Berkshire West LSCBs and SAPB Safeguarding Conference 2013 Independent Chair LSCBs: Stephen Barber Independent Chair SAPB: Sylvia Stone
What is the LSCB? The Children Act 2004 required each local authority to establish a Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) The LSCB is the key statutory mechanism for agreeing how the relevant organisations (statutory partners) in each local area will cooperate
What do the LSCBs do? Provide the multi-agency CP procedures Provide multi-agency training Meet quarterly to deal with strategic issues and resolve problems Run a number of subgroups Issue an annual report
Today’s conference Why sexual abuse?
Increased public attention, government action and referrals Celebrity cases: Jimmy Savile Child sexual exploitation cases: Operation Bullfinch Abuse by professionals: teachers, nursery workers, priests
Why sexual abuse? Low rate of identification in childhood Low success rate in bringing perpetrators to justice Hearing the voice of adult survivors
The influence of the internet Cyber bullying: ask.com Legal adult pornography Thriving trade in indecent images of children Sexting: self-generated abuse images Poor use of privacy settings and parental controls
Our responses Get better at recognizing the signs Use multi-agency processes such as case conferences and MAPPA Push for justice: changes in CPS policy Reparation, therapy and healing
Questions