Remembering that little smiling girl
Posted on | February 26, 2010 | No Comments
It is ironic that on the same day that the Victoria Climbie Foundation was marking the 10 year anniversary of the death of eight year old Victoria at the hands of an abusive ‘aunt’, the verdict in the death of another little girl, Khyra Ishaq, starved to death by her mother, was being handed down.
I attended the VCF memorial in Parliament on 25 Feb. and saw the dedication of the Foundation to not only remembering Victoria, but working towards making a safer and better future for children. Despite all of their hard work however, children continue to be killed in truly horrible circumstances.
Khyra Ishaq should never have been allowed to starve to death; Baby Peter Connelly should never have been tragically physically abused; the Ogunkoya children did not deserve to be killed; neither did the Mullings children…the list, it seems, is endless.
Just what can be done?
While it seems an impossible task, steps can be taken: greater co-ordination between agencies; more support for the staff and the individuals in the system; and greater preventative steps towards ensuring that when alarm bells start ringing, we pay attention and don’t ignore them.
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