NSPCC

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a UK charity campaigning and working in child protection.

History

The NSPCC was founded in 1884 as the London Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (London SPCC)cite web | title = About the NSPCC | url = http://www.nspcc.org.uk/whatwedo/aboutthenspcc/aboutthenspcc_wda36522.html | accessdate = 2007-09-19 ] by Benjamin Waugh. After five years of campaigning by the London SPCC, Parliament passed the first ever UK law to protect children from abuse and neglect in 1889. The London SPCC was renamed the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in 1889, because by then it had branches across Great Britain and Ireland. The first child cruelty case in Britain was brought by the RSPCA; the court charge list described the affected child as "a small animal", because at the time there were no laws in Britain to protect children from mistreatment. This case was successful. [cite web | url = http://www.animallaw.info/historical/articles/arukrspcahist.htm | title = The History of the RSPCA | date = 1972 | accessdate = 1008-10-06]

The NSPCC was granted its Royal Charter in 1895, when Queen Victoria became its first Royal Patron. It did not change its title to "Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children" or similar, as the name NSPCC was already well established, and to avoid confusion with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), which had already existed for more than fifty years. Today, the NSPCC works in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Channel Islands. Children 1st - formerly the Royal Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children - is the NSPCC's equivalent in Scotland. The NSPCC's organisation in the Republic of Ireland was taken up by the newly-founded Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) in March 1954.

The NSPCC is the only UK charity which has been granted statutory powers under the Children Act 1989, allowing it to apply for care and supervision orders for children at risk.cite web | title = Children's Act 1989 | url = http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1989/ukpga_19890041_en_6 | accessdate = 2008-04-02]

In February 2006, the charity ChildLine joined together with the NSPCC. Since 2002, the Chairman of the NSPCC has been Sir Christopher Kelly KCB, formerly a senior Civil Servant. The Chief Executive is Dame Mary Marsh DBE.

As of June 2007, the NSPCC operated ten Independent Enquiry and Assessment Service teams.cite web | title = Independent Enquiry and Assessment Service | url = http://www.nspcc.org.uk/whatwedo/mediacentre/mediabriefings/scyp/Independent_enquiry_and_assessment_service_media_briefing_wda46942.html | accessdate = 2008-04-03]

Activities

The NSPCC lobbies the government on issues relating to child welfare, and creates campaigns for the general public, with the intention of raising awareness of child protection issues. It also operates both the NSPCC Child Protection Helpline, offering support to anyone concerned about a child, and Childline offering support to children themselves. The NSPCC merged with Childline in 2006. In addition to the telephone helplines, NSPCC runs a similar online service called there4me.com.

The charity also runs 177 local services [cite web | title = NSPCC FAQ | url = http://www.nspcc.org.uk/whatwedo/aboutthenspcc/faq/faq_wda33319.html#faq2 | publisher = NSPCC | accessdate = 2008-04-01 ] . These offer general family support, as well as more specific services such as working with families with alcohol problems.

Campaigning and controversy

The NSPCC's campaigning role has often been controversial. The Guardian reported New Philanthropy Capital recently concluded that its campaigning is "flawed and naïve" and that there is "zero evidence" that £250m the NSPCC has spent on its recent "Full Stop" campaign actually benefited any children [cite news | title = Full Stop Missing | url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/aug/01/childrensservices.comment | publisher = The Guardian | date = 2007-08-01 | accessdate = 2007-11-27 ] .

The NSPCC also received complaints, amongst other things, for "cold" mailing young mothers with a "babies' names" booklet containing instead a detailed list of the deaths of babies. [cite news | title = Mailshock | url = http://society.guardian.co.uk/voluntary/story/0,,1885667,00.html | publisher = The Guardian | date = 2006-10-03 | accessdate = 2007-09-19 ] The charity also supports mandatory sex education for all children, and has argued against the view that marriage is necessarily the only way to create stable relationships [http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/Applications/PPA/documents/sex%20&%20relationship%20education%20Guidance.doc] .

In recent years, the charity has faced criticism for its stance on contact visits to children following parents' separation. The NSPCC has consistently opposed an automatic right of contact for both parents, arguing that this is not necessarily in the best interests of the child. This stance has led to criticism both in parliament [ [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmhansrd/cm060302/debtext/60302-18.htm House of Commons Hansard Debates for 2 Mar 2006 (pt 18) ] ] and by the fathers' rights group Fathers4Justice. In fact, in 2004 the London headquarters of NSPCC were briefly invaded and occupied by Fathers4Justice supporters, claiming that the NSPCC "ignores the plight of 100 children a day who lose contact with their fathers" and that they promote a "portrayal of men as violent abusers." [cite news | title = Protesters enter charity offices | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4014015.stm | publisher = BBC | date = 2004-11-15 | accessdate = 2007-09-19 ]

The NSPCC also faced criticism for failing (along with other organizations) to do enough to help Victoria Climbié and prevent her death, and also for misleading the inquiry into her death. [cite web | title = It Needs To Be Stopped. Full Stop | url = http://www.deabirkett.com/pages/journalism_film/journalism/it_needs_to_be_stopped.htm | publisher = The Guardian | date = 2002-02-19 | accessdate = 2007-09-19 ] .

The organisation has also faced criticism for its allegedly increasing obsession with publicity and advertising, for fear mongering [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,3890641,00.html Why this NSPCC advert is harmful to children] ] [ [http://www.sirc.org/media/mediaaugust1399.html A Stranger Danger] ] and supposedly fabricating or exaggerating facts and figures in its research. In an article on "Spiked", Frank Furedi professor of sociology at the University of Kent, branded it a "lobby group devoted to publicising its peculiar brand of anti-parent propaganda and promoting itself." [cite web | url = http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/0000000CA361.htm | title = A danger to the nation's children | publisher = Spiked | author = Furedi, Frank | date = 2004-01-19 | accessdate = 2007-09-19 ]

The NSPCC responded to criticism about its spending, suggesting that raising awareness of child cruelty was essential and that lobbying was more effective than direct projects. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2000/dec/09/childprotection.uknews NSPCC hits back over cash] ]
David Hinchliffe, Labour MP, supported expenditure on campaigning, stating that the NSPCC's role should be about raising awareness., whilst Conservative MP Gerald Howarth described it as "completely incompetent" although he cited the charity's support for reducing the homosexual age of consent to 16 as the reason for him withdrawing his support for the Full Stop campaign.

Satanic ritual abuse scandal

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, a moral panic emerged over alleged ritual satanic abuse. The NSPCC provided a publication known as 'Satanic Indicators' to social services around the country that has been blamed for some social workers panicking and making false accusations. The most prominent of these cases was in Rochdale in 1990 when up to 20 [ [http://www.middletonguardian.co.uk/news/s/508066_satanic_abuse_the_truth_at_last_ Satanic abuse: The truth at last] ] children were taken from their homes and parents after social services believed them to be involved in satanic or occult ritual abuse. The allegations were later found out to be false. The case was the subject of a BBC documentary which featured recordings of the interviews made by NSPCC social workers, revealing that flawed techniques and leading questions were used to gain evidence of abuse from the children. The documentary claimed that the social services were wrongly convinced, by organisations such as the NSPCC, that abuse was occurring and so rife that they made allegations before any evidence was considered. [cite episode | title = When Satan Came To Town | medium = TV | publisher = BBC | date = 2006-01-11] [cite web | url = http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/0000000CAF17.htm | title = A full stop to the Satanic panic | publisher = Spiked | author = Cummings, Dolan | date = 2006-01-12 | accessdate = 2007-09-19 ] . See the bibliography lower down this page for further reading about the satanic ritual abuse scandal.

Values

The NSPCC's stated core values are based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

They are:
* Children must be protected from all forms of violence and exploitation
* Everyone has a responsibility to support the care and protection of children
* We listen to children and young people, respect their views and respond to them directly
* Children should be encouraged and enabled to fulfil their potential
* We challenge inequalities for children and young people
* Every child must have someone to turn to

ee also

*ChildLine
*Internet Watch Foundation
*List of satanic ritual abuse allegations
*The Children's Society
*Timeline of children's rights in the United Kingdom

References

External links

* [http://www.nspcc.org.uk/html/Home/Whatwedo/whatwedo.htm NSPCC Homepage]
* [http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/registeredcharities/showcharity.asp?remchar=&chyno=216401 Charity commission registration]
* [http://www.iwf.org.uk/ Internet Watch Foundation]

Bibliography

* Susan J. Creighton, "Organized Abuse: The NSPCC Experience", Child Abuse Review; Volume 2, Issue 4 (1993), p. 232-242.
* Jean La Fontaine, The Extent and Nature of Organised and Ritual Sexual Abuse of Children, HMSO, 1994.
* Jean La Fontaine, Speak of the Devil: Tales of Satanic Abuse in Contemporary England, Cambridge University Press, 1998.
* Department of Health and Social Services Inspectorate. North West Region, Inspection of child protection services in Rochdale, Greater Manchester: Social Services Inspectorate. North West Region, 1990, viii, 33pp.
* Clyde, James J., The report of the inquiry into the removal of children from Orkney in February 1991 , Edinburgh : HMSO , 1992, xiv, 363pp. ISBN: 0102195935.
* Department of Health and Social Security and Welsh Office, Working Together: a guide to arrangements for inter-agency co-operation for the protection of children from abuse , London : HMSO, 1988, 72pp. ISBN: 0113211546.
* Eleanor Stobart, Child abuse linked to accusations of "possession" and "witchcraft", Nottingham : Department for Education and Skills, 2006.