Despite dealing with abuse compensation claims on a daily basis I still find it depressing to see how often new cases of abuse appear in the news.
In the last couple of weeks there have been three separate cases with a common thread.
PC Nicholson has been dismissed from his job following an inappropriate relationship with a fourteen year old girl.
In Scotland children at a Glasgow school have been discouraged from wearing short skirts or tight trousers because of concerns about a local paedophile. Barry McClusky recently admitted to 49 sex charges involving young girls from the Glasgow area. He was a Nurse.
A couple of weeks ago, the Church of England were forced to admit that they had ordained a known paedophile in Roy Cotton. He went on to abuse many victims.
The common theme in these three recent newspapers articles is the position of power of the abusers – Nurse/Vicar/Policeman.
These are the members of society we trust and rely on the most yet here we have three individuals who have abused children despite their vocation.
In the large caseload my department runs this common theme is mirrored with children being abused by people in positions of trust, including Consultants, Teachers, Carers and Vicars.
Despite the need for applicants to pass a CRB check when applying for jobs involving working with children and the introduction of Sarah’s Law last year, which saw parents given the right to access information about convicted sex offenders who have contact with their children, we continue to see individuals who work closely with children being convicted of child abuse offences. This really begs the question, in our society is there anybody we can really trust?