Protecting Our Children: Fifty Tough Questions

An article by Claire Jones-Hughes    1 Comment

This has been another tragic, gut-wrenching week for children who have failed to be protected in our society. Our relatively wealthy, seemingly well-educated, society with a framework for support through health and social services has failed these children. But it’s broken, isn’t it? It must be if we continually find we cannot protect our children.

I cannot bear to read the stories about baby Eliza Mae in Carmarthenshire but know for the little girl’s sake I must. I haven’t got the stomach to report the headline story here by way of a link to my post’s theme. Then there’s the circumstances surrounding the death of a 2 year old girl in Bradford, reported this week. Then the report into the circumstances around 7 week old Jamie Kightley’s death in Northampton. This is just ONE news day.

It is incomprehensible to many how small babies cannot be protected in their own homes. While in other parts of the world, children are dying on a daily basis through starvation and the direct impacts of military conflict - we fail to protect ours despite pretending to have everything in place to prevent such things from happening. I don’t believe social workers are super human, I don’t believe that one service or agency is responsible or can be held accountable. I think there should be URGENT action for all organisations involved in safeguarding children to work together properly.

I have a multitude of questions whirring around my head. Mainly for the government, for the heads of services in the local areas, community leaders, neighbours, the parents themselves. And I feel for parents this could be therapeutic to ask these questions? So what would you ask and to whom? If you were face to face with someone who could take action, what you want to know? Add your comment below or on our Facebook page.

When we’ve compiled 50 questions, we’ll publish and share, share, share!