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The Lancet calls for National Child Protection Commission
Medical journal says recent decisions have made a "mockery" of child protection
The Lancet has published an editorial calling for a commission into child protection headed by the Children's Commissioner. The respected medical journal says that the second serious case review on the Baby Peter case, the High Court decision in the Southall case and the Irish report into child abuse in the Catholic Church have
"made a mockery of child protection in the UK and Ireland by further adding to the confusion around how best to protect vulnerable children."
and that
"it is incomprehensible that on the same day as the second review was released and the UK Secretary of State for Children, Schools, and Families, Ed Balls, said that all professionals involved in child protection should act to put the child first and not be deceived by parents, the High Court upheld the GMC's decision to strike the paediatrician and child protection expert, Dr David Southall, off the medical register for doing just that."
It therefore calls for a "concerted effort to change the current, clearly inadequate system" by creating a National Child Protection Commission to review all the evidence emerging from national and international data.
The editorial was published in the same week that the Attorney General announced that she may consider appealing against the sentences given to those involved in the death of Baby Peter as they may be too lenient. Baby Peter's mother was sentenced to an indefinite jail term for causing or allowing the toddler's death and must serve at least five years, her boyfriend was jailed for twelve years for causing the death and for life for raping a two-year-old girl and their lodger was jailed indefinitely but must serve at least three years.
The full text of the editorial in The Lancet is available free of charge on their site but you will need to register to access the piece.
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Keywords:child protection
