Chief Minister John Le Fondre Interview (Part 2 or 2).

Chief Minister John Le Fondre

Part two of our exclusive interview with the Chief Minister is a direct continuation of part one. In part two we ask such questions as "who is the opposition in the States now that the opposition has been recruited by the Establishment?" Was this a genuine move on the Chief Minister's behalf to finally have a more inclusive government or was it a cynical move in order to silence the opposition? Is Reform Jersey (Jersey's only political party) now the Establishment? Who, in the States Chamber, with any political experience, and who are not members of the Establishment Party, is left to scrutinise what the government is doing?

Regular readers will be aware from our INTERVIEW with Children's and Housing Minister, Senator Sam Mezec, that he (Senator Mezec) agreed to adopt the terminology suggested by The National Association of People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC) when referring to child abuse to use the term "non recent" rather than the derogatory and offensive term "historic." We are pleased to report that the Chief Minister has also agreed to adopt this terminology from NAPAC media GUIDELINES. We hope that others will follow suit and in particular the mainstream media who even refer to present day Child Abuse as "historic." This BLOG POSTING explains, from the perspective of Survivor/Abusee Tom Perry the word "historic" is used and who uses it.


We go on to ask the Chief Minister what can we expect from his government that is different from any other government we have had? Can there be any much needed change or is it just the same old with different faces? Only time will tell.

We would like to thank the Chief Minister for his support of Citizen's Media and in particular for the positive feedback of (and during) our interview/Blog. He believes we are a force for good in holding power and the mainstream media to account.

Part one of our interview can be viewed HERE.

Senator Sam Mezec Childrens' Minister (part 2 of 2)

Senator Sam Mezec

Following the fall-out of the latest DAMMING REPORT into Jersey's children's Services, the 8 commitment pledge to children (below) and the subsequent PRESS CONFERENCES.VFC was granted an interview with Jersey's first appointed Childrens' Minister, Senator Sam Mezec, where we published part 1 of the interview HERE.

Below is part two (a direct continuation of part 1) of this exclusive and in-depth interview where we discuss, among much more, "The Jersey Way" and how is it possible that six Health and Social Services employees were apparently suspended from duty as a result of evidence given to the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry. They were allegedly investigated and subsequently all six found to have no case to answer and returned to work? All six completely innocent and returned to work? Is this "The Jersey Way" in action?

We also discuss the word "historic" when used in the context of Child Abuse. Regular readers might recall back in January 2012 we published a Guest Posting from Survivor/Abusee TOM PERRY. Tom explained to us why the term "historic" is only ever used (predominantly by MSM) in the context of Child Abuse.

To quote Tom (from the Guest Posting above):

"Would Mrs Doreen Lawrence consider her son Stephen’s murder nineteen years ago ‘historic?’ For her, just like me and other abusees who have not had the benefit of having their cases heard in court, it is all too current. Yet the media do not use the ‘historic’ word to describe Stephen’s murder. Why not? Take a few other serious crimes such as aggravated burglary, grievous bodily harm, drug smuggling, or assault, and all are free of the dismissive adjective ‘historic.’ I have also never seen the crime of rape described as historic. So what is it about child abuse? 

For authorities, care homes, schools, young offenders institutes that knowingly and unknowingly employed pederasts to work with children and then concealed discovered crimes, the use of the adjective ‘historic’ helps dismiss, discount, and consign to history a scandal they wish no one had noticed and which the employer does not wish to address. The same authorities delight in this self-harming description being consistently applied to crime they wish would vanish, but which remain all too current for all Jersey’s abusees.

Its child abuse."

The MSM in Jersey still continue to use this offensive (to Survivors) word "historic" as do many others who want to minimise the offence and those who don't understand how harmful it can be to Survivors. We are (very) pleased to announce that the Childrens' Minister has agreed to consign that word to "history" and when referring to Child Abuse in the past context he has agreed to use the term "non recent" and will be instructing his staff to do likewise.

The term "non recent" is suggested by The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC) as part of its MEDIA GUIDELINES. 

We hope that if the Minister, and the so-called, "Child Care experts" on the island use the term "non recent" it could be more difficult for the MSM to continue its offending. This would be a huge step forward and we thank the Minister for his commitment on this.

Also discussed is the pledge to children:

1. We will listen directly to children and young people and involve them in how we design, deliver and review our services
2. We will provide integrated support for families that need extra help caring for their children
3. We will provide all children in our care with access to a safe, loving, secure home environment
4. We will expand, join up and target our early help offer to ensure that children and young people get the support they need when they need it, to prevent risk and issues from escalating
5. We will recruit and retain a child-centred, stable, highly professional workforce
6. We will make it easier for data and insight across organisations to be shared so that, when assessing how best to meet their needs, we look at children’s and young people’s lives as a whole
7. We will ensure that sufficient funding is available to be effective and that any regulatory and legislative changes needed will be progressed swiftly
8. We will set and publish clear standards and we will be held publicly to account for achieving them.

Is it worth the paper it is written on or is it a determined commitment by the Minister to bring people onboard and show the children of today that they do have worth? 

All StatesMembers and key workers are being asked to sign this pledge and we are told we will be kept updated online (Twitter and States website) as to who has or hasn't signed it.

Part 1 of our interview can be viewed HERE.

Peter Saunders Guest Posting.

Peter Saunders CEO National Association of People Abused in Childhood. NAPAC.

Surprising as it may seem if you work with children (in England, Wales Scotland) and see one of your charges being abused or even raped, you might think you and your employer had a legal obligation to report it to the authorities. Not so. There is no legal requirement on anyone working with minors to report allegations or witnessed abuse of a child, including rape, to either the Local Authority Designated Officer  LADO / Social Services, or the police. This situation is just as relevant to you living in Jersey.

Legislation is urgently needed which requires staff in faith groups, national sports bodies and clubs, schools and all similar institutions, which are defined in England as ‘Regulated Activities,’ to inform the LADO (or Children’s Services in Jersey) of all concerns, allegations and incidents of abuse so that experienced and ‘independent’ assessment of referrals can occur to ensure perpetrators are stopped as soon as possible. A volunteer member of our charity who has lived on an island with a smaller population than Jersey suggests that special arrangements would be needed to ensure ‘independent’ assessment of incidents.

• Mandatory reporting of allegations and concerns addresses the distorting factors in what can appear to be complex situations. A headteacher or a bishop might wish to protect his colleague’s or church’s reputation but if he risks a criminal conviction and a hefty fine by so doing then he will think it a poor exchange.

• Under a system of mandatory reporting, staff in schools or hospitals who suspect abuse would have no choice but to report or face prosecution. This means every employee is better protected from blame. Being faced with a conviction, prison or a fine cuts across friendship or loyalty to an institution, and there is no doubt where duty lies.

• A criminal sanction for failure to report also removes any perceived need to weigh up whether the concerns reported are serious enough, or who to believe before having to decide what to do: the person reporting is freed from having to make complex judgements about who is telling the truth.

Too often the decision is made to cover up and/or minimise wrong doing including any abuse of power perpetrated by officers and staff of the Regulated Activity. This is true for failures in schools such as Hillside First School Weston Super Mare and churches including the Diocese of Chichester and the Archdiocese of Birmingham, Local Authority children’s services such as Rochdale, Haringey, North Wales, and public service institutions such as the BBC and the NHS which also have questions to answer as the Savile inquiries continue to reveal.

Countries which operate mandatory reporting include Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Spain, Sweden, USA, and now the Republic of Ireland which on the 10th November 2012 held a referendum which approved mandatory reporting.

Failing to refer in the Republic is now an offence which carries a tariff of up to five years imprisonment. The new law will positively impact the culture of safeguarding in all institutional settings in Ireland.

In England (Wales, Scotland, and Jersey) children are on their own and have no legal right to expect the LADO (or other agency) to be informed of their suspected or discovered abuse. The present situation is not working and the Government shows no sign of recognising these shortcomings.

This has prompted NAPAC and four further charities to start a petition @MandateNow calling on Mr Gove to introduce legislation. How hard is it to see that all too often institutions put their own interests before those of children when abuse is suspected or discovered within? To change this culture of concealment and deception the only option is legislation.


Come and join us by signing the petition now - Click HERE.


Or in 30 years time this will still be happening.