Sanam Navsarka, who died on 8 May 2008, suffered more than 100 injuries.
Hi, everyone.
Its been a while since I updated you all daily, but I really feel a need to tell you about something that happened today that really concerns me.
More children at risk
All of us will have either suffered abuse at the hands of others, know someone who has been abused or at risk of being abused or perhaps heard or read reports in the media saying a child has been abused and, at the worst, murdered. All too often social services are blamed for not being available for children to monitor and prevent abuse to children and young people. Sadly, it’s usually the front-line staff who are blamed for any abuse tragedy that comes under the media spotlight, instead of the department or the authority itself. However, what happens then is a new focus on child abuse changes, and public services spend money arguing about who is to blame and how services can be improved. This would be fine if, in fact, services did improve but, to be honest, my experience lately suggests services haven’t improved and that more and more children are at risk.
Resources wasted harassing a safe, healthy and happy 16-year-old
Public services have been complaining recently following the change in government, as David Cameron has cut public spending and requested that local authorities review their services and budgets. I would take the complaints really seriously if my local authority, Notts County Council, could demonstrate what impact such cuts could have on them. Instead, they decide to waste money on sending two social workers to visit my 16-year-old daughter at school unannounced, who has made it perfectly clear that she does not want to see them, she is not at risk of any harm, has never been at risk of harm or been hurt in any way at all. The school my daughter is at is in a rural area, so a good hour and a half would be needed to visit the school, to wait for my daughter to be taken out of an important GCSE class, to be then told by her “Go away!” and then to travel back to their office.
Priorities must be addressed before complaining about resources
Now I’d like everyone to imagine a child suffering with multiple fractures, no matter what age, who is in the social care system and locked in a room at temperatures in excess of 40 degrees after being beaten by its parents. Then imagine this child feeling desperate for the TWO social workers visiting my daughter to come and rescue her from such terrible things. How fair does that feel, especially if the social worker involved said that due to work pressures she didn’t have time to visit the little girl and sadly she dies? How can the authorities complain about low budgets and lack of resources? Maybe if they focused on what was important and addressed people’s needs in order of priority they wouldn’t be worried about the reductions in budgets that has been imposed on them! How many children will be abused or die at the hands of the authorities until someone reviews the system and starts looking after those that really are in need? Just a thought!
Love and best wishes
Angela x
Please believe me | Angela's law 