Government Considering Introducing Emotional Cruelty Law

The government is seriously considering introducing what is referred to as a Cinderella Law, which would make it a criminal offence to starve children of love and impose emotional cruelty upon them. The new law would mean that children found to have been victims of the newly introduced crime may be able to claim compensation from parents, because the emotional neglect would be considered a form of criminal injury. Charity Action for Children is at the head of the group demanding the introduction of the law.

Emotional cruelty is not currently considered a criminal offence. While local authorities and the Court may decide to remove a child from its parents because of emotional neglect, parents will not be prosecuted unless it is found that they have committed some form of physical abuse or legal neglect. The new laws would change this, and would mean that Courts would have a wider range of offences with which to charge parents.

Sources close to the government have said that amendments to an existing bill are currently under consideration and are more likely to happen than not. The Telegraph had earlier reported that the Queen would introduce the idea during her speech in June, but because the new laws could be introduced as part of an extension to an existing bill, this would not be necessary. The changes could occur sooner rather than later.

The charity Action for Children is the primary driving force behind the proposals, but they have the backing of many other groups and a number of prominent MPs. Current legislation comes from the Children and Young Person’s Act of 1933, in which it is considered illegal to treat children in a manner that is likely to cause injury, including mental impairments.

The proposed changes would extend this bill so that the potential injuries include any impairment of physical, intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural development. The government has said that it could make the amendments prior to the next general election but also stressed that it was not yet a done deal and that work was still required on pushing the bill through.

CICAMar 14th, 20140 comments