News, Videos and a Book
News Item One:
Jozef Fritzl; no plans for investigation into police and social service failings
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Josef Fritzl used to boast that he was lord over life and death. Today an Austriancourt jailed him for life, ensuring that he would almost certainly end his days behind
the high walls of a psychiatric unit for the most dangerous of disturbed criminals.
"There will be no appeal I accept the sentence", said Fritzl, his shoulders hunched.
But despite the horror of his crimes there are no plans for an investigation into the
failings of police and social services, or for new laws such as a sex offenders list.
He was found guilty of throwing his daughter, Elisabeth, into a homemade dungeon when
she was 18 and making her a sex slave for almost a quarter of a century. The prosecutor
calculated that he had raped her at least 3,000 times.
Fritzl, 73, fathered seven children in the cellar. He murdered one of them, a baby boy
who, struggling for breath, was allowed to die while the building engineer went upstairs
to watch television. That murder ensured a life sentence.
“I regret from the bottom of my heart what I have done to my family,†Fritzl told the jury
in a thin, croaking voice. “Unfortunately I cannot make amends for it. I can only attempt
to look for possibilities to try to limit the damage that has been done.â€
News Item Two:
Laming report calls for better training for social workers following Baby P and Victoria Climbie
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In the past decade, Haringey has lost two children in horrific cases of child abuse.ELIZABETH PEARS looks at Lord Laming’s latest report to find out what went wrong In
2001, Lord Laming chaired an inquiry following the death of Victoria Climbie.
Eight-year-old Victoria died after suffering serious abuse while living with her aunt
and her boyfriend in a one-bedroom flat in Tottenham in 1999.
She died from malnutrition and at the time of her death, in February 25, 2000, the
schoolgirl had endured more than 128 injuries that included burn marks and scars
caused by a scabies infection.
The horrific details left the nation in shock and was regarded as one of the worst
instances of child abuse in British history. Following the inquiry led by Lord Laming,
it prompted radical reform of child protection laws. But seven years later, in the same
social services department, in a council house just streets away, lightning was set to
strike a second time. On November 23, 2007, a mother from Tottenham, her live-in
boyfriend and a lodger, Jason Owen, appeared in court denying the murder of the
17-month-old we know as Baby P. He had been placed on Haringey Council’s at-risk register
and had regular contact with social workers, health visitors and his GP.
News Item Three:
Social worker asked to return at 82
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A RETIRED social worker was sent a letter asking her to return to the professionâ€" even though she is 82. Barbara MacArthur quit her job in 1982 and has spent the
past 27 years caring for her 54-year-old autistic son Howard.
But she was stunned to receive a letter offering her up to £50 an hour to return
to social work. Divorced Mrs MacArthur, of Cathays, Cardiff, said: “I knew they
were desperate for social workers, but I didn’t think they were this desperate!â€
The letter, from Hertfordshire-based Evergood Associates, asks for Mrs MacArthur’s
“current availability and future career plan.
It adds: “We look forward to receiving your completed form with CV if applicable
at your earliest convenience. The former policewoman previously worked for the
Citizens' Advice Bureau before becoming a social worker in 1960.
She said: "I've always wanted to help people and, even when I was a policewoman,
I found myself feeling sorry for the people I was supposed to be arresting."
News Item Four:
The mother who is helping her Down's son lose his virginity insists: He has just as much right to a love life as anyone else
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Sipping a bitter shandy, Otto Baxter is describing to me his ideal girlfriend.He'd like her to be pretty, petite, with a good sense of humour to match his own.
Someone like former pop star and Strictly Come Dancing contestant Rachel Stevens
would do, he says. 'I want to meet a nice girl, I want to make love, I want to
get married one day,' he grins, 'but I don't want any children. I can't be doing
with getting up in the night and changing nappies.' So, not very different from
other 21-year-old, hot-blooded males. Only Otto has Down's syndrome and his public
quest to find a lover - to be just like his friends - has stirred up a hornet's
nest of controversy over the taboo subject of disability and sex. This week, his
adoptive mother Lucy Baxter, 51, was accused of being 'odd', 'irresponsible',
'creepy', and 'strange' after she revealed she was actively helping her son seek
a partner, setting up a Bebo page for him on the net and researching dating agencies
so Otto can 'enjoy the same experiences as other men his age'. Her assertion that
she would support him if he ever wanted to seek the services of a prostitute prompted
an even more vitriolic response that she would be 'pimping' out her son rather than
protecting a vulnerable young man. Some readers found the very thought 'disgusting'.
Far from being hurt, Lucy Baxter welcomes the debate her words have sparked, bringing
the whole issue of Down's syndrome and sexuality into the open.
Video One:
What If...? - Suspected Abuse (Video Documentary)
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Teachers and managers role-play challenging situations, with the late Ted Wraggasking the difficult questions. This week, what actions are taken when the head
suspects a pupil is being physical abused? When is the inter-agency child protection
team of the police, health and social services involved? At what point are the parents
told? The eight panellists respond to a case study involving six-year-old Jade who
appears at school with bruising. The dilemmas arise out of determining whether Jade's
bruises are the result of rough and tumble in the playground or more serious signs of
abuse at home.
Video Two:
Need To Know - New Restraint Powers (Video Documentary)
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Mike Baker and Sheena McDonald discuss teachers' powers of restraint under theEducation and Inspections Act 2006. They explain why the changes were needed, and
how they make the powers more explicit for teachers. Mike also points out that
while the law grants teachers the right to use "reasonable force" as a last resort,
it does specify that the context of each particular situation must be taken into
account. Examples of restraints teachers could use are demonstrated in the studio
by conflict management specialist Tim Cooke.
Video Three:
School Matters - CRB - Checks and Balances (Video Documentary)
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An inside look at the Criminal Records Bureau and a chance to asses whether CRB checksare essential for our children's safety or an invasion of civil liberties.
The number of adults who must now undergo CRB checks on their suitability to work with
children in schools and other institutions runs into several millions. Given the scale
of this operation, it is inevitable that mistakes will occasionally be made. In this
programme we investigate the workings of the CRB and hear the story of one person who
was wrongly rejected twice in a case of mistaken identity.
Video Four:
Missing Women (Video Documentary)
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THIS PROGRAMME CONTAINS SENSITIVE CONTENT.A powerful documentary focused on the 'missing women' of Asia - the estimated 100 million
females who have not been given a chance to live due to overwhelming social pressures.
We travel to India where, in the south, community pressure has forced many women to commit
infanticide by killing their own daughters. In the north of the country, a great weight
of tradition has led to a selective abortions; something that is ravaging the country's
female population. In Karachi, Pakistan, the number of newborn girls abandoned at birth
has increased tenfold in the wake of growing poverty. Baby girls are being left for dead
in the city's ditches, parks and dumps. Finally, we visit China, where 20 years of the
'single child' policy has driven families to do away with their daughters. The Chinese
government is now trying to reverse this trend..
Book:
'TIP' by Zoompad (The Book)
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An intelligent, moral and often hilarious funny story of abuse survival, Zoompad's
outstanding first novel describes growing up in the Sixties and Seventies Britain,
warts and all. A very moving book, once you start reading it, you won’t put it down.
Some of the book makes you laugh, but other parts make you angry at the system.
Overall, a very well written book and a very brave subject to cover.
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