Ben Butler convicted of killing his six-year-old daughter

 

"No reporter who heard Neal Gray tell the judge she would have “blood on her hands” if she returned his young granddaughter to her birth parents would have been able to publish his anguished warning. It was given as evidence four years ago against Ben Butler at an appeal heard by the family judge Mrs Justice Hogg. Hogg did return Ellie to her birth parents, and yesterday Butler was convicted of killing his six-year-old daughter in 2013."

 

"In contrast to what happens in a criminal trial, which is held in public, journalists may not publish what goes on in front of a family judge. To do so is a contempt; the sanction is a fine and jail.
There is an almost total lack of transparency in family courts: cases are held in private, and witness evidence and judicial decisions are still, to all intents and purposes, secret. The intention is to safeguard individuals’ privacy at what is likely to be at best an acutely embarrassing, and at worst, immensely painful time in their life. But a shocking lack of public scrutiny and accountability has become the result."

"The ban on reporting means decisions made by judges, as well as evidence given and processes followed - sometimes extremely poorly - by local authority social work departments in care cases, are simply not subject to any sort of scrutiny. Had Gray’s warning been reported, together with the overwhelming witness evidence from the council, police and medical experts against Butler’s fitness to be a parent, there would have been opportunities for significant public debate about the judicial decision that was reached."

"As it was, the only version of events – and assessment of the quality of evidence given in court – that was allowed to reach the public domain was the ruling handed down by the judge. Reporting of what went on in court may not have saved Ellie. But grave decisions that affect the future of vulnerable children and entire families should not be allowed to evade public view in the name of privacy. Although there are difficulties, as I have discovered over 18 months of struggling to report on the family courts, it is possible to do so responsibly while including a great deal of detail in the public interest."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/21/ellie-butler-family-courts-opened-public-scrutiny-judges?CMP=share_btn_tw

Is Goddard going beyond the inquiry`s terms of reference ?

by Joshua Rozenberg

"As its terms of reference make clear, the purpose of [the Goddard] inquiry is to consider the extent to which institutions have failed in their duty to protect children from sexual abuse in the past and to identify action needed to protect children in the future."

"Under the Inquiries Act 2005, she must not ‘determine any person’s civil or criminal liability’ – although an inquiry panel ‘is not to be inhibited… by any likelihood of liability being inferred from facts that it determines or recommendations that it makes’..."

"And in her opening statement last year, Goddard claimed that ‘the naming of people that have been responsible for the sexual abuse of children… is a core aspect of the inquiry’s function’. That seems pretty close to breaking the ban on deciding liability..."

"Perhaps frustrated by the Janner family’s entirely understandable decision to take no part in the inquiry, Goddard made a formal request for information to the solicitors acting for his estate. In a 29-page response, Michael Pether, from the insurance specialists BLM, told Goddard her inquiry was ‘akin to prosecuting a dead man’."

"What Janner’s children knew of their father’s professional and personal life totally contradicted the allegations against him, Pether said. They unequivocally believed that the allegations were false."

"There was also a risk that Goddard’s findings of fact might prejudice civil claims against the estate, Pether said. Many, if not all, of the complainants were seeking damages; although no claims had been received until last summer, when Janner’s dementia was so severe that he could no longer respond..."

"Pether claims that Janner was framed by Beck and another man, who is still alive. Shortly after Beck’s conviction, Janner told his fellow MPs that Beck and the other man had colluded to ‘make disgraceful, contemptible and totally untrue allegations of criminal conduct’ against him."

"Janner named the man at the time. He was also named last year, perhaps unwittingly, by the Daily Mail. But because he says that he was the victim of a sexual assault, I am not allowed to identify him. He is referred to by the Goddard inquiry as witness A31 and by Sir Richard Henriques, in a report to the DPP earlier this year, as complainant 1."

"Janner said in parliament that he and his family had tried to help complainant 1 in the mid-1970s, when he was a deprived youngster living in a Leicestershire children’s home. Pether told Goddard that Janner’s family saw this ‘as a continuation of his track record of outstanding and admirable, possibly naive, hospitality, befriending and endless generosity’."

======================

In response to Anne Wade who wanted to know why Janner was not prosecuted 25 years ago:

Rozenberg says: "The answer may have been an establishment cover-up, as she says. Equally, it may have been that prosecutors did not think that the available evidence would stand up in court."

"If Goddard can find out which it was, fine. I don't suppose that the answer will protect children from abuse in the future but it's certainly within her terms of reference."

http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/analysis/comment-and-opinion/janner-a-misguided-inquiry/5055886.fullarticle


Perhaps determining whether or not the establishment covered up child abuse 25 years ago might give clues as to the extent of cover-ups today ?

Inter-generational abuse by social services ?

"Health and care services overlooked the impact of `inter and multi-generational abuse` in a family where a toddler suddenly died, a serious case review has found."

"Poppi Worthington was 13-months-old when she died in December 2012. A judge found she was likely to have been sexually assaulted by her father. Her father has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing."

"The Cumbria Local Safeguarding Children Board review found Poppi’s family had a `complex history`. Her grandmother and mother had both been in care. Her mother was taken into care as a child due to fears of sexual exploitation. She was 27 when she became pregnant with Poppi and her twin, and had had four other children taken into care."

"The review found Poppi’s mother received no support for the trauma of her own experiences or the trauma of having her first child taken into care. Social care professionals worked with the mother immediately after a care order for her second child was discharged but they, as well as midwives and health visitors who worked with the mother, failed to properly consider the impact of her past, the review found."

"The report said: `There were no plans put in place for any long term support or intervention to ensure that MCN [the mother] and her children were safe and thriving despite the fact that there were several significant indicators that her capacity to parent may have been compromised by her own childhood experiences of trauma and abuse`."

"It added: `MCN had experienced significant historical traumas and loss which were, in themselves, clear indicators that her parenting may have been compromised and that her children could be at risk`."

"`There is no evidence that practitioners considered that MCN repeat pregnancies would compromise her ability to care for her children or that the repeat pregnancies were symptomatic of unresolved loss`."

 

http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2016/06/15/agencies-overlooked-impact-past-abuse-family-toddler-died-finds-serious-case-review/　

A review of child protection is to be carried out in the Highlands

"A review is to be carried out into child protection safeguards in the Highlands following the death of a two-year-old boy in Inverness."

"Clyde Campbell died in February 2014, in a case of sudden infant death, or cot death."

"His mother, Amanda Hardie, was jailed in May after admitting to neglecting him over a five month period."

"Highland Council said she refused to give her consent to work in partnership with the named person scheme."

"The Highlands is among the areas where named person has been operating ahead of it coming into force across Scotland in August."

"In a statement, Highland Council's director of care and learning, Bill Alexander, said the review would be carried out by the Highland Child Protection Committee..."

"A named person works with the consent of parents, and would have been there to support Ms Hardie, if she had been willing to work in partnership."

"However, while Ms Hardie chose not to seek support from her health visitor, other services continued to engage with her and her family."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-36539514

 

We are not informed which services continued to engage with Amanda Hardie or if Clyde Campbell had a child`s plan. If he did, the Named Person would have had a role, with or without consent.

"The link to the Named Person is important as they may have information about the child and family and will know if a Child’s Plan is already in place for the child. They will have a key role in contributing to any on-going planning to support the child’s wellbeing."

http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0046/00465711.pdf

Sir Clement Freud exposed as a paedophile

　

"Sir Clement Freud, the former broadcaster and politician, was exposed on Tuesday night as a paedophile who sexually abused girls as young as 10 for decades."

"Freud, who died in 2009, spent years abusing a girl who he brought up as a daughter, and violently raped a teenager while he was an MP."

"His widow, Lady Freud, has apologised to his victims, saying she is `shocked, deeply saddened and profoundly sorry` for what her husband of 58 years did to them."

"Detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have been alerted to the fact that Freud had a villa in Praia da Luz, Portugal, the resort where the three-year-old went missing in 2007."

"He befriended the McCanns in the weeks after their daughter went missing, entertaining them at his house on two occasions and keeping in contact by phone and email."

"The McCanns are said to be `horrified` by the discovery that Freud was a paedophile."

"His family, who include the PR executive Matthew Freud, have said that Freud was not in Portugal at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance and that they have not been contacted by police."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/14/sir-clement-freud-exposed-as-a-paedophile-as-police-urged-to-pro/

Note also that Matthew Freud was married to Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of Rupert Murdoch and good friend of Rebekah Brooks. It was Brooks who put pressure on David Cameron to set up Operation Grange.

See also https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2016/06/clement-freud-part-downfall/

Police Scotland and social work corruption

"UK Column anchor Mike Robinson is joined by guest co-presenter Patrick Henningsen to cover today key stories in Europe and internationally. Also on the program are guests analysts David Scott from Northern Exposure and Mark Anderson from American Free Press - we cover Brexit, the Bilderberg Meeting in Dresden, Bilderberg tech moguls and their new A.I. run Smart Cities, State-sanctioned child snatching north of the border, Germany, Israel shuts down the West Bank and Gaza, EU sanctions against Russia, and the historical controversy of both the Arab (semitic) and Jewish (semitic) role in the Slave Trade."
.

 

Child snatching north of the border

 

Brian Docherty uploaded a video on Youtube, April 2015, to explain his ordeal after reporting that a paedophile, who was close friends with a Viscount, had attempted to buy access to his five year old autistic son.

 

Not only did Police Scotland fail to investigate but they sent a fraudulent document to social services about the family and pursued them to Ireland where their four children were placed in foster care.

 

The children were then returned to the Docherty`s after a court hearing. That was the position over a year ago.

 

It was very sad to learn on Friday`s UK Column News that the matter had not ended there. The children were seized again and have not seen their parents for five months.

 

There will be more in depth coverage of this case next week.

 

Starts about 27 minutes into the news.

 

See also http://alicemooreuk.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/police-scotland-target-family-after.html

Child protection warnings ignored in Fife

"MULTIPLE warnings about staff absence and other child protection dangers in Fife were repeatedly overlooked in the months before the murder of Liam Fee."

"Senior figures from Fife Council, NHS Fife, Police Scotland, the Scottish Government and children's charities were all made aware of the long-standing concerns."

"Yet, despite being the potential for `severe consequences` being made abundantly clear, the matter was simply batted back and forth between various panels for more than a year before the two-year-old's death."

"During the murder trial that horrified Scotland, Fife's child protection team manager Karen Pedder admitted Liam had `fallen off the radar` after his social worker went off sick on April 1, 2013."

"Just a few weeks later, on June 26, 2013, the Child Protection Committee discussed an `amber alert for child protection` that had been triggered by a `staff absence`..."

"The amber alert was also discussed by the Fife Chief Officer's Public Safety Group on the same day at the council headquarters in nearby Glenrothes."

"John Myles, the chairman of the CPC, again told the meeting it had been triggered by a `staff absence` and added: `This was a recording issue not an information sharing issue`."

"Ken Greer, chairman of Children in Fife, even warned `that it was important to remember that the cumulative effect of staff absence does impact on service provision`."

"Among those present were Fife Council chief executive Steve Grimmond, Police Scotland commander Garry McEwan and NHS Fife chief executive John Wilson."

"The alert was also flagged up to the Fife Partnership Board on August 28, 2013, when Scottish Government head of resilience Michael Kellet was in attendance."

"At a further meeting of the CPC on October 9, 2013, Fife's nursing director Dr Scott McLean said `that he had spoken to the Lead within Police Scotland and the Social Work lead and our arrangements around Child Protection are deemed safe`."

"However, the alert remained in place until December 2013, just three months before Liam was killed by a blow that ruptured his heart on March 22, 2014."

"In a terrible year for children in Fife, Mikaeel Kular, three, was beaten to death by his mother and his body dumped in woods in Kirkcaldy in January and Madison Horn, two, was murdered by her babysitter in Kelty in April."

"Incredibly, however, the minutes from 2014 show these three tragedies were never even considered by the Child Protection Committee."

"Instead, most of the time was spent discussing the Scottish Government's Girfec - or 'Getting it right for every child' - approach, including the Named Person for every under-18."

"Meanwhile, further evidences shows that yet another expert panel - NHS Fife's Clinical Governance Committee - was aware of child protection problems from at least December 2012."

"In April 2013, the committee members were told: `There is a risk the Child Protection systems and processes are not routinely updated, widely understood, used or adhered to by NHS Fife staff, potentially placing children at risk in Fife`."

"Chillingly, the papers also warned `the consequences of an incident occuring would be severe so the risk remains high`."

"In February 2014, just a few weeks before Liam's murder, Fife's lead child protection nurse revealed the `impact` of red tape created by the Girfec reforms."

"Fiona Lornie said: `Inter-agency Referral Discussions (IRDs) continue to have a significant impact on the workload of the Child Protection Nursing team despite an internal review and changes to processes. Whilst this is an important function of the team it also causes a delay in development of the Child Protection service`."

"Dr Gordon Macdonald, Parliamentary Officer for CARE for Scotland, said social work departments had borne the brunt of council spending cuts in recent years..."

"They have created a huge amount of extra work without resourcing it properly and the danger of making the haystack so big is that you don't catch the needle."

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/676898/warnings-regarding-child-protection-Fife-overlooked-before-Liam-Fee?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium

UK Column report on murder of Liam Fee

UK Column News reported on the murder of Liam Fee and the implications for the Named Person scheme and wider issues beginning around 41 minutes into the programme. Please note some of the detail of abuse suffered by Liam and the two other little boys is harrowing.

Brian Gerrish followed that up by pointing to a discussion on twitter which began with BBC Scotland asking if the Named Person scheme could help prevent cases like the murder of Liam Fee in the future.

Ruth Davidson MSP responded to the tweet by informing BBC Scotland that Liam Fee did have a Named Person under the Fife pilot scheme.

"There was then a massive attack."  For instance, somebody said: "You`re not using that poor child`s death as political capital are you? Tories wouldn`t do that."

"Well all Ruth Davidson was doing was telling the exact truth," says Gerrish. "and of course, in telling the truth that this little boy was under the Named Person scheme, what she is doing is absolutely highlighting that the Named Person scheme is complete rubbish and gives no child protection because, aside from anything else, the report goes back to the same failing social services in the first place."

Gerrish then questions Nicola Sturgeon`s honesty in her account of the Named Person. "She said it is not compulsory; but it is; it is compulsory to report on the child and family."

"I`m going to defend Nippy here," says Mike Robinson, "because this is a great example of why we`ve got to watch very carefully what politicians say because what Nippy said was it was not compulsory for the parents to take part in the Named Person scheme. But the parents have no part in the Named Person scheme. It`s a relationship between the Named Person and the child. That`s compulsory."　

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVu2OrMSmdI　

 

I think we`ll make our own minds up about that.

Could anyone have saved Liam Fee ?

"One of the questions raised by the case of Liam Fee - whose mother and her partner were convicted of his murder - has been could anyone have saved him?"

"On a number of occasions concerns were raised about the little boy, who was only two-and-a-half-years old when he died."

"His nursery alerted social services, worried by a change in Liam, and the fact that he was losing weight and had a number of injuries."

"Liam's childminder had also made her concerns known."

"The High Court in Livingston heard from Patricia Smith, who used the same childminder. Ms Smith told the jury she phoned Fife Social Work department after meeting the Fees in the street."

"Liam was in his buggy but she told the court she didn't know if he was drugged or dead."

"A senior Fife social worker admitted in court that at one point Liam `fell off their radar`. A member of staff had gone off sick, no-one else was assigned and Liam's case was not reviewed until further concerns were raised."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-36397785

"Det Insp Rory Hamilton, of Police Scotland, said: `During joint interviews with specially-trained detectives and officials from Fife Council, the evidence began to build towards a picture of horrendous abuse which directly contributed to the version of events being put forward by the two accused being utterly discredited`."

"`This was a complex, challenging and sensitive investigation which involved interviewing two young children to establish the level of abuse and neglect both they and Liam Fee had been subjected to`."

"`It was because of their courage that detectives were able to identify Rachel and Nyomi Fee as being responsible for a wide range of serious offences against three children`."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-36417415

From (GIRFEC) Programme Board minutes (page 4) [10.09.2013]

"Alan offered an example of good practice on information sharing from Fife. Fife already had the Named Person in place and the police had been sharing information since April 2013. 400 cases per month had been raised."

http://www.gov.scot/resource/0044/00441605.pdf

Liam died in a bedroom of the family home on Saturday 22 March 2014. There had been several warnings to child protection services, but his Named Person did not save him.

Despite Humza Yousaf`s statement on Question Time about the dangers of misconceptions about the Name Person scheme, the biggest misconception is that the scheme will prevent such abuses.

It`s time to throw out the GIRFEC wellbeing data grab and start investing more in child protection social services who need to be properly trained, focused and resourced.

Police are expecting 30,000 new child sex abuse complaints

Nursery worker is facing jail

"A Cupar nursery worker is facing jail after being found guilty of two charges of assault at the town’s Busy Bee nursery."

"Caroline Bell had denied the assaults, committed between November 1 2013 and February 26 2014 at the nursery now known as Little Beehives."

"The nursery’s owners said they `fully supported` the police throughout the prosecution and that Bell had been sacked when the allegations came to light."

"Shocked co-workers told a trial at Dundee Sheriff Court that Bell had `joked` about the incidents - and `talked about it as if she was talking about what she had had for tea`."

"Sian Conway, 22, a former worker at the nursery, told a trial at Dundee Sheriff Court that she was the whistleblower who flagged up two specific incidents to bosses – leading the cases to be reported to the police."

"She said: `I was working with Caroline - she was my senior`."

"`There was an incident involving one of the children on the climbing frame. The child had bitten another child and Caroline went over to deal with the situation. She picked him up off the climbing frame and had him upside down by the ankles`."

"Miss Conway wept as she told the court: `She walked him across the room, dangling him by the ankles all the way. Then she dumped him on the floor - she dropped him from stomach level, she just let him go`."

Read more: http://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/local-headlines/nursery-worker-faces-jail-1-4132709#ixzz49CsXCiY9

The Macur review

"THE REPORT of the Macur Review — an examination of the work of the 1996-99 North Wales Child Abuse Tribunal — is a whitewash."

 

 

"Lady Justice Macur’s report was finally published on March 17 this year — nearly three and a half years after it was commissioned."

"She concludes:"

" `I have found no reason to undermine the conclusions of the Tribunal in respect of the nature and scale of the abuse.` "

"She brushes aside evidence submitted by Rebecca — one of the Tribunal’s major critics."

"She also rules out the existence of a national paedophile ring:
`Neither is there evidence of the involvement of nationally prominent individuals in the abuse of children in care in North Wales, between 1974 and 1996`."

"`Consequently, I do not recommend the establishment of a further public or private inquiry`."

"But Lady Justice Macur is also highly critical of the Tribunal.
Her team has done enough digging to find shocking shortcomings in its work."

"She could have condemned it as unfit for purpose."

Read more: https://paddyfrench1.wordpress.com/

Child abuse victim given lethal injection

"A victim of child sex abuse has been allowed to end her life after doctors decided her mental disorder was incurable, it's been reported."

"The woman, in her twenties, was molested between the ages of five and 15 and had been suffering with post-traumatic stress since the abuse began."

"She underwent 'intensive therapy ' and though her psychological condition improved, doctors in the Netherlands decided to accept her request to die, the Daily Mail reported."

"The woman, who has not been named, suffered from severe anorexia, chronic depression, suicidal mood swings, self-harming, hallucinations, obsessions and compulsions, according to papers released by the Dutch Euthanasia Commission."

"Her condition had left her almost entirely bedridden and her psychiatrist said `there was no prospect or hope for her`, describing her suffering as `unbearable`."

"A final medical report approved the `termination of life` order and the woman was given a lethal injection of drugs last year, the report said."

"The papers reportedly concluded that the woman had been `totally competent` in making her decision and there was `no major depression or other mood disorder which affected her thinking`."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/child-sex-abuse-victim-aged-7943266?ICID=FB_mirror_main

Social worker struck off register after relationship with vulnerable boy

 

"A social worker has been struck off the register after engaging in a sexual relationship with a 'vulnerable' teenage boy."

"Claire Runkee, 38, was struck off the register of social workers after her relationship with the 16-year-old, during which she took him to a hotel for the night and sent him a string of explicit messages."

"At a Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) hearing it emerged the boy - who was placed with his foster carers at the age of four and known as Child A - had to undergo therapy after the liaison was uncovered."

"Ms Runkee was caught when the boy's foster carers saw more than 100 'graphic and sexually explicit' messages on Facebook."

"She qualified as a social worker in 2012, and had been working with a children's safeguarding team for a year before developing 'a friendship' outside of work with Child A."

"The boy was vulnerable, had struggled at school and was under a care order."

"His foster carers saw the Facebook messages from Ms Runkee between January 1 and February 13 last year, which showed she had 'placed pressure' on the boy not to reveal their relationship."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3576664/Social-worker-38-sex-vulnerable-boy-16-hotel-sending-string-100-graphic-sexually-explicit-messages-Facebook.html#ixzz487JZQxAz

Fairbridge to become part of Prince`s Trust

by Goody

"Britain’s Child Migrants"

"..unanswered questions about the rationale for the child migration policy and who drove it forward within a context of secrecy, deception and lies. "

"…need to address the relationship between the charities, the churches and the state in the implementation of this policy."

Quoting Liz Davies

"The forced migration of children as a social policy began in the 17th Century and continued for 350 years until coming to an end in 1970."

"It is estimated that 130,000 child victims of 200,000 parents were sent to Canada, New Zealand, Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) and Australia. Most child migrants had no idea of their birth families or the reason why they were sent to the colonies and parents were not told what had happened to their children. They were sent to populate the Empire with ‘good, white British stock’. Many of the children lived in large institutions and were used as cheap labour suffering abuse, cruelty and neglect..."

"The Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry in Northern Ireland has already heard evidence from child migrants, as has the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse."

"It is not yet known whether the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in the UK will grant child migrants core participant status and therefore enable them to be legally represented."

"It is concerning that the main IICSA public hearings are not accepting personal accounts of child abuse which are instead being presented through the Truth Project strand of the Inquiry which is not part of the legal process of prosecution and justice."

"The [Fairbridge] society was one of several child migration charities which dispatched about 100,000 impoverished British children to Australia, Canada and other far-flung parts of the Empire from the late 19th century to the 1970s."

"Unlike Barnardo’s, which has acknowledged that its child migrant scheme was `shameful` and `barbaric`, Fairbridge has refused to apologise for past injustices."

"In January 2011 it was announced that Fairbridge will become part of The Prince’s Trust."

Read more: http://loucollins.uk/2016/04/25/britains-child-migrants-the-fairbridge-societythe-independent-inquiry-into-child-sexual-abuse-iicsa/

The Australian lawyer who grew up in state care

"Meet Peter Kelso, a lawyer who grew up in State care. Peter is the sole director of Kelso Lawyers."

 

News on Kelso`s website:

 

"Child abuse survivors were enraged this month by Justice Peter McClellan’s decision to allow Cardinal George Pell to give evidence to the Royal Commission via video link."

"Pell’s $20,000-a-day lawyer had argued vigorously that his client should be excused from travelling from Rome – where he heads the Vatican’s finance ministry — to appear before the Child Abuse Royal Commission."

"A medical report provided to the Commission, but not available publicly, claimed that Pell’s life would be at risk if he were to attempt a long-haul flight."

"The decision raised several issues, including Pell’s indefinite exclusion from Australia. If Pell were to return to Australia, he may face Federal contempt charges. The Royal Commission does have the option of holding a hearing in Rome – and sending Pell the bill – but this possibility has not been raised in the Commission."

"A WA doctor offered to assemble a voluntary medical retrieval team to accompany Pell on his flight back to Australia to face the Commission. In a letter published in Fairfax Media newspapers, Dr Richard Sallie said he would also happily pay for Pell’s first-class airfare. “It seems to me if he’s able to carry out his job as senior financial controller of the Catholic Church then he’s probably fit enough to travel,” "

http://kelsolawyers.com/au/peter-kelso/

Stephen Fry`s insensitive remarks about child abuse survivors

"In an interview with Dave Rubin on the American talk show ‘Rubin Report’ ... the writer, actor, presenter, and all round national treasure Stephen Fry decided that `self pity` by survivors of child sexual abuse was an appropriate target for his ire."

"Fry’s argument focused on censorship and the `deep infantilism` he perceives in today’s society. The discussion included mentions of the unsuccessful Oxford University petition to remove a statue of colonialist Cecil Rhodes and the application of so-called `trigger warnings` to literature."

"Fry remarked that many great plays contain scenes of rape and murder, including Shakespearian classics such as Titus Andronicus and Macbeth. `They’re terrible things and they have to be thought about, clearly,` Fry said, `but if you say you can’t watch this play… [because] it might trigger something when you were young that upset you once, because uncle touched you in a nasty place, well I’m sorry.`"

"`It’s a great shame and we’re all very sorry that your uncle touched you in that nasty place – you get some of my sympathy – but your self pity gets none of my sympathy. Self pity is the ugliest emotion in humanity. Get rid of it, because no one’s going to like you if you feel sorry for yourself. Just grow up...`"

"The language Fry uses is so utterly patronizing that it strips his wider points, about the inability of some to engage with complex issues, of any real value. To belittle someone’s childhood experience of being abused by a family member and reduce it to ‘uncle touched you in a nasty place’ is deeply callous and irresponsible."

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/stephen-fry-which-child-sexual-abuse-victim-do-you-think-changed-their-mind-about-trigger-warnings-a6980546.html