Mother of Khyra says “It’s all my fault”.

16th June 2009
 
BBC News reports again on a case from Birmingham Crown Court, where the court was told that a seven year old girl was starved to death, after being kept prisoner by her mother and her partner. A lock had been fitted high up on the kitchen door to keep her and other children away from the food in the home. The young girl had been removed from school and her mother refused to admit visitors to the house.

Abuse of children takes many forms, of which starvation is only one. Schedule 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 details a number of offences against children and young persons in which special provisions apply.  Offences cover murder and manslaughter, infanticide, specific offences under the Offences Against a Person Act 1861, offences under Punishment of Incest Act 1908 or other offences involving bodily injury to a child or young person.

Individuals can also be held liable in the civil courts for failure to protect a child from abuse. One example is the case of S v W (Child abuse: Damages) [1995] 1 FLR 862.

See BBC News 16th June 2009 Mother of Khyra says “It’s all my fault”