The Tear-filled eyes of Innocence

Whether or not you're a royalist it is surely hard to not be inspired by the work that William and Harry do, with Kate in the mix too. I am their generation, so perhaps that might affect my appreciation of them. They work damned hard, and act with genuine passion. Harry's "Invictus Games" are quite clearly a work from his heart and his comradery with the fellow troops is warming.

It's been quite well known for some time that they all have a passion for supporting those with Mental Health issues, and it was good to see it get a front row seat in this year's Invictus Games. Now the new "Heads Together" Campaign shows how their willingness public service is from the heart, not just the PR handbook.

There is still a stigma surrounding a lot of mental health, and society has a long way to go to break down the barrier of assuming that mental illness is synonymous with a "weakness" or a "failure".

For PCJ, we are focused on children and young people suffering injustice and can assure you that mental health is well and truly in the firing line there. We would all cry out if we saw someone in the street punching a child in the head repeatedly, wouldn't we? So why do we not see it as equally bad that an horrific lie would do the same thing? Consider the child's loss of education: they might not be able to speak to anyone about their case so all their decline in focus and behaviour at school might just seem like they are playing up.

The issues grow, the problem compounds itself, and all at the very worst time in their lives: as their brains are still forming, making new connections, building their sense of self and identity into life-long personalities. More and more research has rightly been done into the traumatic effects of abuse. When that abuse is the suffering of a child who knows they are innocent but gets no support from the justice system, it should make our stomachs churn.

But so few people even know it happens.

The justice system protects the claimant ("victim"), and the witnesses... but it does little or nothing to protect a young person who has been accused. Child victims and witnesses will be interviewed in nice rooms with sofas and soft settings by officers who listen and reassure assure them all the time that they are believed. The accused....the "defendant" will face exactly the same interview rooms as adult offenders - criminals, attackers, abusers, rapists, murderers. Their age seldom affords them appropriate protection from interrogative attacks. The "Achieveing Best Evidence" (ABE) guidance that the police follow for victims is not extended to the accused. Once might wonder why: surely that is what the police need - the best evidence from all those involved?

The sad fact is that at the moment, no-one knows how many cases of false allegations against children there are, or what the lasting effects on there mental health really is, even if they are convicted or not. And of course, those children who are guilty of offences are often just as in need of support for their mental health needs.

The Childline helpline keeps good records on callers, but they don't know or record how children have called because they have been accused of a terrible crime like "rape" and don't know who to turn to. All we hear about on the news is schools being criticised for allegedly not reporting sexual offences that happen on their site. No-one stops to even consider how many of those "offences" we "alleged" and not actually true. No-one thinks about the lasting effects a false allegation has on an a child because children being falsely accused is an unknown issue in itself.

Before the pitch-forks are sharpened and the torches are lit, please note that PCJ cares totally for the welfare and safety of children, and believe whole-heartedly that victims of abuse must be believed and supported. We don't deny it; it's just not our remit. We appreciate the fantastic support that children's charities do on that front already. But we know that there is a hidden statistic as yet untapped.

Children and young people who face false allegations are also VICTIMS of abuse. They suffer for months or even years one end. They become victims of a justice system that presumes their guilt but puts little effort into investigating their innocence. Why? Because in order to evenly and objectively do so would require to consideration of doubt in the allegation and the public/political pendulum as swung so far against that, few dare to even say it. Even when the evidence shows, without doubt, that the child making a claim about that "boy at school" is lying (e.g. a CCTV or video or witness statement) the weight of the "victim MUST be believed" mentality often means such evidence somehow goes unchecked, or not submitted to the CPS file. (Oh yes...yes indeed that really DOES happen!).

At PCJ We believe entirely that Every Childhood is worth Fighting For (NSPCC), and that everyone, especially children and young people, are innocent until proven guilty. And we also welcome this new energy for supporting those with mental health issues. We just hope that such support will not be denied to those who are accused of crimes simply because society now treats an allegation of sexual assault or rape as serious when it is true, but as a casual commodity with acceptable collateral damage when they are false. So, returning to our Royals - I would implore them to consider reaching out to the those in the very darkest holes, the very depths of social taboo, and to consider the possibility that those tear-filled eyes of innocence suffering in lonely pain...are in need of help, too.

CW

#MentalHealth #NSPCC #William #Kate #Harry #Prince #HeadsTogether #Justice #PCJ