It is difficult not to have some sympathy with the campaign
to introduce mandatory reporting in
England. http://www.childabuselawyers.com/2013/news/mandatory-reporting-press-release-launched-surivor-charites/
The long history of failures to report institutional abuse
in some churches and residential homes certainly leads to a lot of frustration
and a feeling that the criminal law should be used to force people to report.
Sadly it isn’t that easy. The criminal law is usually a
blunt instrument and there is a real danger that fear of prosecution will
result in some professionals reporting unnecessarily just to be sure. That would put
pressure on children’s social care services, which might result in children
actually receiving a worse service.
Then there is the question of to whom any new law should
apply. The Association of Child Abuse Lawyers press release says:
“The law would make failure to report suspected or
known child abuse in ‘Regulated Activities’ a criminal offence. Regulated
Activities include schools, sports clubs linked to national sports
bodies, children’s homes and faith organisations.”
But could anybody ‘fail to report’ or only ‘professionals’
and ‘practitioners’? If it is only some people and not others, how will the
line be drawn? If the law covers everybody, and people like plumbers or the
electricians or neighbours are required to report, then what about family members
or a child’s friends or brothers or sisters? There are dangers that a poorly
drafted law could even be used against people who are the victims of abuse themselves
or their close friends.
By and large people report abuse and neglect because they
trust the people to whom they report it to deliver appropriate help to the
victim. And they expect that they will be protected as the person reporting the
abuse. Rather than negatively focusing on the threat of criminal sanction for
failure to report, we should be positively focusing on ways to make it easier
and safer for people who have genuine concerns to discuss them with somebody they can
trust to do the right thing.
