Wednesday 30 April 2014

Child Prostitutes - Rotherham MP in fight to change the law

Sarah Champion MP
 
 
"A South Yorkshire MP is celebrating after ministers agreed to consider removing the term ‘child prostitutes’ from Government legislation concerning victims of child sexual exploitation.
Sarah Champion, who represents Rotherham, has been lobbying for the removal of the terminology since her involvement in a major study into the sexual exploitation of children by children’s charity Barnardo’s.
The work was commissioned after it emerged that victims in Rotherham had been failed by the authorities for years, with leaked reports revealing a lack of action and prosecutions of culprits despite allegations of abuse and of gangs of men grooming vulnerable youngsters for sex.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Ms Champion urged ministers to take action and to remove archaic references to ‘child prostitutes’ from British law.
“There are currently 16 pieces of legislation that use the term ‘child prostitute’,” the Labour MP said.
“I have spoken to young people who have been victims of child sexual exploitation, and they say the expression makes them feel dirty and complicit.”
Home Affairs Minister Norman Baker said he was ‘very sympathetic’ to proposals recommended in the Barnardo’s report published last month.
He praised Ms Champion’s work and said he will consider how best to alter existing legislation.
“I am very sympathetic to that suggestion,” he said.
“Children who are sexually exploited, whether for commercial or other reasons, should not be referred to as prostitutes. They are victims.
“We will consider references in all legislation and guidance as opportunities arise, as well as considering carefully the wording used in any new legislation or guidance.”"
 
Fantastic news!
 
Regular readers will know that amongst other things, I have highlighted some of the appalling language both used in the media and in UK Legislation when it comes to describing sexual crimes committed against children. However whilst I have had success in the last few years in getting (some of) the media to see the offense they cause to victims, and the way in which they trivialise these crimes, so far I have had less success with regards to getting legislation changed.
 
Until March, it has been a case of banging a head against a brick wall - I have lost count of the amount of e-mails that have been sent from person to person to various departments & back again, just to get a small amount of wording changed in a few small pieces of legislation!! In March however I did manage to get contact with a Labour MP (not Sarah in the above article) who would help me take this forward.
 
Obviously as well as getting this particular part of wording changed (Child Prostitutes), it would be even better to at the same time get the rest changed (Children and Pornography), so I will be contacting both to see if this is something that can be achieved. With so much news over the last couple of year, being on child abuse and (supposedly) "victims rights", hopefully this is something that can once and for all be taken seriously, looked into and amended accordingly.


2 comments:

  1. http://spotlightonabuse.wordpress.com/2013/05/12/a-former-cabinet-minister-and-other-mps-were-part-of-sidney-cooke-paedophile-network/

    A former Cabinet Minister and other MPs were part of Sidney Cooke paedophile network

    The Mirror ran a story in February which claimed that a former cabinet minister was “part of a VIP ­paedophile ring that was regularly handed boys by child rapist and killer Sidney Cooke for vile sex orgies.”

    “A former detective who worked on the original investigation into Cooke told the Sunday Mirror that the minister was among those alleged to have been ­photographed in a 1986 police surveillance on premises where boys had been dropped off. Others allegedly included Jimmy Savile, MP Cyril Smith and top judges – though none of them were ever arrested.”

    http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/former-tory-faces-child-sex-1714162

    A Daily Express article from 1989 corroborates these allegations, but also says other MPs (plural) were involved, not just Cyril Smith, and none of them were even questioned.

    “They are said to be members of a massive underground paedophile network which stretches across Britain and into Europe…Detectives even heard allegations that a former Cabinet Minister and other MPs were involved in child-sex activities. None was questioned.”



    The gang is believed to have killed up to 20 children

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    Replies
    1. www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ex-tory-minister-pictured-child-sex-3300248

      www.exaronews.com/articles/5225/customs-seized-video-of-child-sex-abuse-and-ex-cabinet-minister
      No action was taken against the carrier (Russell Tricker) or the cabinet minister and the material was aledgedly handed to MI5

      www.exaronews.com/articles/5226/man-who-tried-to-import-video-i-did-not-know-what-was-inside
      Russell Tricker had links to a number of paedophiles and conviction for paedophilia (one overturned on appeal in Holland because the boy's fake documents claimed that he was not underage) [an innocent mistake in Holland ?]

      www.exaronews.com/articles/5174/met-s-vip-paedophiles-probe-turns-into-murder-investigation
      Convicted child snatcher and party organiser Sidney Cooke liked to strangle or half strangle the boys while he raped them

      Is this the same Russell Tricker mentioned in the Guardian by Nick Davies as being a traficer of children for the sex abuse industry and possibly even for snuff movies ?
      http://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/nov/27/childprotection.uk

      Operation Fernbridge articles and updates:
      http://www.exaronews.com/content/child-sex-abuse-fernbridge-and-fairbank-exaro-story-thread

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