expert warned abuse was taking place "all over the country".

Deputy Children Comissioner, Sue Berelowitz told the Commons home affairs committee on Tuesday that thousands, not hundreds, of children in England were being abused and that "it was common" for girls lured out by predators on internet chat rooms to be gang raped by groups of boys. 

In her graphic account, which left MPs visibly shocked, she said the sex grooming case in Rochdale, in which Pakistani men were exploiting young white girls, was just part of a much wider picture that involved victims and abusers of all races and cultures.

And she revealed that young people were acting out scenes they saw in online pornography and organising abuse via social networking sites and messaging systems.

"What I am uncovering is that sexual exploitation of children is happening all over the country," she told the cross-party committee.

"As one police officer who was the lead in a very big investigation in a very lovely, leafy, rural part of the country said to me: 'there isn't a town, village or hamlet in which children are not being sexually exploited.

The Commons Home Affairs Committee promised an inquiry into the claims.

You can read more on this story on the BBC News site here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18422204

Social workers 'may need powers of entry to stop abuse' - 6/6/2012 - Community Care

Action on Elder Abuse has launched a consultation on whether professionals need powers to enter homes and intervene where they suspect a vulnerable adult is being abused and access to them is blocked.

Existing powers in England may be inadequate for tackling cases where an adult with mental capacity, who does not have a mental disorder, is suspected of being abused in their own home by a family member who is preventing professionals from talking to the alleged victim, and coercing or unduly influencing the victim into staying quiet.

"Even if such situations are limited, the challenge for safeguarding remians as to how a situation can be assessed or judged if it is not possible to physically gain access to the alleged victim," said the consultation paper.

You can read the full news item on the Community Care website here:

Social workers 'may need powers of entry to stop abuse' - 6/6/2012 - Community Care

Social Workers Warn Over Cuts Threat

Social workers are warning that cuts to services and growing case loads are leaving vulnerable children without the protection they need.

Nearly five years after the death of Baby Peter Connelly, a survey of social workers suggests many are worried about unmanageable amounts of work.

You can watch a short video about this issue on the BBC New website here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18099498

Response To The Cross-Government Consultation On The Definition Of Domestic Violence

The Office of the Children's Commissioner has published a response to the cross-government consultation on the definition of domestic violence.

The response is based on: Emerging evidence from the Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Gangs and Groups; Research into children’s experience of risk and child protection; Research into the mental health needs of children in the youth justice system; Internal expertise across safeguarding, child abuse, domestic violence, health and serious youth violence, held at the Office of the Children’s Commissioner.

The response is freely available to download here: http://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/content/publications/content_568

Time For A Revolution In The UK Care Sector

John Kennedy, Director of Care Services for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation's Housing Trust has commented on last Monday's Panorama which looked at the hidden abuse which can go on in care homes. He argues that it's time for a 'revolution' in the UK care sector. You can read his comments here: Time For A Revolution in the UK Care Sector

Panorama: Undercover: Elder Care

Still very much on the issue of elder care - next Monday (23rd April) on BBC1 at 8.30 pm Panorama goes undercover to look at the way the elderly are treated in care homes. The programme reveals the appalling treatment of an elderly resident with dementia, captured on film after a concerned relative left a hidden camera.

You can see the details about the programme here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01gybn7