The Cleveland child abuse scandal refers to the 1987 wave of alleged child sexual abuse cases in Cleveland, England.
Video Cleveland child abuse scandal
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At this time, the Cleveland area, founded in 1974, includes three major cities: Stockton-on-Tees, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough. In 1996, the former county was split into four local authorities with only one defending, in part, the name of Cleveland.
Maps Cleveland child abuse scandal
History
In the years before the scandal, the reported rate of child abuse in the Cleveland area was consistent with people from other parts of the UK. However, in 1987, during the period February to July, many children living in Cleveland were displaced from their homes by social service agencies and diagnosed as sexual harassment. 121 diagnoses were made by two pediatricians at a Middlesbrough hospital, Marietta Higgs and Geoffrey Wyatt, using a "controversial diagnostic practice" called anal spreading widening. When there are not enough foster homes to place children suspected of violence, social services begin to accommodate children in wards at local hospitals.
Later, the tests used to establish child abuse were opposed by the surgeon and the cooperation between social workers, police and hospital doctors involved in the diagnosis began to disintegrate. In addition, there are public concerns about practices used by local social agencies, such as the transfer of children from their homes in the middle of the night. In May 1987, parents marched from the hospital where their children were held in a local newspaper. The resulting media coverage led to the practice of social service agencies to receive public scrutiny and criticism. In response, the Butler-Sloss report was commissioned by the Secretary of State for Social Services in July 1987 and published in 1988. The report was headed by Elizabeth Butler-Sloss and concluded that most of the diagnoses were wrong. As a result, 94 of 121 children were returned to their homes.
On October 14, 1991, the Children Act of 1989 was fully implemented as a result of the Cleveland children's abuse scandal and other child related events that preceded it. A TV documentary entitled The Death of Childhood was broadcast in 1997 and alleges that "independent experts under the guidance of the Department of Health later found that at least 70 percent of the diagnoses" were true. According to the documentary, two years after the scandal, some children were again called social services and determined to face the risk of child abuse. In February 2007, the Chief Medical Officer, who was a regional medical officer at the time of the scandal, admitted that "mistakes were made". A few days later, two of the scandal-focused children asked the Middlesbrough police to investigate their experience in 1987.
See also
- Abuse
- Child abuse
- Child sexual abuse
- Suspicious of child sexual abuse
- Sexual harassment
Note
Bibliography
- Bell, Stuart (1988). When Salem Comes to Boro, The Real Story of Cleveland Children's Torture Crisis
External links
- Kerry's Story
- the Sunday Times article
- BMJ summary of the official request
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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