Child sex abuse: New policy and new inquiry
07 Mar 2013An overhaul of how police and prosecutors in England and Wales deal with alleged sexual offences against children is expected to be announced in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal. Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer told the BBC there was an ‘overcautious’ approach with victims. He said the focus was too much on whether the victim was telling the truth and not enough on the suspect. Describing this as a ‘watershed moment,’ Mr Starmer said we need to ‘clear the decks of a raft of existing guidelines’. A Scottish parliamentary inquiry into child sex exploitation and prostitution has also been launched, amid claims the problem may be far worse than thought http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-21669726 Holyrood's petitions committee is looking into the issue following the concerns from children's charity Barnardo's. MSPs will consider whether current measures and guidelines are doing enough to tackle exploitation.
Pray: that the authorities will bring measures and guidelines that will control this problem. (1Cor.6:18)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21673703
Child abuse apology from Church of England
08 Jul 2013The Church of England's parliamentary body has apologised to victims of sexual abuse at the hands of Anglican clergy, noting its failure to prevent it and respond effectively. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, said addressing the issue had been "absolutely agonising". Speaking in a meeting of the General Synod in York on Sunday, the Archbishop admitted some victims had been "badly treated" by the Church. He said there needed to be a "complete change of culture and behaviour" in the Church of England. "We cannot in 20 years be finding ourselves having this same debate and saying 'Well we didn't quite understand then'," he said. "There has to be a complete change of culture and behaviour and in addition there is a profound theological point. We are not doing all this, we are not seeking to say how devastatingly, appallingly, atrociously sorry we are for the great failures there have been for our own sakes, for our own flourishing, for the protection of the Church.
Pray: for all those affected by this issue and that both they and the church will be able to move on. (2Pe.3:9)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/child.abuse.apology.from.church.of.england/33106.htm
Britain's chief rabbi, Lord Sacks, has accused David Cameron of failing to do enough to encourage marriage and says multiculturalism in Britain has "had its day". Lord Sacks said the prime minister should recognise marriage in the tax system and do more to support mothers who stay at home to look after their children. "I think the government has not done enough [to encourage marriage]," he said in an interview with The Times. "Although I don't take a political stance ... I don't think the government has done enough at all." Lord Sacks said the estimated £9bn-a-year cost of family breakdown and "non-marriage" meant the state had a direct interest in promoting marriage. "[The government] should certainly recognise marriage in the tax system, it should certainly give more support to mothers who stay at home or for childcare provision," he said. "I don't believe in getting involved in the details but the principle is pretty clear."
Pray: for a renewed Government support for marriage after years of policies that have undermined it. ( )
More: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/aug/19/rabbi-lord-sacks-david-cameron-failing-marriage
Charlotte Church attacks 'sexist' music industry
19 Oct 2013The music industry has a ‘culture of demeaning women’ that forces stars to sell themselves as sex objects, according to singer Charlotte Church. Church said she was ‘pressurised’ into wearing revealing outfits in videos by male executives when she was 19 or 20. Now 27, the star said young female artists were routinely ‘coerced into sexually demonstrative behaviour in order to hold on to their careers.’ She made her comments during BBC 6 Music's annual John Peel Lecture. Her stinging attack on sexism in the music industry comes amid a heated debate over the sexual imagery used by pop stars like Miley Cyrus and Rihanna. The music business is ‘a male dominated industry with a juvenile perspective on gender and sexuality’ and increasingly wants ‘sex objects that appear child-like’, Church claimed. The star accused record labels of encouraging young singers ‘to present themselves as hypersexualised, unrealistic, cartoonish, as objects, reducing female sexuality to a prize you can win’.
Pray: against the sexualising of young women and for the protection of those at risk. (1Th.4:3)
Charity warns of rising homelessness
17 Jan 2011The UK housing charity Shelter has today (14 December 2010) warned of a rise in homelessness as new research reveals the number of households in rent or mortgage arrears has more than doubled in the past year. Worryingly, households with children are most at risk (five per cent). Shelter estimates that more than 480,000 children are currently living in families that are falling behind with their basic housing costs. With recent government figures showing the first sustained increase in homelessness since 2003, Shelter is warning that homelessness could be set to soar in 2011 as Government cuts to housing benefit and support for homeowners, along with predicted job losses and increases in living costs, push thousands of struggling households over the edge. Shelter’s Chief Executive Campbell Robb said: 'We urge the Government to think again about the cumulative effects of its policies on people who are at real risk of losing their homes'.
Pray: that the Government will adopt policies that will prevent people from losing their homes. (Isa.32:18)
The housing and homelessness charity Shelter has launched a new advertising campaign to encourage people facing housing problems to seek earlier advice. The campaign aims to tackle a common reluctance to do this: a survey carried out in 2010 by the Civil and Social Justice Panel found that 50 per cent of people do not seek external advice when they are in housing difficulties. The main focus of the activity is a series of poster advertisements. Each depicts a person in distress because they face a serious crisis, such as sudden job loss or mounting debt. They carry a single headline which shares with the viewer the desperation the person is feeling. The charity says that early advice can be crucial in helping people with housing issues to find a positive outcome for their problem. The advertising campaign aims to highlight this as well as demonstrating how people can seek help.
Pray: for all those facing critical issues in their lives at this time. (Heb.4:16)
Charity calls for new kind of rental contract
24 Sep 2012The housing and homelessness charity Shelter has called for a new kind of tenancy to be introduced across the rental market in England. The Stable Rental Contract would provide greater stability to the growing numbers of people who rent their homes from a private landlord, says the charity. It would also provide landlords with more certainty of a good return on their investment. Shelter’s proposals are outlined in a new report, ‘A better deal? Towards more stable private renting.’ The changes could be introduced immediately within the existing legal framework for private renting in England, without the need for new laws. Campbell Robb, Chief Executive of Shelter, said: ‘With a generation priced out of home ownership, renting is the only choice for growing numbers of people but with the possibility of eviction with just two months’ notice, and constant worries about when the next rent rise will hit, the current rental market isn’t giving people – particularly families – the stability they need to put down roots.
Pray: that this initiative will well received and form the basis of a new rental agreement throughout the country. (2Sa.7:10)
More: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/17069
Church Action on Poverty has called for a closing of the growing gap between rich and poor in the UK. They are also mobilising faith communities to conduct their own counts of street homeless people, as official statistics have been shown to underestimate the numbers of people sleeping rough. The charity is using Poverty and Homelessness Action Week, which runs from 29 January to 4 February, to highlight that while the UK remains one of the five richest nations on the planet, more than one in five here live below the poverty line. CAP supports its case for inequality pointing out that the wealth of the top 10 per cent is now 100 times higher than the net wealth of the poorest 10 per cent. The three-year Close the Gap campaign will aim to mobilise thousands of people across the faith communities to give, act and pray to close the wealth gap (www.church-poverty.org.uk). Pray: for such initiatives that seek to support the most vulnerable in our communities. (Ac.20:35)