News

World paedophile register moves closer
Latest Extended Schools Announcement
Charities warn of 'witchcraft' and child abuse

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16 June 2005 - World paedophile register moves closer

Plans for a world paedophile register look set to move a step closer at a summit of key economic powers. G8 nation interior ministers decided in 2003 the database would be set up and are now looking at what is required to make it work technically.

It will store images of offenders and victims found on the web and computers. Images will be shared across borders by police forces making identification of offenders and victims easier.

UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke is chairing Thursday's Sheffield summit of interior ministers from the G8 - which is made up of seven of the world's richest nations plus Russia.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The G8 two years ago commissioned a report on how we could do this with new technology and how we can work together well.

"Interpol has done the work ... and there has been very good progress. We have been able to use the technology and take it forward. And as a means of tackling this kind of vile organised crime, it is very positive."

A database run by British police already holds 800,000 images thought to involve 3,000 victims but only a limited number of children are understood to have been identified.

A Home Office spokesman said the new project was expected to cost about £2m to set up. Mr Clarke said: "It will allow comparison of images in a controlled and secure way, to free up officers' time so they can investigate other images.

"Technology allows us to overcome a number of problems in this area."

The computer software was expected to identify whether a room or background scene had been used in multiple images of child abuse, he said.

It is hoped more paedophiles will be caught by combining information from different G8 countries about abusers, victims and locations - including international gangs who exploit cross-border weaknesses.

Mr Clarke said the database "will be up and running during the course of this calendar year", with other states likely to join once the project begins.

Work on drawing up plans for the international child sexual exploitation database began in 2003.

A report outlining the technical specifications required by police is expected to be given to Interpol in the autumn.

Operation Ore, the UK's anti-paedophile project, has rescued more than 100 children from sex offenders. A total of 7,250 people were identified in the UK, of whom 3,537 have been arrested, 1,679 charged and 1,230 convicted.

Source bbc.co.uk/news

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13 June 2005 - Latest Extended Schools Announcement

Teaching unions have cautiously welcomed plans that could see English schools stay open from 8am to 6pm. Education Secretary Ruth Kelly is set to announce the proposals for extended hours on Monday.

Under the £680m scheme, volunteers or private companies - rather than teachers - will supervise pupils' extra-curricular activities. But some teaching unions believe the number of schools involved will mean budgets are spread too thinly.

"The £680 million sounds like new money but across 23,000 schools, it will be spread very thinly," a spokeswoman for the National Union of Teachers said.

She added the union was pleased there would be no attempt to make teachers take on the additional responsibilities.

"Teachers are already overburdened but control over the provision must remain with the schools to ensure that there's no conflict or undermining of the primary purpose of the school which is to educate children."

The Sunday Telegraph says the plan may also upset Labour MPs concerned about the role of the private sector.

The education secretary has previously indicated there would be "an explicit duty on local authorities" to secure the necessary facilities.

BBC political correspondent Shaun Ley says better childcare to take the pressure off working parents was one of the new ideas for a third term in government promoted in Labour's election manifesto.

Under the plans, every primary and secondary school will be required to provide extended services within the next five years.

We all know that anti-social behaviour occurs when kids are footloose and fancy-free and are not occupying themselves

Activities could include sports, language tuition, drama groups and cultural visits, as well as breakfast clubs.

Ms Kelly is expected to unveil the plans during a visit to a London primary school on Monday.

"The best schools are delivering extended services already," she told the Sunday Telegraph.

"They know that children will be better placed to achieve their full potential if they are in child care that allows them to complete their homework, keep fit and healthy and have fun."

Teaching union NASUWT, which was consulted over the plans, said the government had made a "categorical commitment" that teachers would not have to work extra hours.

But general secretary Chris Keates said funding remained an issue.

"The first thing you have to consider about the funding is that it's not expected that every school will have this extended provision.

"It gives a false impression of the money if you take it and divide it by every school in the country."

The Professional Association of Teachers said it was not against the plans.

"In light of all the media reports about anti-social behaviour, we all know that anti-social behaviour occurs when kids are footloose and fancy-free and are not occupying themselves," general secretary Jean Gemmell said.

"In that respect it's a positive thing."

But Mrs Gemmell warned that details about who was responsible for buildings and equipment during the extended hours would have to be sorted out.

Both the Tories and Liberal Democrats raised concerns about funding for the proposals.

Shadow education secretary David Cameron said: "We welcome the proposals for breakfast clubs and after school clubs - they can be real help to working mothers," he said.

"The new system must be flexible, as the same one won't be right for every family.

"But the government has real questions to answer over funding."

Liberal Democrat education spokesman Edward Davey said: "These plans sound promising but Ruth Kelly will need to answer questions on whether this is real new money or whether schools will be forced to find these resources from other areas of their budgets."

Source bbc.co.uk

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04 June 2005 - Charities warn of 'witchcraft' and child abuse

Hundreds of central African children living in the UK may have suffered abuse or even been killed after being accused of witchcraft, charities say. The warning follows the conviction of three people over the torture of an eight-year-old girl.

Four London charities, working with people from central Africa, told BBC News this was not an isolated case. The children may have been returned to their home countries for "deliverance services" or other punishments.

In one case it was claimed an Angolan child had been sent home two years ago, and had since been killed. BBC correspondent Angus Crawford said community workers believed the growth of ‘breakaway churches’ could be one possible cause of the abuse.

A minority of these preach a powerful blend of traditional African beliefs and evangelical Christianity. Community workers also complain of ignorance on the part of the UK authorities, and a lack of resources to tackle the problem.

On Friday three adults were found guilty at the Old Bailey over the torture of an eight-year-old girl in Hackney, east London, after she was accused of witchcraft. The orphan was beaten, cut and had chilli peppers rubbed in her eyes to "beat the devil out of her". The child's aunt, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of child cruelty, while Sita Kisanga and her brother Sebastian Pinto were convicted of aiding and abetting.

The trio, all from London, were found not guilty of conspiracy to murder. They were remanded in custody and the women were warned they faced lengthy jail sentences.

Speaking exclusively to the BBC, Kisanga said the girl was possessed by an evil spirit, known as kindoki. "In our community, kindoki happens. It is killing people. It is doing bad things," she said.

The orphan was brought to Britain from Angola in 2002 by her 38-year-old aunt after the girl's parents died. The cruelty started at the beginning of 2003 when a boy told his mother that the girl had been practising witchcraft.

During police interviews, the girl said Kisanga had cornered her in the kitchen and told her "today you die". Spirit possession is also a common feature of African traditional religion and there is a belief that they can fly or mutate into other creatures

The court also heard the girl, now 10, was put into a laundry bag and believed she would be "thrown away" into a river.

Detective Superintendent Chris Bourlet, head of the Metropolitan Child Abuse Command, said such cases were difficult to police: "These are very small churches. Sometimes they meet in very small halls, sometimes in people's houses.

"It's not really the role of the police to go and watch churches."

Mary Marsh, director of the NSPCC, called the case "horrific", saying it had "exposed beliefs held by some in the African community that can lead to child abuse".

Penny Thompson, Hackney Council's Chief Executive, said the case was "very serious".

The City and Hackney Safeguarding Board, which monitors child protection agencies, would be making an independent inquiry.

A new unit called Project Violet had been set up to protect children from abuse as the result of religious or cultural beliefs, police said.

Source: bbc.co.uk

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