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Syfer

Well done Zibby, a perfectly logical appeal but it always take someone to make it happen, and well done to the Guernsey Press for supporting Zibby.

But I wish draw readers attention to an important matter. Presently the law is that no setting which care for children in “loco parentis,” (schools, care homes, clubs, sporting organisations etc.,) are under any statutory legal obligation to report either allegations or actual abuse to social services or police.

This is the case in Guernsey and also Jersey, England, Wales, Scotland and in common law Eire.

In Eire, victims of clergy abuse have been calling for mandatory reporting in light of the years of non-reporting / referral by the church. So far it has not happened and issues of non-reporting continue.

In Guernsey, unless a school and similar settings in which children are cared for by adults other than their parents, undertake in writing within their child protection policies to refer ALL allegations of alleged abuse to the SSD, a setting in Jersey in not obligated to report such matters to anyone, and there is no sanction on the setting or the adult for failing to report.

Child protection is grounded on the statutory framework. In this case the law is hopeless and needs to be overhauled and brought into line with first word countries including the US, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and other common law countries. As a result adults failing to report allegations and abuse are now being held to account in the courts.

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