Child Abuse Justice - At Last

It has taken this long for the law to realise that adults who seriously inflict injury on children have to be prosecuted?  On Monday those who stay silent will now be prosecuted.  Up till now if a couple are arrested for hurting children, unless the police can PROVE which one did the hitting then they can't bring charges.  Thousands of abusers have walked free.  Why has it taken this long to change the law?  I despair.  But at least on Monday no one can get away with it anymore.

I was deeply affected by the horror of Baby P.  One of the 3 jailed for his murder - and it was murder - is now free, the lodger.  The mother will be released very soon if her sentence of 5 years is adhered to (only 5 years?)  Maybe she's out already.

I was so moved by this case that I wrote 200 letters, went to Tottenham to the house where Baby P died and posted the letters by hand to the surrounding houses asking if any neighbours would speak to me about what it was like to be next to such abuse.  1 family replied.  This is the programme I made, it features a poem written by Miles Chambers specially for the programme and an interview with a local Bristol lady who lives next door to a family who she thinks may be hurting their children.  I met Yvonne whilst filming hedgehogs in her garden (she runs a sanctuary for injured hedgehogs).  We had to stop filming because of the screaming mother and terrified cries of the children next door.

Baroness Scotland was asked to review the sentences passed on those who murdered Peter Connolly - they seemed so lenient for the mother and lodger - but she said they were fair and upheld them.  I wonder why she thought that?

Just Around the Corner by Curlewmedia