Britain’s child protection system has become ‘draconian’ and ‘punitive’
Results of the first ever parent-led human rights focused investigation of children protection in the UK has been published and the results aren’t pretty.
This morning, Friday 15th November, the findings from a new report from the Children and Families Truth Commission were published. Experts argued that the child protection system – a set of laws, policies and services that work together to prevent and respond to abuse, neglect, violence and exploitation of children – has violated three human rights articles.
These include respect for private family life (Article 8), right to a fair public hearing (Article 6) and protection from discrimination (Article 14).
Dr Simon Haworth, lecturer in social work and social care at the University of Birmingham, who led the research as a member of the commission, said: ‘The child protection system has become draconian and punitive and is placing concerning number of children in care.
’83,840 children were in care at the end of March 2023, or one child in every 140 and figures provided by Ofsted say that more than 400,000 children are in the social care system at any one time.
‘The need to protect children is imperative, but we have found that often more extreme measures are being taken unnecessarily instead of supporting families to ask for help, violating human rights and coming at a higher cost to the taxpayer.’
Alongside Dr Haworth, the research was led by commission members Michele Simmons, a mother with experience of the child protection system, and Natasha Phillips, the UK’s first child rights journalist.
The commission has gathered over 600 responses from families with experience of the child protection service in England and Wales.
Within the research, one parent said: ‘They moved my children 100s of miles away. My eldest only gets phone contact with her siblings.’
Against this backdrop, the commission is now calling for changes to be made to the child protection system to prevent human rights violations by focusing on earlier prevention and support.
Dr Haworth added: ‘Parents struggling with looking after their children often go to their local authorities for support and help, but then they are punished for seeking that help. Instead, authorities should have a legal duty to provide timely and accurate needs-based assessments and support within a human rights framework.’
Meanwhile, the commission argues that by focusing on early intervention, not only would it improve the wellbeing of children and their families, but also save the taxpayer a considerable amount of money, over £400 billion over a 20-year period.
Dr Haworth concluded: ‘Sometimes it is necessary to remove children from their families for their safety, but this decision should not be the gut response. Families should be given fair legal support, access to their children where appropriate and support free of discrimination.
‘Our report offers suggestions about how to significantly cut the economic, social and emotional costs of a system which families too often experience as harmful, punitive and controlling. The impact of this system for children and their families can be both far-reaching and long-lasting.’
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