Ibrahim Faraj, seven, was abducted and taken to Saudi Arabia in November
A woman whose seven-year-old son was kidnapped by his father and taken to Saudi Arabia has said she repeatedly warned authorities it would happen but “no one listened”.
Ranem Elkhalidi has not seen or spoken to Ibrahim Faraj since November, when he was abducted by his father, Hamzah Faraj, in breach of a court order.
Continue reading...Report raises concerns about near 23% rise in children in care over 10 years amid serious shortage of social workers
Radical reforms to the care system in Wales are needed to address a “shocking” rise in the number of looked after children, a Welsh parliament committee has concluded.
The committee said the number of children in care was up by almost 23% since 2013 while at the same time there were shortages of qualified social workers.
Continue reading...Move comes after inquiry found children had faced ‘limitless’ cruelty with complicity of institutions
The government is to launch a compensation scheme for survivors of child sexual abuse in England, the home secretary has said.
The scheme is in response to the findings of a seven-year inquiry that revealed failings by schools, local authorities and other institutions to protect and safeguard the children in their care.
Continue reading...Survey of 236 young people caught up in 2017 blast shows 29% have not received any mental health support
Nearly one in three children and young people caught up in the Manchester Arena attack have not received any professional help, a study has found.
A survey of 236 young people affected by the atrocity found that 29% had not had any psychological help, despite most feeling damaged by the blast six years ago.
Continue reading...Annual RHS show uses theme of accessibility in effort to broaden appeal of horticulture
Chelsea flower show has long been a staple of the society calendar, with celebrities and royals making an appearance among the peonies and roses.
However, this year, the Royal Horticultural Society is trying to make the show – and horticulture – more inclusive, by putting on special events for children, and encouraging the creation of gardens with an accessibility theme.
Continue reading...First official document on VAWG in England and Wales is similar to those used for threats such as serious organised crime, say chiefs
Police chiefs have issued the first official assessment of violence against women and girls in the UK, placing such offences on the same footing as terrorism and serious organised crime.
The 230-page intelligence document outlining the crimes that pose the greatest threats to women and girls has been shared with all forces by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).
Domestic abuse.
Rape and serious sexual offences.
Child sexual abuse and exploitation.
Tech-enabled VAWG, such as online stalking and harassment.
Continue reading...Exclusive: State government steps in as private insurers refuse to provide coverage to organisations working with vulnerable children
The New South Wales government has been forced to provide taxpayer-funded indemnity to 47 non-government organisations, including church bodies, to cover child abuse claims, as states and territories scramble to respond to the widespread withdrawal of cover by the private insurance market.
Private insurers are now widely refusing to provide coverage for physical and sexual abuse to organisations working with vulnerable children in out-of-home care and youth homelessness services.
Continue reading...While other students on the bus were engrossed with their devices, Dillon Reeves noticed the driver in distress and guided bus to safety
A Michigan boy who recently stopped a school bus from crashing after the driver lost consciousness leapt into action because he was the only passenger not distracted by an electronic device, according to a new report from CBS.
On Sunday, two weeks after seventh-grader Dillon Reeves regained control of a school bus when its driver became unconscious, the network reported that the boy’s parents’ refusal to provide him a cellphone paid off in a big way.
Continue reading...Children’s commissioner for England calls for ‘robust’ measures in UK’s online safety bill to protect young people
England’s children’s commissioner has called for the “most robust” online protections for under-18s after publishing research examining links between sexual abuse cases and pornography.
In the second of a series of reports exploring the impact on children, Rachel de Souza said she wanted to “turn the tide on pornography’s harms to children”.
Continue reading...Access to PCV jabs in South Sudan, Somalia, Guinea and Chad ‘could save 40,000 children a year’
Delays in rolling out a vaccine against childhood pneumonia in four of the world’s poorest countries have been blamed for thousands of unnecessary deaths.
South Sudan, Somalia, Guinea and Chad are four of the last African nations without the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), one of the most powerful tools against pneumonia in children.
Continue reading...Nation’s guidelines say no donor should father more than 25 children in 12 families
Dutch judges have ordered a man suspected of fathering more than 550 children through sperm donations to stop donating, in the latest fertility scandal to shock the Netherlands.
The man, identified in Dutch media only as Jonathan M, 41, was taken to court by a foundation protecting the rights of donor children and by the mother of one of the children allegedly fathered from his sperm.
Continue reading...Firm partnered with US charity and medical experts to create part of ‘most diverse and inclusive doll line’
Barbie is launching its first doll with Down’s syndrome in an effort to help more children find a toy that represents them.
Mattel bosses said they wanted to bring out the doll to “enable all children to see themselves in Barbie”. They partnered with the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) in the US to bring the product to market.
Continue reading...What Kids Are Reading report found communities on sites such as TikTok helped stimulate interest in reading
The number of books read by children increased by almost a quarter last year, according to a report, as BookTok and other social media trends stimulated interest in reading for young people.
The 2023 What Kids Are Reading report, which surveyed children in the UK and Ireland, found that pupils read 27,265,657 books in the 2021-2022 academic year, 24% more than the 2020-2021 academic year.
Continue reading...Dirty air causes premature death of at least 1,200 children across Europe every year, says European Environment Agency
Europe is failing its children when it comes to air pollution, exposing nearly all children across the continent to air that falls below healthy standards and delaying the clean-up of the sources of pollution, research has found.
Breathing dirty air causes the premature death of at least 1,200 children across Europe each year, and many thousands more are afflicted with physical and mental health problems that could have lifelong impacts, according to the latest assessment of air pollution by the European Environment Agency.
Continue reading...Evidence to MPs claims parents more cautious about sending children to school with minor ailments
Increased anxiety and lack of mental health support are driving a steep increase in children missing school since the Covid pandemic, with some children “struggling to leave home”, according to councils in England.
Local authorities are also highlighting budget pressures that have forced cuts in school support staff, with some schools trying to “manage” students out of classrooms or disguising their attendance records, while others are “off-rolling” students to artificially boost school exam results.
Continue reading...Global alliance including NCA and FBI says Meta’s decision to encrypt direct messages could harm children
An alliance of the world’s most powerful law enforcement agencies including the FBI, Interpol and Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) have condemned Meta’s plans to encrypt direct messages on Facebook Messenger and Instagram, saying that doing so will weaken the ability to keep child users safe.
The Virtual Global Taskforce, made up of 15 agencies, is chaired by the NCA and also includes Europol and the Australian federal police among its membership. The VGT has spoken out, it says, owing to the “impending design choices” by Meta, which it says could cause serious harm.
Continue reading...Exclusive: child mental health crisis deepens with one-third of all referrals denied help
A quarter of a million children in the UK with mental health problems have been denied help by the NHS as it struggles to manage surging case loads against a backdrop of a crisis in child mental health.
Some NHS trusts are failing to offer treatment to 60% of those referred by GPs, the research based on freedom of information request responses has found.
In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org. You can contact the mental health charity Mind by calling 0300 123 3393 or visiting mind.org.uk. YoungMinds is at youngminds.org.uk.
Continue reading...HSIB report identifies several barriers to child safeguarding in hospital emergency departments
Staff in hospital emergency departments in England are struggling to spot when infants are being physically abused by their parents, raising the risk of further harm, an investigation has found.
Clinicians often do not know what to do if they are concerned that a child’s injuries are not accidental because there is no guidance, according to a report from the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) that identifies several barriers to child safeguarding in emergency departments.
Continue reading...Poor investigative practices and unacceptable delays leave children vulnerable, official report finds
Police can take up to 18 months to make an arrest after becoming aware that a child is at risk of online sexual abuse, an official report has concluded.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found that forces’ investigative practices are “often poor [and] unacceptable delays are commonplace”, leaving children vulnerable and allowing offenders to escape justice.
Continue reading...Exclusive: group says military is compromising children’s right to education with its campaign against militants
Egyptian forces have taken over 37 schools and transformed them into military bases while dozens more have been destroyed during a 10-year war with militants in Sinai, a rights group has found in an initial assessment.
In a months-long investigation shared with the Guardian before its official release, the UK-based Sinai Foundation for Human Rights (SFHR) accused the Egyptian armed forces of compromising the right to education of children during its campaign against militants in north Sinai.
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