New law could see parents jailed for up to 10 years.
imrightok
Posts: 8,492 Forum Member
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Emotional abuse/ neglect of'your'children could see a parent jailed for up to 10 years. That's dangerous imo.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2593042/Cinderella-Law-stop-emotional-abuse-children-Parents-fail-love-face-prison.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2593042/Cinderella-Law-stop-emotional-abuse-children-Parents-fail-love-face-prison.html
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no it would not include the rich and powerful people would it>:(
Laws like this are merely to control a certain social class, they will never be applied towards the well-to-do.
You mean it would not apply to loving parents who briefly and accidentally leave a child behind? Do you want it to?
If 42 countries already have laws against emotional abuse, we have plenty of opportunities to see how it works out in practice.
If, for example, children are customarily roaming the streets late into the night, and it turns out that that is because no parents are at home, that is neglect. It is fair to suggest that it should be treated along the same lines as punching a child during an angry row. Both are unacceptable and harmful.
Edit: blimey, look at my post count.
Oh look at that - you're about to make your 60,000th post. Best make it one to remember!
just because something is rich does not make them a caring parent does>:(
I didn't realise we had any laws that could be applied retrospectively, if that's the case then its wrong.
How can anyone be prosecuted for commiting legal acts, its absurd.
'Emotional abuse' has never been legal, just never acted upon.
What will be classed as emotional abuse?
Some would say not reading to your kids.
SS came out the very next day. The children were left in the situation. They came out again, every week for a month or so. Now - no contact. Nothing has happened.
The council have offered to give us recording equipment, and that is probably the way we will have to go, or something will happen and as ever, the 'neighbours who did nothing' will get the blame.
I think it is a good idea. (I had a neglectful stepmother who only actually hit me once or twice but did starve me, and neglect me badly).
ETA: Forgot to say but right now, SS, and the council are fully aware of our neighbours' behaviour towards their children (we think the mother is a known alkie or druggie and from hints the council dropped to me, was already known to the relevant agencies). Yet they do nothing to get the kids to a place of safety because it is our word against their's and when the council/SS go round, they are met with two clean, well presented children and a man and woman utterly denying they even shout at their kids at all. But the day I rang I thought something awful was happening as the child also had this weird cry. I have worked with kids. My other neighbour, who advised me to ring SS, works with troubled kids. I don't get why the authorities haven't done something, and are taking the word of people who clearly already have form. That said I saw this a lot when teaching - that we'd raise the alarm on a kid, and the SS would return them to the abusive parent within hours, sometimes.
Look at the maximum sentences available for most crimes, and sentencing never comes close to it.
True, but a criminal record will hang over the head of the accused/guilty based on someone's interpretation of emotional abuse.
We have no idea if they are loving parents, no one knows what happens behind closed doors, but there are some actions that set alarm bells off, the pub incident is one, and of course we could look at the famous missing child case where night after night, children were left to cry, so much so that neighbours heard and one of the children commented on being left alone.That would be a case of emotional abuse surely?
im sure there will be a get out clause for well connected middle class types for examples Doctors
Mistakes to my mind do not mean you don't care, how many times does a parent think the child is with the other parent and vice versa ? So how anyone could put that on the same level as sustained emotional / mental abuse that some kids receive which leaves them scarred for life is beyond me , it sounds more like point scoring than concern.
As long as some social services do not jump on minor mistakes to meet their targets whilst ignoring harder cases and as long as they do not investigate with preconceived ideas and assumption of guilt.
No. That incident was 'well within the bounds of responsible parenting'. Or some other bullshine like that apparently
Judging by sentencing policy now they are talking about dads.
The government are aiming to punish most women to community sentences ( apart from the most serious cases) and there are plans afoot to close most womensprisons, so there would be nowhere to send them.
You can't be retrospectively prosecuted for a new law, unless it's specifically included to allow it, and that in the UK is extremely rare (I can't think of any such law off the top of my head).
The new laws go far beyond the old emotional abuse law, which was rarely acted upon because it was hard to get a conviction. It would be even harder many years later to get a conviction under that old law.
I am very much in fvour of the proposed new law, or rather amendments to current law, which is what I think will happen. It would help to discourage such things as one estranged parent trying to turn the child against the other parent to 'get back at them'. That's one of the most shattering things anyone can do to a small child - along with all the other things listed by the article linked at the top, and is far worse than, for example, occasional smacking of young children of the kind currently allowed in law in the UK. I hope it would stop parents from screaming in their kids faces all the time, which seems to happen in some circles and is also worse than occasional legal smacking of young children IMO.
They'll only ever prosecute in the worst cases though, I think (too costly otherwise)..