The following item was received from the Children are Unbeatable! Alliance in the wake of the case of baby P, and they are asking readers to pass their request for help on, in order to involve children and young people – whether with experience of being in care or not – to join their campaign to outlaw the hitting of children. Editor
Did you know? Children and young people, whether in care or not, are invited to sign up to the campaign at www.childrenareunbeatable.org.
Speak up about physical abuse of children! Every child has the right to be protected from violence. But in the UK, the law doesn’t give children the basic protection from being hit and hurt that all adults have.
The Children are Unbeatable! Alliance (CAU) think that this is wrong. We want to change the law so that nobody will be allowed to hurt children… and we want YOU to work with us!
We are looking for children and young people with experience of the care system to speak up about physical abuse of children.
This would probably mean being quoted in CAU publicity materials or in newspapers. Of course, you would choose what you say, and whether or not we used your name. If you want, you can be completely anonymous.
This could be a very small job if you want – you could just talk to us on the phone or write down what you think. Or you could come and meet us to talk about it. It’s up to you. Either way, it would be great experience and you’d have the chance to make your voice heard and make a real difference to children in the future.
If you come to any meetings with us we will pay for all your travel and accommodation, and give you food.
To do this, you need to…
- be under 18.
- have experience of the child protection/care system. (For example, you could be living in care now, or have been in care in the past.)
- want to change the law to make it illegal to hit children.
We will…
- always treat you with respect
- listen to you and answer any questions you have
- always respect your decisions
If you are interested or have any questions about this, just get in touch with Elinor Milne, Children’s Campaign Co-ordinator:
email: elinor@childrenareunbeatable.
phone/text: 07504 738 741