Children harmed by parents..statistics.

by jack 15.02.10 16:25

Home office statistics say that where children are harmed then in the vast majority of cases the person responsible is either a parent or a member of the family. On the surface quite compelling evidence to point the finger at the McCanns, but let's look a little deeper.
What is the home office definition of parents. Not the childs biological parent but step parents, mum and her new boyfriend, or just the lodger.

In actual fact if you look at children who are harmed by parents, the overwhelming vast majority are harmed by mum and her boyfriend/lodger in an extremely abusive relationship.Think of baby P and Shannon Mathews.
The next , much smaller, group is where the parents are involved in a long running, bitter custody battle.

So it is therefore quite wrong to suggest statistics support the McCanns guilt. They don't.
The reason that children are rarely harmed by strangers is that they are usually always under supervision of an adult. The only time they would be at risk from a stranger would be if they were left alone , in an appt for instance

by Kololi 15.02.10 16:34

And Mr and Mrs McCan et al couldn't work that out for themselves on that holiday being people who are used to making some quite huge decisions on behalf of patients who put their trust in them???

Goodness.

by aliberte2 15.02.10 21:48

Isn't this One of the 60 Reasons?
Statistics Do Not Matter In Individual Cases Anyway.

by vaguely1 15.02.10 22:04

I think the 60 reasons statistics focus on how unlikely stranger abduction is.

I have mentioned before that the reason that stranger abduction figures are so low is that when a further crime is committed, i.e. sexual assault, or murder - then the offence is categorised by that second and more severe offence.

It's a poor way of recording crime, as it doesn't give a full picture. But it's the way it's done.

ETA, Obviously more children are harmed in the home by members of their own family or people they know.... but then so are adult victims. No one would use the high levels of domestic type violence to claim that women weren't murdered by strangers though....iykwim.