Wings Over Scotland

As more horrific experiences from survivors of rape torture gangs surface from across the UK, we must focus not on knee-jerk political posturing but on the root cause that led to the failure of these children by our society.

Political inaction has now opened the door to inevitable political mileage, nurtured from stoking vengeance in a rightly-angered public. Those only interested in creating cultural conflicts no more support justice for survivors than those who allowed this abomination to fester by looking away or worse, covering up the problem.

For any functioning society, inflicting unimaginable pain on children on an alarming scale seems unimaginable. Yet, the evidence has been in front of us for years – so why has immediate action to ensure the safeguarding of children – and vulnerable adults – not been a pressing priority?

The urgency of the situation cannot be overstated. Ten years have passed since Professor Alexis Jay’s damning report from her 2014 investigation into the Rotherham child sexual abuse scandal, and two years on her twenty recommendations of the final report of the broader Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, there has been a failure in seeing any tangible action. Why?

We must ensure these recommendations are implemented fully and without further delay. In parallel, an investigation into why no action has been taken must happen but it is critical that a line is now drawn – no more children should be failed by a society that should protect them.

Equality is a noble cause, but it must be one of equal opportunity and responsibility. Closing down valid questions to those in positions of power can never be justified. We do not protect the innocent by providing cover for abuse but by ensuring robust safeguarding and that those accused of crimes are judged solely by their actions.

Children need safeguarding so that they are protected from those who would do them harm. They cannot consent to being raped, abused or commodified. Who amongst us was not shocked to their core to hear reports that Police and support services talked of “lifestyle choices” and “child prostitutes”, among other horrific terms used to desensitise us to the abhorrent crimes being inflicted on children by adults?

Children cannot ever be prostitutes – they are victims of rape and child sexual abuse who deserve a society that gives them safety, agency and justice – yet have we made significant strides forward in safeguarding our children and vulnerable adults or has complacency slid out of safeguarding in a wave of back-slapping our “progressive” society?

Some of the most shocking testimonies to come out from survivors are about how victims were treated by those who should have given them agency, support, protection and justice. They failed repeatedly and were treated like collateral damage in a system that became too broken to fix. This is not good enough – the law must be consistently applied to protect the vulnerable from exploitation.

The consultation for my Unbuyable Bill – to tackle the sexual commercial exploitation of prostitution – demonstrated the truth behind the background trauma of those, mainly women, caught up in the sex industry. The concept of ‘choice’ is directly impacted by life experiences and opportunities. Against a childhood scarred by rape and child abuse, is prostitution ever a free choice when many feel that they have no value beyond that of sexual commodities for others?

Ensuring safeguarding children and vulnerable adults is consistent and robust is not right-wing but simply right. Only public trust from transparent, consistent processes that centre safeguarding and equality of justice squeeze out those who seek to create and enflame cultural grievance to destabilise society further.

Protection from those who impose supposedly ‘cultural values’ that damage others is best achieved through robust safeguarding and severe legal consequences, with everyone treated equally under the law.

As the ultimate guardians of our society, the public must actively advocate for stronger safeguarding measures. Our collective responsibility is to ensure that policy at all levels clearly states that abuse is not tolerated and that no one is beyond the law’s reach. Without a transparent, solution-focused environment across public life where safeguarding is centred above all other considerations, we leave the innocent vulnerable and the guilty shielded with impunity.

The Equality Act 2010 protects individuals from discrimination based on the fundamental premise that we are all equal under the law. No characteristic, protected or otherwise, should provide impunity from the consequences of harming others.

Public trust is not just a desirable element of a functioning society; it is paramount. For that trust to be upheld, we must feel safe and protected by the laws of the land. Transparency in all processes is key to maintaining this trust. Safeguarding our most vulnerable must never be assumed; all policy levels must continually and robustly test it to ensure it is fit for purpose and not malleable to any other consideration.

It is time governments got serious about public trust through transparency and rigour across public bodies and public funding. Robust checks must ensure direct responsibility and accountability for consistently upholding safeguarding standards as a funding condition—any breaches must invoke withdrawal and even reclaiming of grant funding.

Organisations that work with those with protected characteristics must not be positioned as beyond scrutiny – they must be held to the highest standards of safeguarding to ensure they are protecting their vulnerable clients. Abuse of trust in organisations that have vulnerable clients has severe consequences for public trust, as we have seen from scandals at Edinburgh Rape Crisis and LGBT Youth Scotland.

We must not be complacent in Scotland nor shy away from exposing problems where they exist. All bodies responsible for safeguarding across; Police, social services, schools, support services and children’s charities, Rape Crisis, Women’s aid, Children’s Commissioner, and Children’s Hearings must proactively demonstrate their safeguarding robustness.

I am writing to the Government to ensure they prioritise safeguarding and that public funds’ administration proactively demonstrates safeguarding compliance and Cass Compliance across all funding schemes for organisations working with children. The Scottish Government has accepted all of Dr Cass’s recommendations, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) has now been enacted in Scotland.

The UNCRC defines children as everyone under eighteen; therefore, all funding of organisations with contact under eighteen must be Cass compliant. We cannot passively await the next scandal to hit the press if we want to build public trust.

A key first step to restoring public trust is the freedom of speech and expression to ask questions without being shouted down or labelled as phobic or some such smear. Without whistleblowers, so many scandals would not have been uncovered and tackled – yet it is too often at great personal cost to those who bravely speak out against prevailing denial or apathy.

Solutions are not built from silencing concern but from engaging in robust debate to understand different perceptions and expose and explore the consequences of proposed solutions—positive and negative—to ensure they meet objectives without creating damaging unintended implications.

Women may make up 51% of the population, yet in politics and public life, we are all too familiar with the labels and smears used to silence us. Yet, as the past few years have shown, women across the geographic, demographic and political spectrum have stood side by side, shoulder-to-shoulder, presenting a collective force of resistance to threats to the dignity, privacy and safety of women and children from ill-thought-through laws and policy.

This collective action culminated in November, when the question of “What is a woman?” was taken to the highest court in the land in For Women Scotland  v The Scottish Ministers.

Women across Scotland and beyond have bravely faced a wave of abuse yet refused to be told to wheesht by those who would patronise and bully them. Long may this continue, as it is only by refusing to be silenced that real progress is made and better solutions for a truly progressive society are found.