Showing posts with label Children's Service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Children's Service. Show all posts

Tuesday, 8 September 2020

Cheyenne O'Connor interview 08/08/2020


Cheyenne O'Connor

Back in February 2019, VFC interviewed "Britain's Most Prolific Pedophile Hunter" Cheyenne O'Connor ahead of a planned rally in support of minimum sentences for pedophiles. The rally TOOK PLACE on the 16th February 2019 and the status quo remained.

Some nineteen months later Cheyenne (discreetly) got together a number of people/friends/supporters through Private Messaging on Social Media in order to organise a "Symbolic Gesture" by placing banners and placards through town publicising the plight of children and their families at the hands of Jersey authorities, and in particular, Children's Services. This was filmed by VFC HERE.

In 2017 the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry (IJCI) published its damming report on how Jersey had failed its children for decades. Just about every government institution had (at best) failed children and their families. The report couldn't guarantee that children were safe in the "care" of Jersey authorities at time of it's publication and it would seem that STILL nothing has changed when it comes to government departments either doing the right thing or protecting the system. The latter, it would seem, is the priority.



VFC, and many others, have been campaigning, for more than a decade, against bad practice and lack of accountability. We know others have been campaigning for many decades yet the same culture (of fear) remains on the island and "The Jersey Way" prevails. Where victims of the system are portrayed as the perpetrators and the perpetrators as the victims. We know that going through the "correct/official channels" in an attempt to hold services/individuals to account is a fruitless task and is set up in such a way that you just get worn down after being sent from pillar to post, being ignored, portrayed as "anti Jersey" or a "trouble maker". It is important to make one thing clear here, especially to those who say "the system is broken." The system ISN'T broken, it is working exactly the way it was designed to work, Where you, the aggrieved, remain aggrieved while those with the power remain in power.

This is something discussed in the interview (below) with Cheyenne (among much more). Should she (or anybody) STILL have to go through the huge time and effort organising protests/marches/gatherings just to have her/their voices heard? Shouldn't Government Departments (particularly Children's Services) be doing the right thing from the get-go? Shouldn't the priority of Children's Services' be to its users/clients and NOT the protection of the staff/system? Shouldn't the users/clients have the upmost faith, and confidence, in the Children's Services' rather than living in fear of it? This too is discussed in the interview (below).

We are sure there are others who have had "experiences" with Jersey Children's Services, or other States departments, who can relate to the experiences discussed in the video interview and are possibly too fearful of speaking out? Either employees, former employees, users/clients?

Cheyenne has said please don't hesitate to contact her (in the strictest confidence) and share your story. She can be contacted on her Facebook Group HERE by Private Message or otherwise.

We thank Cheyenne for the exclusive interview, and indeed the vital work she is doing, in order to make this island a safer place for our children and their families.