Ashbank Remand Home has always been part of me, in the same way, boxing and supporting abused and exploited children have. There are many other incidents I could tell you about and I’m sure some remain buried deep within my head and haunting my dreams, however, I may have moved on, but it is clear it will never leave me, once an abused child, always an abused child.
The question remains, are there any places like Ashbank left in Britain? No. Are children still beaten abused and sexually tortured, in your neighbourhood? Yes. Are children still not believed by teachers, social workers, judges, police officers and parents? Yes. Are girls known to statutory services still categorised as troubled, naïve, and streetwise while continuing to be “asking for it while wearing short skirts”? Yes.
The biggest difference in child abuse from my time is the authorities and those in authority were the largest number of child abusers, the community and individuals less so, it is now the other way around. But I must say, its those in charge who remain incompetent, inept or corrupt. A good social worker is a rare thing, and in my opinion a good social should be a pro-active whistle-blower or they remain part of the problem. Serious case reviews do not work and all Local Safeguarding Boards should be disbanded.
I have found Social Services, as a whole, to be the most arrogant of all the services. They put confidentiality above safeguarding time and time again, the whole industry needs overhauling. Failings are always aimed at and found to be from statutory services, rarely at a third sector support worker or organisation.
People who safeguard children for a living pat themselves on the back while failing children daily. Since the 1960s there have been over twenty landmark changes in law and legislation and hundreds of recommendations, none have worked, you just need to read your local paper to see that statement is fact. From Lord Laming’s report on the Baby P case in 2009, which has fifty-eight recommendations to Sarah’s Law and the start of Child Sex Offenders Disclosure Scheme, better known as Sarah’s Law in 2010/11.
In 2011 Rotherham Council closed down Risky Business, the charity that exposed the child sexual exploitation case, a brutally shameless and fundamental failure to those children and their support staff created by the council’s failings. It is not so well known, the form of abuse, now known as CSE was happening in the early to mid-1980s, prior to Risky Business, same city, the same line of girls just a different generation.
Now think about this, it has taken until 2017 for the grooming of children to become a crime, brought into force on the 3rd April 2017 under section 67 of the Serious Crime Act 2015. TWENTY SEVENTEEN, does it work, does it heck. the question has to be why not, the laws are there, but so is the arrogance and failure of the statutory services to truly embrace the community. In September 2019 Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards were supposed to be disbanded, something I have wanted for years as they are not and have never been fit for purpose. I pray they will get it right next time, but I know they will not.
In November 2018 North Yorkshire Police proudly announced its new child sexual exploitation awareness campaign, it was shot down by third sector workers as it had victim-blaming written all over it, the police withdrew the campaign within days after its launch. I sat on a similar campaign for City of York Council, It’s Not OK, I resigned as it was full of misinformation, and bad practice. These campaigns are put together by multi-agencies, council safeguarding leads, police, social workers, PR teams and third sector organisations. The third sector is there as a token gesture. If the statutory services are still getting the basics wrong, then we’re dead in the water. Sadly, there has been a transition from abuse in children’s homes to old people’s homes, summarising that some people are evil, and others are not.
I recognise the fact I have been brutal towards the statutory services, and I stand by that. For those social workers, support workers, NHS sexual health nurses, teachers and whistle-blowers, who have a heart of gold, fighting the system to help, protect and support a child through to adulthood, I take my hat off to you and thank you on my behalf, that little boy from the 1960s and 70s, who was beaten and abused, with no one to fight for him, he is still out there as a little girl or boy you are working with or yet to meet.
Looking back some of the boys would have been autistic, have ADHD, dyslexia etc, these boys were described as thick, stupid retarded, troubled and delinquents, and then beaten, utter shame on those people and utter shame on the times. It wasn’t long ago left-handed children had their left hand-tied to chairs and made to write with their right hand, this was due to the fact of “having the devil in them”. Humans are sick and sadly still can be.
I have the honour of having seven beautiful and very special grandchildren in my life, some a similar age I was in Ashbank and I thank the Good Lord they will never go through or see anything like I did, however, I also ask the Good Lord to make sure society treats them with kindness and love, I ask the schools to adapt to the child’s needs and not the child to adapt to the school.
I was promised by the Deputy Head of City of York Council Children’s Services that if Ashbank was ever to be raised to the ground I can throw the first brick through a window I will hold him to that promise. The conclusion of my time in Ashbank, from the day I went as a child to the day I went back as an adult, is finally recognising what they did to me was simply wrong.
Ashbank Remand Home, burn in hell.