Politics, politicians

Clements, David, Every Child Matters - but so does our privacy; We must not accept state intrusion in our private lives in the name of children's 'well-being'. spiked-online, 16 October 2006 - Speech at the debate Does Every Child really Matter - has the abuse panic gone too far?, at the Battle of Ideas festival in London on Sunday 29 October 2006. 
Under the Blair government's Every Child Matters reforms, local authorities and other agencies working with children are required to protect children under a new duty to 'safeguard' them and promote their welfare, to work together more closely and share information, and by creating new high-powered posts to oversee children's services. However, these reforms are not so much the antidote to child abuse panics, as implicated in them. 

Dodson, Chuck, The spectacular achievements of media control - A serious take-off of Noam Chomsky's vital "Media Control" speech, now a book; 1994-'97; Nonsilent Press.
Update of this article: 2024.

When most Americans think about aggression in our society, our first thoughts are apt to include children being abused and/or killed by sick or outrightly criminal adults. We usually don't consider the somewhat broader context of what is going on behind the use of these issues, or the time periods in which they are most emphasized; in fact, in not seeing this we miss out on a crucial issue that comes down to what kind of society we want to live in.

Hartley, Eric, Molesters getting a slap on the wrist? Lack of jail time in cases sparks sentencing debate; The Capital, Annapolis, Md., April 22, 2007
The two recent county cases, among others, have sparked public debate about how the courts handle child sex abusers. 
On one side are those who say courts are too lenient and need to impose long prison sentences to protect the public. 
On the other side, some judges and experts say a psychiatric problem can't be cured by incarceration and the best way to protect children in the long run is to give offenders mental health treatment.

Levine, Judith, Poli Psy; , The Public; Uses & Abuses of Emotion; Ocober 25, 2006
It's hard not to relish the spectacle of the Republicans' hoist on Mark Foley's quivering petard. But the pleasure wanes as the sanctimony rises -- a chorus of politicians, pundits and reporters all singing the words child protection.
[...] As I said, the words child and protection lose all meaning. 

Rosen, David - Quotes from
Sex Panic on Capitol Hill; Mark Foley and the Politics of Sex in America; Counterpunch
Deviant sexual practice is not unfamiliar to American politics. The media seems especially captivated by Foley's peculiar sexual predilection -- his erotic fascination with adolescent youths.
[...] We are watching the culture wars becoming the sex wars. 

Unesco Report: Britain and US: worst places for children 
An UNESCO report places the UK an the US on the lowest places of al list of countries, looking to the well-being of children, and places the Netherlands on the top of the same list. 
(1) Britain stung at being worst place for children; AFP & Turkishpress.com, 14 February 2007 
(2) British children: poorer, at greater risk and more insecure; Sarah Boseley, The Guardian, February 14, 2007 
(3) Britain's children are unhappiest in the Western world; Alexandra Blair, timesonline.com, February 14, 2007