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CHILDREN 1ST annual lecture given by Esther Rantzen CBE
03/10/2007
.jpg "Anne Houston and Esther Rantzen CBE")
At the annual CHILDREN 1ST Lecture in Glasgow City Chambers on October 1st, ChildLine founder Esther Rantzen CBE called for an overhaul of the way children who have suffered abuse give evidence.
In her "Changing Children's Lives" speech, she called for an end to the current legal system, which she described as "institutionalised child abuse", and said the current adversarial system was not designed to get the truth out of children but was instead "a game played by arcane rules which often flies in the face of common sense."
The children's campaigner compared the UK legal system to Norway, where children do not go near courtrooms. Instead, trained professionals question the child and look for corroborating evidence and, she said "get closer to the truth."
She called for children to be completely removed from the court system - not just in abuse cases - and said that an inquisitorial rather than the current adversarial system would lead to cases which were "much clearer and much more truthful."
She urged reform, saying: "Scotland is rightly proud of its rational legal system. Let the Scottish Government put together a Commission of Enquiry which investigates the many, better, more reliable ways of protecting children in courts around the world. And please, please, invite me to take part!"
She concluded: "By calling it institutionalised child abuse, I hope we can start taking the current legal situation seriously, and acknowledge that it can lead to the premature death of the young people involved."
"I am sick of hearing these stories of how the law lets children and families down. It is our job to ensure children can disclose abuse and that the people who hurt them are punished."
CHILDREN 1ST, which took over the running of Childline Scotland in April, has been at the forefront of campaigning for a change in the law in Scotland to enable vulnerable child witnesses give their best evidence in court.
The 2004 Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Act, which is currently being phased in, was a positive change in the law to support child witnesses. The option of giving evidence behind a screen or via a CCTV link, and being accompanied by a supporter are just some measures it brought into the Scottish court system. However, CHILDREN 1ST believes that much more needs to be done.
CHILDREN 1ST chief executive, Anne Houston (pictured with Esther above), said: "Children have told me that often, giving evidence in court is more harrowing for them than the abuse itself."
"We believe that young people must be helped to overcome traumatic events, and that abuse which has blighted their childhood must not be allowed to blight their lives as adults. To do this however, we need justice for children."
Last updated: 11/04/2009
