Over the weekend I've added a few widgets to my blog so now you can see updates from my blog roll, read the blog in any of 35 languages and there is a video bar at the bottom of the page.
Read more...Last week Professor Ruth Gilbert, University College London Institute of Child Health, launched a series in The Lancet on child maltreatment. Professor Gilbert reports that child maltreatment remains a major public health and social welfare problem in high-income countries. Every year, 4–16% of children are physically abused and one in ten is neglected or psychologically abused. During childhood, between 5% and 10% of girls and up to 5% of boys are exposed to penetrative sexual abuse, and up to three times this number are exposed to any type of sexual abuse. However, official rates for child maltreatment are over ten times lower than these.
The authors conclude "Child maltreatment is common, and for many it is a chronic condition, with repeated and ongoing maltreatment merging into adverse outcomes throughout childhood and into adulthood. More attention needs to be given to neglected children. There is mounting evidence that the consequences of childhood neglect can be as damaging - or perhaps even more damaging - to a child than physical or sexual abuse."
For those who have three quarters of an hour to spare highlights from the press conference to launch the series are available here in mp3 format.
As I said in my post regarding the introduction of the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland the Scottish Government are launching a consultation to explore whether legislation can add to the protection to those forced into marriage in Scotland. "Whether to marry and to whom should be a decision entered into freely," Communties Minister Stephen Maxwell said. "Forced marriage is a violation of human rights, an infringement of liberty and an abhorrent practice which has no place here in Scotland."
The paper Forced Marriage, A Civil Remedy? is available from the Scottish Government and the consultation is open until 28 March 2009 The freephone line – 0800 141 2759 – will be open from 5 December 2008 until 5 March 2009. The questionnaire is also available online at www.forcedmarriages.org.uk
Thanks to The Journal for the lead.
This is a video of the Public Petitions Committee considering a petition by Bill Alexander calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to reform the legal system to adopt the Scandinavian system of allowing unrestricted access to legal representation before the court for example by allowing non-lawyers to appear in court on behalf of other parties. At present only solicitors who are members of the Law Society of Scotland have Rights of Audience.
The Committee agreed to seek responses on the issues raised in the petition from the Scottish Government, Faculty of Advocates, Law Society of Scotland, Scottish Law Commission and the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission.
Nigel Don, Scottish Nationalist MSP who sits on the Justice Committee, appears then to go off on a tangent about party litigants. He said it isn't wise for someone to represent themselves bearing in mind a lawyer is an officer of the court and isn't there just to represent their client, but to assist a court to come the right answer.
I can't help thinking if a solicitor is there to assist the court come to the right answer and not just represent their client what is the point in both parties having a solicitor? Also whilst I agree being a party litigant is not advisable I do believe that the law should be accessible for the ordinary person in the street to represent themselves should they wish.
The DWP has released a report, Realising potential: A vision for personalised conditionality and support by Professor Paul Gregg a Bristol University academic today. Reforms abroad have created strong links between increased support and an increased requirement for individuals to take up the support provided. It is said this is particulary true in the Scandinavian countries. A vision is set out for a single regime, where virtually everyone claiming benefits and not in work should be looking for or engaging in activity to help them move towards employment. Lone parents with youngest children aged one to seven should be expected to improve their employment prospects as a condition of benefits. Research has found children may gain from their parents being in work (Millar & Ridge, 2001) but it has also shown that there are limits to the benefits to be gained from working. For example, the report says evidence suggests that parental employment may not be beneficial for the development of children under 12 to 18 months old.
This seems short sighted when there are international concerns about very young children being in childcare. There has been a big increase in the number of children and young people with mental health problems in the UK since 1980 and this has been is across the board affecting children from intact families as well as those from separated families. Some of this might be due to awareness and more recognition of the problems but this doesn't explain all the increase. There is a high probability mental health problems are associated with childhood attachments and a recent study in a Scandinavian country, Sweden, found insecure attachments in 40% of children as opposed to 25% reported in the UK.
Internationally recognized expert in the field of child development and family studies and Professor of Psychology at the University of London, Jay Belsky, argues having a full-time parental presence at home is what’s best for very young children in his paper Developmental Risks (Still) Associated with Early Child Care. Socialbaby.com quotes Sir Richard Bowlby, son of John Bowlby who first outlined the theory of attachment, about the importance of attachment theory for understanding childcare provision here. And The Sydney Morning Herald reports why psychologist, Steve Biddulph, suggests that at least during the first two years of life, brain development unfolds at its optimum with one-to-one care.
Why when there is this type of evidence recommend lone parents should be looking for work before children are at least two or three years old, and anyway where will the jobs come from?
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