I have to say I find the continued fascination
with the idea of making ‘emotional neglect’ a criminal offence in England to be
a worrying distraction.
The latest contribution, from Labour MP Jenny Chapman, is riddled with confusion. http://www.leftfootforward.org/2013/02/our-child-neglect-laws-are-anything-but-progressive/
She says that: “The differences between the two
legal codes (civil and criminal) present real difficulties for police and
social workers …” But she does not say what these are, largely I suspect
because she doesn’t know.
And surely she cannot be arguing that the civil and criminal
law should be the same. But, if not, what exactly does she mean by talking of “align(ing)
the criminal law with the civil code”?
What is not such a puzzle is the mess that would be created
by trying to make “emotional neglect” a criminal offence. I predict that there
would be a string of botched prosecutions of people suffering from various
forms of mental illness, with all sorts of legal arguments about how culpable
they are for damage to their children. That would bring child protection into
disrepute and serve no good purpose. It would not help any child.
