Category Archives: Children

Judge questions US government claim it does not have to feed migrant children

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Los Angeles case revolves around question of whether people in makeshift camps along US-Mexico border are in legal custody

A federal judge has sharply questioned the Biden administration’s position that it is not responsible for housing and feeding migrant children while they wait in makeshift camps along the US-Mexico border.

Recent media reports have shed light on the harsh conditions at sites along the border, where people waiting for processing by US immigration authorities live under open skies or in tents or structures made of tree branches. The camps are often short on food, water and sanitation, relying on groups of volunteers to distribute aid and basic supplies.

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Queensland LNP vows to ditch ‘detention as last resort’ approach to youth crime

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Opposition leader David Crisafulli says LNP would rewrite Youth Justice Act ‘to put victims first’ if it wins October election

The Queensland Liberal National party opposition has vowed to remove the principle of detention as a last resort from the Youth Justice Act before year’s end if it wins the state election.

Speaking in Townsville on Tuesday, the LNP leader, David Crisafulli, revealed more detail about the party’s “Making Queensland safer laws” and accused Labor of having a “conga line of crises”.

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How Facebook Messenger and Meta Pay are used to buy child sexual abuse material

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Court documents and interviews detail the products’ role in alleged exploitation – and how some payments go undetected

When police in Pennsylvania arrested 29-year-old Jennifer Louise Whelan in November 2022, they charged her with dozens of counts of serious crimes, including sex trafficking and indecent assault of three young children.

One month earlier, police said they had discovered Whelan was using three children as young as six, all in her care, to produce child sex abuse material. She was allegedly selling and sending videos and photos to a customer over Facebook Messenger. She pleaded not guilty.

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Young people becoming less happy than older generations, research shows

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America’s top doctor says governments’ failure to better regulate social media is ‘insane’

Young people are becoming less happy than older generations as they suffer “the equivalent of a midlife crisis”, global research has revealed as America’s top doctor warned that “young people are really struggling”.

Dr Vivek Murthy, the US surgeon general, said allowing children to use social media was like giving them medicine that is not proven to be safe. He said the failure of governments to better regulate social media in recent years was “insane”.

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Killing of teenager in China sparks debate about ‘left behind’ children

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Death of 13-year-old boy has put spotlight on juvenile crime and the plight of children left behind by rural migrant workers

The killing of a 13-year-old boy in northern China last week, for which three boys are in police custody, has triggered a heated discussion in the media on juvenile crime and the plight of children left at home by migrant workers.

Police arrested three boys and took them into custody after they allegedly bullied and killed the junior high school student in the small city of Handan, in Hebei province, on 10 March, and then buried him in a shallow pit, state media reported. So far, no charges have been laid.

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Nearly 130,000 children exposed to lead-tainted drinking water in Chicago

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Study says the 19% of kids using unfiltered tap water have about twice as much lead in their blood as they would otherwise

About 129,000 Chicago children under the age of six are exposed to poisonous lead in their household drinking water because of lead pipes, according to a study published on Monday.

The study used artificial intelligence to analyse 38,000 home water tests conducted for the city of Chicago, along with neighborhood demographics, state blood samples and numerous other factors.

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Students suspended even for short spells fare worse at GCSEs, study finds

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Charity says findings from schools in England show need for early intervention and fewer exclusions

Children who are suspended from school in England even for short periods see their GCSE results suffer, according to research that highlights the need for early interventions to reduce suspensions.

Pupils who had been suspended were found to be lagging a year behind their peers and on average were unable to achieve a standard pass in GCSE maths and English.

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Overweight girls ‘more likely to see GP about musculoskeletal problems’

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Study finds reception-age girls with obesity 67% more likely to see doctor about musculoskeletal issues than those at healthy weight

Girls aged between four and 11 who are overweight or obese are more likely to see a GP at least once about musculoskeletal problems than their healthy weight peers, research suggests.

Pupils in reception year who had a body mass index considered overweight were 24% more likely to see a doctor at least once for a musculoskeletal issue while their peers who were living with obesity were 67% more likely to do so than girls with a healthy weight, the study found.

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‘It’s an absolute mess’: building work seriously delayed on 33 new special schools in England

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Promised provision, particularly for autistic children, was announced a year ago but few schools will open on time

Plans to deliver thousands of new special school places by 2026 are falling seriously behind, with experts branding the building programme “a mess”, the Observer can reveal.

The news calls into question the only announcement on schools the chancellor made in last week’s budget – a commitment of £105m towards 15 additional special schools.

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Children at risk as Australia lags behind other countries on car seat safety, experts say

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Road crash deaths are the leading cause of death for children aged 1 to 13 in Australia and experts say many could be prevented with better restraints

Leading child safety experts are calling for regulations around child car restraints to be brought into line with the medical evidence and similar countries worldwide, saying that “a large proportion” of Australian children are being put in danger of life-altering traumatic injuries or death every day due to inappropriate use of car and booster seats.

The calls come as the state and federal ministers for transport undertake a review of Australia’s child restraint rules, which have been condemned as out of step with safe practice guidelines.

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Swedish police call for ban on civilians wearing bulletproof vests

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Growing numbers buying protective gear as gangs recruit young people amid surge in violence across country

Police in southern Sweden have called for a ban on civilians wearing bulletproof vests, which they say do not have a place outside war zones because they cause fear in communities.

Increasing numbers of children and young people, including those under 15, are wearing protective vests in towns and cities, they said, as gang crime continues to pull in the younger generation in Sweden.

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Girl at YOI Wetherby was twice stripped by male officers, watchdog says

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Inspector says he was ‘deeply shocked’ by incidents with no female officer present at young offender institution

An “incredibly vulnerable” girl held in a young offender institution was pinned down and stripped by an all-male group of officers on at least two occasions, a watchdog has discovered.

Charities have called for all female offenders to be removed from YOI Wetherby in West Yorkshire after the damning disclosure by the chief inspector of prisons.

In the UK, the youth suicide charity Papyrus can be contacted on 0800 068 4141 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org, and in the UK and Ireland Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 988 or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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‘Profiteering off children’: care firms in England accused of squeezing cash from councils

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A local authority leader claims private equity groups are exploiting vulnerable youngsters in care homes in the pursuit of profit

Care companies are insisting on unnecessary and expensive support packages for vulnerable children to boost their profits, a council leader has claimed.

Barry Lewis, the Tory leader of Derbyshire county council, said that former family-run businesses acquired by private equity groups were trying to get “as much cash as possible” out of local authorities.

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Revealed: the names linked to ClothOff, the deepfake pornography app

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Exclusive: Guardian investigation for podcast series Black Box reveals names connected to app that generated nonconsensual images of underage girls around the world

The first Miriam al-Adib learned of the pictures was when she returned home from a business trip. “Mum,” said her daughter. “I want to show you something.”

The girl, 14, opened her phone to show an explicit image of herself. “It’s a shock when you see it,” said Adib, a gynaecologist in the southern Spanish town of Almendralejo and a mother of four daughters. “The image is completely realistic … If I didn’t know my daughter’s body, I would have thought that image was real.”

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Fines for unauthorised absence from school in England to rise by 33%

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Daily registers will also be shared online with DfE as part of government drive to improve attendance

Taking an unauthorised family holiday is about to get more expensive, with the government announcing that fines for children in England missing school are to rise by 33%.

The education secretary, Gillian Keegan, is to overhaul the way local authorities fine parents for unauthorised school absences by bringing penalties “under a national framework to help tackle inconsistencies”.

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One in five pregnant women in Gaza clinic are malnourished, doctors warn

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Women and children suffering acute malnutrition as territory faces ‘catastrophic conditions’, according to UN

One in five pregnant women treated at a central Gaza clinic are malnourished, doctors have warned, as fuel and medical supply shortages closed the last hospital operating in the north of the strip.

“Every day, we see women and children coming into our clinic suffering from acute malnutrition,” said Dr Maram, the lead physician for Project Hope.

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Teachers in England could face ban for failing to report evidence of sexual abuse of children

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Home secretary’s mandatory reporting legislation plan already covered by statutory duties, say school leaders

Teachers in England face being banned if they fail to report evidence of children being subjected to sexual abuse under plans for new legislation announced by the home secretary, James Cleverly.

The new law would make it a legal requirement for healthcare professionals, teachers and others who work with children and young people to identify and pass on cases of possible sexual abuse.

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Taunts, bullying… then groping: how sexual assaults are increasing in schools

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Billy (not real name) is now being home-schooled after bullying turned into physical violence

Starting secondary school had not been easy for Billy (not his real name). What started as verbal taunts from one boy soon saw him become the target of a group of four boys. Bullying became physical violence. Yet the abuse got even worse, escalating to sexual assault. The group would corner him in the toilets and grope and touch his genitals. Unsurprisingly, Billy’s mental health quickly deteriorated. He is now being home-schooled and he struggles to leave the house because of anxiety.

Billy is receiving support from Embrace, a charity that works with children who have been the victims of crime. He says that he is starting to feel stronger, while his parents say his panic attacks and nightmares are receding thanks to the support he is getting. However, what he experienced was part of an increase in “peer-on-peer abuse” that is worrying schools, police and professionals who work with young people.

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‘Toxic’ online culture fuelling rise in sexual assaults on children by other children, police warn

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Observer investigation in England and Wales reveals 40% increase in reports of sexual assaults and rapes where both victim and perpetrator were under 18

An alarming rise in sexual assaults on children by other children is being fuelled by access to a “toxic” online culture, Britain’s most senior child protection officer has warned, as an Observer investigation revealed a sharp increase in abuse by under-18s reported to police.

Police records of rape, sexual assaults and incidents of abuse carried out by young children in England and Wales have all seen a significant increase since the Covid pandemic. The Observer has also uncovered an 81% rise in reported incidents that took place on school property. One leading expert said the problem had reached “alarming levels”.

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‘Just doing the right thing’: two women find missing US child after Amber alert

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Abducted four-year-old boy in California reunited with family after Regan Dunn and Yenni Lee received alert and went to look for him

A missing four-year-old boy was reunited with his family on Tuesday evening after two women, who had received an Amber alert about an abducted child, located him.

The California highway patrol issued an alert for an abducted child in Long Beach and advised the public to be on the lookout for a gray Honda Accord. Police said the vehicle was stolen with Justin Chan inside after his parent left the car running while making a delivery.

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