Hello & Welcome!

I have started this group due to the growing concerns regarding our childrens safety.  Stories of child cruelty around the world are growing at a very fast rate.

Each year across the world millions of people become proud parents. but there are also a lot of people who are not as fortunate as these parents.  A child is a special gift from the almighty god to a few lucky people.  I feel the pain of all those people who are unable to have children for themselves.  The pain of not having a child of their own is far greater then anything you can imagine.

Among these lucky people, there are a few who do not appreciate this special gift.  The cruelty their child has to endure is unacceptible.  I understand that a lot of parents have no choice due to poverty, starvation, famine and war.  This sought of reasoning still does not justify those parents actions to put their children to the risk of cruelty and danger.

In this world there is another sought of people who have no right to be classed as human beings.  These people mentally, physically and sexually abuse their own children.  In the UK alone there are thousands of children being abused by their parents and by others.  A lot of these cases are not reported, and when it is, it is to late, the damage has been done.  Many children die each year through starvation, lack of medical care and physicall violance.

It is our moral duty as human beings to stop and prevent cruelty to children in whatever form it may be.  I may not be able to stop or prevent cruelty to our children on my own.  With your help and the help of organised charities, we may one day abolish child cruelty all together. If you know any child that is suffering, then please dont ignore it.  Notify the relevent authority immediately.

Your voice could save an innocent childs life

NEWS UPDATE

ANOTHER CHILD IS LOST

Battered baby suffered horrific violence, court hears

LONDON (AFP) - A baby boy who died after being battered to death, allegedly by his mother and her partner, was subjected to a series of horrifying assaults throughout his short life, a court heard on Tuesday.

Jurors hearing evidence at the Old Bailey in London were told how the infant, who died in August last year, was found to have a series of injuries inflicted shortly before his death -- including eight fractured ribs and a broken back.

He also had a large number of bruises, cuts on his head and ears, the tops of his fingers were missing, along with a toenail.

The cause of death was said to be a blow which knocked out one of his teeth which he then swallowed.

The 27-year-old mother and her partner, 32, both of whom are standing trial for murder, cannot be named for legal reasons.

"Over the last seven or eight months of his short life, he was subjected to a course of assaults of increasing violence," prosecutor Sally O'Neill told the court .

"The death of any child is tragic. The death of a child in these circumstances is likely to fill any reasonable person with revulsion."

The mother, who was diagnosed with post-natal depression shortly after the baby was born in March 2006, met her current boyfriend three months later.

By the time her son was nine months old, she had taken him to the doctor on several occasions.

On on occasion, when he was around six months, she appeared concerned she might be "accused of hurting him", the jury heard.

A month later, he was found to have bruises on his chest and head, which the mother said was due to him falling down some stairs.

It was only in December when the first "significant" injury date was noted, O'Neill said, when he was found to have a five-centimetre (two-inch) injury to his forehead and bluish colouration over his nose, as well as bruising to his chest.

The mother "seemed flustered and unable to provide a clear explanation for the injuries", later telling a consultant he had fallen off the sofa onto a toy, and had been scratched by the dog.

The toddler was taken to hospital and his mother arrested, but not charged. At this point, social services intervened and his name was placed on the Child Protection Register.

The woman and her boyfriend, along with a third man -- 36-year-old Jason Owen from Bromley in Kent -- all deny murder.

"All three defendants deny any wrongdoing, either claiming they knew nothing of what was going on or that one of their co-defendants was responsible," O'Neill told the jury.

child Abuse

Every year, millions of children across the world are becoming innocent helpless targets of atrocities. They are the sufferers of ill-treatment, exploitation, and brutality. They are part of human trafficking to induce into prostitution rackets. In terror prone regions, they are kidnapped from their homes and schools and their innocent childhood is forced into the army to witness the brunt of cruelty. They are enforced into debt repression or other kinds of slavery.

The consequences of child abuse are overwhelmingly disturbing! It denies a child its basic right-education. While violence and abuse pose a threat to their life, it also offers more devastating adverse effects on their mental and physical health. Often it leads to homelessness, resulting in increased number of cases of vagrancy giving birth to a feeling of depression. To worsen the scenario, these victims are more likely to abuse their own children in future, thanks to the deep impact on their mind! And the cycle will continue for ever!!

Though the agony and the plight of these children remain suppressed in silence, the brunt of their exploitation is very real. Although, the whole world is morally fuming at the abuse children endure. Yet, protection laws against child abuse commonly meet with confrontation at all strata of society. The reason behind this is simple. Most forms of Child abuse take place in private and are linked with crime and corruption. It is simply observed as "secretly endured and openly denied".

Several international standards and laws have been created and enforced for protection of child from abuse. However, massive loop holes are still there in their practical implementation. The situation has sadly remained status quo. Of late, UNICEF has identified and concentrated its focus on six special conditions in which children get abused.

Forced or Bonded Labor

International Labor Organization (ILO) has carried a survey that revealed a shocking statistic. An estimated 300 million children are exploited regularly as child labor. To worsen the fact, around 200 million children are compelled to work in perilous environments with least safety norms like mines or factories, or in the vicinity of dangerous substances such as chemicals and agricultural pesticides. There are some 6 million children working under particularly terrible conditions, including the virtual slavery of bonded labor.

Human Trafficking

The use of children as a service for the purpose of cheap labor or sex has become a rewarding trade around the world since ages. Every year, an estimated 1.2 million children are illegally trafficked for these heinous purposes. It is difficult to identify and locate as it is associated with isolated, underground activity like other forms of criminal activity. It is also related with the poverty of parents and often they are not aware of its hazards, believing that their children might have the chance for a better life outside their own poverty ridden lives. Frequently, trafficked children are detained and treated as unlawful aliens. In Asia and Eastern Europe, young girls from the age of 12 are trafficked in western Asia as ‘potential brides’ to satisfy the lures of few. Many girls are lured and then compelled to work in flesh industry every coming day.

Sexual Exploitation

Although it is hard to enumerate, around 1 million children including significant number of boys are exploited every year in the multibillion-dollar flesh trade. Commercial sexual abuse of children is often initiated and encouraged by local elements. Statistically, sexual tourism plays very minor role, contrary to the earlier perception. However, The Internet is emerging as the potential stimulator to promote child pornography globally and this has become a cause of concern. Studies have revealed that children are most often sexually abused by their closed ones.

Children who are used as soldiers

Reports of UNICEF studies have shown that around 2 million children have died as a direct result of war, armed conflict over the last decade. At least 6 million children are suffering from serious injuries or they are permanently disabled. At present, over 300,000 child soldiers, some as young as eight, are exploited in armed conflicts in more than 30 countries around the world.

Separation from parents

They are deprived of their primary means of protection. This category includes children who have lost their parents or care takers temporary or permanently due to varied reasons like outcome of war, orphanage, boarding schools, and psychiatric units. Separation from parents and family is usually detrimental factor to the overall physical and mental development of a child. In addition, induction in such institutions is quite risky. Involuntary separation from both family and community protection, greatly increases a child’s risk of exposure to violence, physical abuse and even death.

Violence

From schools to homes, various forms of punishments and torture are a common thing to locate. It occurs in every strata of community. The results are more disturbing. They carry this pain and burnt throughout their life. This type also carries the risk of life in certain cases along with permanent injuries.Case Studies:

Case information collected from BBC NEWS

'Witch' child cruelty trio guilty

Sita Kisanga was warned she faced a jail sentence Three people have been convicted over the torture of an eight-year-old girl they thought was a witch. The Old Bailey heard the orphan was beaten, cut and had chilli peppers rubbed in her eyes to "beat the devil out of her", in Hackney, east London. The child's aunt was found guilty of child cruelty charges while Sita Kisanga and her brother Sebastian Pinto were convicted of aiding and abetting. The trio, all from London, have been warned they face jail sentences. Beating ordeal The girl's aunt, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was convicted of four charges of child cruelty, while Kisanga, 35, of Hackney, east London, was found guilty of three charges of aiding and abetting child cruelty. Pinto, 33, of Stoke Newington, north London, was found guilty of one charge of aiding and abetting. 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 Dr Richard Hoskins Abuse masquerading as religion The two women were found not guilty of conspiracy to murder. The three were remanded in custody and were told by Judge Christopher Moss that they faced jail sentences. The women were warned their terms were likely to be "lengthy".   The cruelty started at the beginning of 2003 when a boy told his mother that the girl had been practising witchcraft. It was an accusation the woman believed. Jurors were told that the child was cut with a knife and beaten with a belt and shoe to "beat the devil out of her" during her ordeal at a flat in Hackney, east London. During police interviews, the girl said Kisanga had cornered her in the kitchen and told her "today you die". The court also heard the girl, now 10, was put into a laundry bag and believed she would be "thrown away" into a river. Patricia May, prosecuting, said: "This child was treated as a scapegoat by family members, tormented, subjected to all sorts of assaults which must have caused her considerable pain, fear and distress." 'Distressing case' The orphan was brought to Britain from Angola in 2002 by her 38-year-old aunt after her parents died. Det Supt Chris Bourlet, head of the Metropolitan Child Abuse Command, said: "This was a distressing case involving a vulnerable child who suffered at the hands of adults who should have cared for and protected her." 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". Hackney Council said it was "pleased that this distressing case had been successfully resolved".

Catalogue of cruelty

David Batty chronicles some of the most the shocking child killings that have rocked this country in the past 60 years

1945

Dennis O'Neil, 13, was beaten to death by his foster father, Reginald Gough, at Bank Farm, Shropshire. A post-mortem examination revealed he had been starved for months and weighed just four stone. The murder trial revealed that he had sucked the farm cows' udders in a desperate attempt to get some sustenance. The case shook a war weary Britain and there was a national outcry when Gough was jailed for six years for manslaughter. An appeal court ruling changed the verdict to murder and his sentence was extended to 10 years. A Home Office inquiry identified a string of failures by the staff and agencies involved in the case. There had been confusion between the two local authorities responsible for the boy's foster placement, conflicting reports by childcare staff about his wellbeing, staff shortages and miscommunication.

1973

Maria Colwell, seven, died in Brighton after being starved and beaten by her stepfather, William Kepple. She had suffered brain damage, a fractured rib, black eyes, extensive external bruising and internal injuries. Maria had been fostered by her aunt and uncle because her mother, Pauline, could not cope with bringing up five children on her own. Five years later Pauline decided she wanted her daughter back. But an inquiry by the Department of Health found that East Sussex county council had insufficient evidence to return the girl. There were 50 official visits to the family, including from social workers, health visitors, police and housing officers. All agencies involved in the case were criticised.

1984

Jasmine Beckford was starved and battered to death by her stepfather, Maurice Beckford. He was found guilty of the four-year-old's manslaughter and jailed for 10 years. Her mother, Beverley Lorrington, was jailed for 18 months for neglect. Jasmine had been in the care of Brent social services for two-and-a-half years before she died, after Beckford was convicted of assaulting her younger sister. She was seen by a social worker only once in 10 months.

1984

Tyra Henry died after being battered and bitten by her father, Andrew Neil, while in local authority care. Neil was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment for the 21-month-old baby's murder. A report on the case found that the white social workers from Lambeth council tended to be too trusting of the family because they were black. John Patten, then a junior social services minister, published new guidelines on child abuse cases for social workers soon after.

1984

Heidi Koseda starved to death in a locked room in Hillingdon, west London. Her stepfather, Nicholas Price, was jailed for life for her murder while her mother, Rosemary Koseda, was found guilty of manslaughter and detained in a high security psychiatric hospital. A private inquiry into her death found that the senior National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children inspector allocated to her case failed to investigate a complaint of child abuse made by a neighbour. He also tried to cover this up with a fictitious account of a visit to see the child.

1986

Kimberley Carlile, four, was starved and beaten to death in Greenwich. Her stepfather, Nigel Hall, received a life sentence for her murder while her mother was given 12 years' imprisonment for assault and cruelty. Hall frustrated attempts by social workers and health visitors to investigate. But an inquiry found that her death was avoidable and concluded that four key social work and health staff in Greenwich failed to apply the necessary skill, judgement and care in her case.

1987

Doreen Mason died of neglect after her mother and her boyfriend bruised, burnt and broke the 16-month-old's leg then failed to have her injuries treated. Christine Mason and Roy Aston were convicted of manslaughter and cruelty and each jailed for 12 years. Doreen was on the "at risk" register of Southwark council from birth. She slept on the floor where the couple put junk food for her to eat. A report said her social worker was inexperienced and given no proper training or supervision, and that Southwark social services department suffered from a "siege mentality" and "destructive mistrust" between senior managers.

1992

Leanne White, three, was beaten to death by her stepfather, Colin Sleate, who made her sleep on the floor. The girl suffered 107 external injuries and died of internal bleeding and repeated blows to the stomach. Sleate was jailed for life for the girl's murder while her mother, Tina, received 10 years for manslaughter. An inquiry concluded that her death could have been prevented if Nottinghamshire social services had responded properly to reports from her grandmother and neighbours that she was at risk.

1994

Rikki Neave, six, was found strangled by his coat zipper in a wood near Peterborough. His drug addict mother, Ruth, was jailed after admitting cruelty towards Rikki and two of his three sisters. She hit them, burned them, threw them across the room and locked them outside. Neave had asked a succession of social workers to take the boy off her hands and told one she would kill Rikki if they did not do something. A report by the social services inspectorate three years later said fault primarily lay with senior management in Cambridgeshire social services department.

1999

Chelsea Brown, two, was battered to death by her father. Robert Brown, who was jailed for life for her murder, had a criminal record for violence against children. Her mother, Maria Brown, was jailed for 18 months for child cruelty. The girl's social worker, Norma McDevitt, visited the family 27 times in the 10 weeks before her death. She took Chelsea to a paediatrician who said that six out of nine areas of bruising "had no plausible explanation" and at least one was deliberately inflicted. These findings should have triggered police involvement and a multi-agency case conference under Derbyshire county council's procedures, but neither happened.

2000

Victoria Climbié, eight, died from hypothermia in a tiny flat in Tottenham, north London, after suffering months of horrific abuse and neglect. Her aunt, Marie Thérèse Kouao, and her boyfriend, Carl Manning, were both jailed for life for the girl's murder in January 2001. A public inquiry into her death began in September 2001, which is expected to lead to sweeping reform of Britain's child protection services. It has heard that there were at least 12 chances for the agencies involved in her protection to have saved her. Two social workers from the London borough of Haringey have been suspended and face disciplinary proceedings.

2000

Lauren Wright, six, was found dead after suffering a fatal punch or kick from her stepmother, Tracey Wright, which caused her digestive system to collapse. The woman was found guilty of manslaughter, as was the girl's father, Craig Wright, who had turned a blind eye to her abuse. Norfolk social services department has admitted it made serious mistakes and missed chances to save Lauren. An inquiry found that inter-agency coordination was "ineffective" and social workers had not acted with "due urgency".

2002

Ainlee Labonte, two, was starved and tortured to death by her vicious parents, Leanne Labonte and Dennis Henry. The couple, from Plaidstow, east London, were jailed for manslaughter for deliberately punching, scalding and burning the toddler, who had 64 scars and bruises on her body when she died. She weighed just 9.5kg (21lbs), about half the normal weight of a child that age. An inquiry into her death found that the health and social workers who should have protected her failed to do so because they were paralysed with fear of Leanne and Dennis. It criticised the staff and agencies involved for poor communication and for failing to carry out a proper assessment of the risks facing Ainlee.