General Chat

The one in Southampton, Blake Fowler, who was killed by his mother's violent partner after a lifetime of abuse.

Their could have been few other ways that anybody could have noticed and notified those with the power to intervene yet nothing was ever done to alleviate his suffering.

Maybe, just maybe, vigilanteism is the way to deal with child abuse.

So much emphasis is put upon the sanctity of the family, which is good when it is a secure and nurturing place but shouldn't the child come before the concept?

sharron ,
I agree with you , someone must have noticed what was going on .and lets face it ,its not the first time something like this has happened ....iris

They didn't just notice. They reported what they saw.

Workmen in the street even reported it.

'Meaningless violence is still meaningless no matter how you dress it up'.

(The late Clive James.)

sorry sharron
didn't know it had been reported ...iris

I do hope his step- father, Peter Meek, meets with plenty of meaningful violence!

It was reported and reported, even to the NSPCC, nobody did anything. Workman in the road outside heard the boor little chap's screams and reported it, nothing done. The little boy told somebody, 'my Dad makes the bruises' nothing was done. Poor little lad, I found that so upsetting, and he had the most lovely smile. What a thug!!! I hope he gets his retribution from somewhere. :-( :-(

But how frustrating for those who did care enough to report the abuse to see no action being taken.
.

Those of us who have been on the receiving end of any kind of parental unkindness know how helpless we have felt and I feel just as helpless witnessing further unkindness toward children now and knowing I can do nothing to help.

Had somebody physically removed him from his home he would, no doubt, have been returned there whilst they were prosecuted for kidnap and who knows what else.

Words fail me on this case.

I am horrified at how little notice was made of those who reported his situation, who not only included the boy himself who told teachers that 'daddy made my bruises'. His grandmother, who could be 'accused' of having an interest in getting Blake removed, but even total strangers who knew nothing of the situation, but were worried enough for the boy's safety to report their concerns.

....and still, nothing was done.

My sister knows someone whose daughter, a few years back, arrived at school with wellies on and changed into sandals. A teacher noticed weals at the back of her legs, just below her knees. Social Services were called, the child was taken away from her parents. The weals disappeared. The parents couldn't explain how the weals had happened, they never struck her with anything. The little girl said her parents never hit her. Then someone used a braincell.
It was the wellies hitting the back of her (bare) legs.
The child was returned to her parents, after about a week, but the parents were monitored.

One ridiculous situation to another.....

And nobody has been prosecuted for his subsequent death. I think it was cited as 'lack of evidence', so the bully and his brother and the mother of the little boy all got away with it.

...so when he told his teacher that 'daddy made my bruises', that wasn't evidence?
Dreadful

We had a case locally with the welly marks .

The parents of the child were very angry about it but what about the child with the marks thata re made by a stick?

I think it better that any mark that looks suspicious is investigated.

Heartbreaking to know how many chances were lost to save that dear little boy from such evil people ill treating him. I just hope the scumbags involved get waylaid, kidnapped and tortured then left to die alone. An eye for an eye......

Even that wouldn't be justice for Blake. May he rest in peace.

Lizxx

Probably the same case, Sharron, as my sister lives in your neck of the woods.
All you have to do is casually ask the child, and the way they respond speaks volumes.
'Oh, gosh, how did you get these bruises, Blake?'
'My daddy made them'

'Oh gosh, how did you get these marks on your legs?'
'What marks? Oh, I don't know'

Not exactly rocket science :-D

Sadly, abused children are often trained to not tell what goes on at home.

I'm afraid I had a 'second sense' - but was ignored, as it caused too much hassle. Some I 'sensed' when they were in primary school, some in secondary.
Of those I 'sensed' most strongly, 3 are dead, 6 are homeless, 4 are in prison and 3 are living at home on very strong drugs.
All in their late 20's, early 30's now.
Such a waste of life.

And it wasn't just the occasional dirty uniform - been there - got the tee-shirt - I was a 'normal' mum.
It was the never clean uniform, the bad behaviour (from some) the dirty pants, the way they answered casual questions, the constant need for reassurance etc etc So many indicators to something not being 'right', but no resources.
And the resources now are worse than they were previously

It shouldn't really need resources though should it?

It should be something that the community involves itself in rather than turning a blind eye to because they don't want to see the parents accused.

I had to take my daughter to the doctor for a vaccination or something when she was about 2½ years old ............ she'd been walking since she was 9 months so was a little terror by that time.


I'd looked at her legs before we left the house, and saw how bruised they were, so I was more than a little worried about what the doc would say


He examined her, looked at her legs, looked at me, then grinned and said ...................

"just like a little boy's legs!"


and luckily, that's what it was .............. she was climbing anything and everything, running like mad, tripping, etc etc.

but that really was innocent bruising.




I had a couple of "I wonder....... ????" when I was teaching in Cheshire .............. these were girls in their early teens.


You can poke a little bit with that age, but if they don't want to say anything, you can't take it too far

I agree.
One of the simplest questions to ask an 11 year old is what the days of the week are, then the months of the year.
If they can't answer that right, you ask them when their birthday is, and the months either side. If they can't answer that, there's something wrong. This could be an undiagnosed learning disability or something more sinister.
Then you get on to casual 'chatting'. Many things come out of this.
I'm not a puritanical person, but I can read between the lines. When I worked in schools, l reported my 'findings', (I found 10 children with undiagnosed special needs in 1 month) but on-one wanted to know.
(I was only a LSA - with a degree in education) These children were, apparently, 'lost causes', and no money/resources were to be spent on them. They were also excluded from school when SATS were taken in case it affected the league tables.
I can see this in the school Blake went to - 'We've got our yearly quota of problem children - that's an end to it' -hence resources.
The same happens with social workers.