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Parentline Plus

Parentline Plus is a UK based charity that works for, and with, parents.

Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Activities 3 Campaigning and controversy 4 Satanic ritual abuse scandal 5 Values 6 See also 7 References 8 External links 9 Bibliography

[edit] History

Parentline Plus was the result of the merger of three charities: Parentline UK, National Stepfamily Association (NSA) and Parent Network.

On 7 September 1999 NSA and Parentline UK held AGMs and agreed formally to merge as FamilyLives. Those AGMs were immediately followed by FamilyLives’ first Board meeting. (Parent Network’s merger was a bit later – midnight 31 March 2000).

The Rt Hon Lord Justice Thorpe was the first Chair and the new Board included Trustees of the merging charities. Lord Thorpe went on to become our first President when he stood down as Chair and Michael Leadbetter was appointed Chair in April 2006.

Dorit Braun had led the mergers and became Chief Executive of Parentline Plus (previously appointed Chief Executive of NSA in 1997). She was awarded the OBE in June 2000 and took early retirement April 2008.

[edit] Activities

Parentline Plus works to offer help and support through an innovative range of free, flexible, responsive services - shaped by parents for parents. These include a national helpline and three websites, [Parentline Plus], Parentline Plus Professional and Got A Teenager.

[edit] Campaigning and controversy The NSPCC's campaigning role has often been controversial. The Guardian reported New Philanthropy Capital recently concluded that its campaigning is "flawed and naïve" and that there is "zero evidence" that £250m the NSPCC has spent on its recent "Full Stop" campaign actually benefited any children [5].

The NSPCC also received complaints, amongst other things, for "cold" mailing young mothers with a "babies' names" booklet containing instead a detailed list of the deaths of babies.[6] The charity also supports mandatory sex education for all children, and has argued against the view that marriage is necessarily the only way to create stable relationships [1].

In recent years, the charity has faced criticism for its stance on contact visits to children following parents' separation. The NSPCC has consistently opposed an automatic right of contact for both parents, arguing that this is not necessarily in the best interests of the child. This stance has led to criticism both in parliament [7] and by the fathers' rights group Fathers4Justice. In fact, in 2004 the London headquarters of NSPCC were briefly invaded and occupied by Fathers4Justice supporters, claiming that the NSPCC "ignores the plight of 100 children a day who lose contact with their fathers" and that they promote a "portrayal of men as violent abusers."[8]

The NSPCC also faced criticism for failing (along with other organizations) to do enough to help Victoria Climbié and prevent her death, and also for misleading the inquiry into her death.[9].

The organisation has also faced criticism for its allegedly increasing obsession with publicity and advertising, for fear mongering[10][11] and supposedly fabricating or exaggerating facts and figures in its research. In an article on Spiked, Frank Furedi professor of sociology at the University of Kent, branded it a "lobby group devoted to publicising its peculiar brand of anti-parent propaganda and promoting itself."[12]

The NSPCC responded to criticism about its spending, suggesting that raising awareness of child cruelty was essential and that lobbying was more effective than direct projects.[13] David Hinchliffe, Labour MP, supported expenditure on campaigning, stating that the NSPCC's role should be about raising awareness.[13], whilst Conservative MP Gerald Howarth described it as "completely incompetent" although he cited the charity's support for reducing the homosexual age of consent to 16 as the reason for him withdrawing his support for the Full Stop campaign. [13]

[edit] Satanic ritual abuse scandal Main articles: satanic ritual abuse and list of satanic ritual abuse allegations During the late 1980s and early 1990s, a moral panic emerged over alleged ritual satanic abuse. The NSPCC provided a publication known as 'Satanic Indicators' to social services around the country that has been blamed for some social workers panicking and making false accusations. The most prominent of these cases was in Rochdale in 1990 when up to 20[14] children were taken from their homes and parents after social services believed them to be involved in satanic or occult ritual abuse. The allegations were later found out to be false. The case was the subject of a BBC documentary which featured recordings of the interviews made by NSPCC social workers, revealing that flawed techniques and leading questions were used to gain evidence of abuse from the children. The documentary claimed that the social services were wrongly convinced, by organisations such as the NSPCC, that abuse was occurring and so rife that they made allegations before any evidence was considered.[15][16]. See the bibliography lower down this page for further reading about the satanic ritual abuse scandal.

[edit] Values The NSPCC's stated core values are based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

They are:

Children must be protected from all forms of violence and exploitation Everyone has a responsibility to support the care and protection of children We listen to children and young people, respect their views and respond to them directly Children should be encouraged and enabled to fulfil their potential We challenge inequalities for children and young people Every child must have someone to turn to

[edit] See also ChildLine Internet Watch Foundation List of satanic ritual abuse allegations The Children's Society Timeline of children's rights in the United Kingdom

[edit] References ^ a b "About the NSPCC". Retrieved on 2007-09-19. ^ "Children's Act 1989". Retrieved on 2008-04-02. ^ "Independent Enquiry and Assessment Service". Retrieved on 2008-04-03. ^ "NSPCC FAQ". NSPCC. Retrieved on 2008-04-01. ^ "Full Stop Missing", The Guardian (2007-08-01). Retrieved on 2007-11-27. ^ "Mailshock", The Guardian (2006-10-03). Retrieved on 2007-09-19. ^ House of Commons Hansard Debates for 2 Mar 2006 (pt 18) ^ "Protesters enter charity offices", BBC (2004-11-15). Retrieved on 2007-09-19. ^ "It Needs To Be Stopped. Full Stop". The Guardian (2002-02-19). Retrieved on 2007-09-19. ^ Why this NSPCC advert is harmful to children ^ A Stranger Danger ^ Furedi, Frank (2004-01-19). "A danger to the nation's children". Spiked. Retrieved on 2007-09-19. ^ a b c NSPCC hits back over cash ^ Satanic abuse: The truth at last ^ When Satan Came To Town. ^ Cummings, Dolan (2006-01-12). "A full stop to the Satanic panic". Spiked. Retrieved on 2007-09-19.

[edit] External links NSPCC Homepage Charity commission registration Internet Watch Foundation

[edit] Bibliography Susan J. Creighton, "Organized Abuse: The NSPCC Experience", Child Abuse Review; Volume 2, Issue 4 (1993), p. 232-242. Jean La Fontaine, The Extent and Nature of Organised and Ritual Sexual Abuse of Children, HMSO, 1994. Jean La Fontaine, Speak of the Devil: Tales of Satanic Abuse in Contemporary England, Cambridge University Press, 1998. Department of Health and Social Services Inspectorate. North West Region, Inspection of child protection services in Rochdale, Greater Manchester: Social Services Inspectorate. North West Region, 1990, viii, 33pp. Clyde, James J., The report of the inquiry into the removal of children from Orkney in February 1991 , Edinburgh : HMSO , 1992, xiv, 363pp. ISBN: 0102195935. Department of Health and Social Security and Welsh Office, Working Together: a guide to arrangements for inter-agency co-operation for the protection of children from abuse , London : HMSO, 1988, 72pp. ISBN: 0113211546. Eleanor Stobart, Child abuse linked to accusations of "possession" and "witchcraft", Nottingham : Department for Education and Skills, 2006. Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSPCC" Categories: Charities based in the United Kingdom | Children's charities | 1884 establishments | Organisations based in the United Kingdom with royal patronage Hidden categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since July 2008