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Child protection Protecting our children - a free guide for parents
Protecting our
children - a free guide for parents Pictured, launching the booklet at The House of Commons are, from left: Dan Norris MP, Michele Elliott (Kidscape; co-author), Rt Hon Tony Blair MP, Paul Bowers (SWEB - booklet sponsor) To read this ground-breaking information booklet for parents use this link. About the booklet: The following article was written by Dan Norris for the Western Daily Press and published in the paper to coincide with the booklet's launch: It’s understandable that parents’ fears about child sexual abuse reach a peak with media reports about high-profile paedophiles. Yet the vast majority of sexual offences against children are committed by people who have never been convicted or reported to the authorities. Because their horrific activities are ‘hidden’, parents know little about them – until it’s too late. The government is introducing tough new laws to protect children from those known abusers who pose a risk to children. That is good news. But we need to focus upon protecting our children from the ‘unknown’ paedophiles operating in every community across the West right now. Research has revealed a shocking history of abuse by so-called ‘first time’ abusers. It shows how those reaching the courts with no previous convictions have, on average, committed great numbers of previous undetected offences against children. On average 40 or more young people were abused by each of them – yet the catalogue of harm inflicted on children remained undetected. The picture many people have of child abusers – odd-looking ‘strangers’ enticing children away with sweets – is false. Abusers can be anyone – family members, neighbours, friends, doctors, coaches, youth leaders, vicars, bank managers. They are often respectable people we least suspect. That’s a bleak message – and one that can leave parents feeling anxious but powerless. That’s why since last year I have been working on the booklet Protecting Our Children – A Guide for Parents – which is published today. This free 16-page booklet gives the most up-to-date information on how parents can effectively prevent their children being sexually abused. It includes practical advice and tried and tested tips on how best to protect children. The booklet includes:
While good information leaflets have been made available in the West by some charities, none have had the scope and reach of this new project. The idea for the booklet stems from a long-term commitment to protecting children from abuse. A few years ago, working as a child protection officer in South Gloucestershire, I saw too often the results of sexual offences against children. At that time laws to protect children were too weak. Offenders easily escaped the system through their manipulation of children and of the law itself. Even when suspected abusers were reported, the burden of proof needed to convict was too high (in my opinion it remains too high). Parents rightly felt angry and helpless because protection of one’s child is the strongest instinct any parent has. Yet without the proper information parents were often unaware of simple steps which could have helped keep their children safer. They knew little about how paedophiles targeted children and avoided detection. The Somerset and former Avon area were the focus of parental concerns around this time last year. The release from jail of a high-profile paedophile led to protests in Radstock - in my constituency - and elsewhere across the region. When I set to work on the booklet I co-ordinated a small group of national child protection experts to assist. Michele Elliott (Kidscape), Valerie Howarth (Child Line) and Hilary Eldridge (the Lucy Faithfull Foundation) are amongst the best in their field. The other children’s charities also supported the idea of the booklet. The Home Secretary made available a Home Office grant to meet some of the expenses of these experts, and has supported the booklet from its outset. The importance of the booklet’s sponsorship by South Western Electricity (SWEB) cannot be overestimated and I am particularly grateful to Chief Executive Paul Bowers – who himself has experience in working in child protection in the USA – for seizing the initiative. SWEB's commitment will enable sufficient copies to be printed so that every family with children in the whole of Somerset and the former Avon can obtain a copy free of charge. The Prime Minister has given his personal backing to the new booklet. Indeed his foreword urges parents to read it. Local authorities too are supporting the project, through their distribution networks. Parents will be able to obtain a copy from their child’s school or playgroup. Libraries and doctors’ surgeries will be stocking copies. A telephone hotline has been set up for those who cannot get a copy from these normal outlets. This unique project is bringing local and central government, the voluntary sector and local business closer together with one overriding aim – Protecting our Children. The type of information it contains can only be effective if parents can get it easily. Like the Prime Minister I urge parents to read the booklet, use it, and keep it for reference. It will help them keep children safer all the time – not just when headlines about the horrors of child sexual abuse surface in the papers and on TV. Parents need no longer feel powerless against paedophiles. This booklet allows them to fight back and help ensure their children are safe. Copyright Dan Norris 1999
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