UK: Mother branded as abuser for telling daughter of caesarean
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From: Greegor on 10 Mar 2010 00:16 http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article7052599.ece Mother branded as abuser for telling daughter of caesarean Daniel Foggo From The Sunday Times March 7, 2010 SOCIAL WORKERS have placed the five-year-old daughter of a professional couple on the child protection register for emotional abuse after the mother told the girl she was delivered by caesarean. Other allegations against the mother include cuddling her daughter for too long when dropping her off at nursery. The intervention by Birmingham social services prompted the mother, Shahnaz Malik, to go into hiding with her daughter, Amaani, for two months, fearing the girl would be taken away. An alert was put out to all British ports, and police conducted raids on a string of properties in the West Midlands. Two weeks ago police battered down the door of the familys home in an apartment block in an attempt to find Amaani. She had been moved elsewhere by her mother, but her father, Vijay Bansal, 42, an IT consultant, was later arrested and held in a cell overnight for obstructing the search. Officers also seized Maliks car, took toothbrushes from the bathroom to analyse for DNA and raided the homes of relatives in the middle of the night, looking for the mother and girl. This whole case is madness as there is no reason for the state to be involved in this little girls life in this way, said John Hemming, a Birmingham MP who campaigns against abuses by the family courts. The problem is that the system is using massive aggression to deal with the mothers refusal to respond to a set of frankly silly concerns. The councils actions follow criticism of it by a judge for showing gross lack of judgment in failing to stop seven-year-old Khyra Ishaq starving to death. Care workers did not think she warranted being placed on the at-risk register. The problems started after Amaani began to attend a private nursery last September.Within weeks, friction developed between Malik and staff, who said the girl bit her nails and had been overheard swearing at a teacher. Malik, who has a masters degree in social policy, said last week: We never swear at home, so she must have picked up the words at nursery. She told me she did swear at the nursery teacher because she was grabbed very hard by her. When Malik withdrew Amaani from the nursery, she was told by a health visitor that their case was being referred to social services. I went to a solicitor, who said the grabbing of Amaanis arm was an assault, so I decided to make a complaint to the police, Malik said. However, she felt the police were uninterested in her complaint and wanted to speak to Amaani alone which Malik refused to allow. A few days later her husband was called in by officers. The police asked me if my wife has mental health problems. I said, Absolutely not, Bansal said. They said, There are allegations coming from the nursery. They said, Someone overheard your wife saying to your daughter she had her stomach cut open to deliver Amaani. Bansal said the police also told him that his wife cuddled Amaani for 10-15 minutes when dropping her off at the nursery. I said, No mother wants to leave her child screaming. Then they said that when my wife and daughter had been in the police station, Amaani had turned to the officers and said, Hello, pigs. But at that point Amaani liked watching Peppa Pig. She calls me Daddy Pig and she calls her mother Mummy Pig. Social workers told the family they wanted to hold a child protection conference. Malik said: We decided not to attend or engage with them since we could see they had made their minds up already. In January, Birmingham council notified the family that Amaani was subject to a child protection plan for emotional abuse. Although she would be allowed to live at home, social workers would make unannounced visits. Malik said: I had only told Amaani about how she was born because I believe in telling the truth and she had thought her daddy gave birth to her. I dont see how that is evidence of emotional abuse. She added: I was getting worried that they would come and take Amaani so I moved out with her and stayed with friends. Her husband remained at home but was taken to hospital with a heart condition two weeks ago. The next morning he received a message from the concierge at their block of flats saying the police had entered their two-bedroom apartment. I had to basically discharge myself from the hospital to come and sort it out, he said. A few days later he was arrested and placed in a cell while officers looked for Amaani. The girl was finally presented to the authorities last Thursday. She was allowed to return home. Birmingham council has declined to comment, citing confidentiality.
From: Greegor on 10 Mar 2010 15:35 Is this ""Controversial"" or just plain socialist BS? Notice the same story has two different titles! The one formatted for printing is titled "Child care or nanny state?" http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/8555975.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/8555975..stm Controversy of mother who told girl of Caesarean Page last updated at 16:57 GMT, Tuesday, 9 March 2010 vs. http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/8555975.stm?ad=1 Child care or nanny state? Published: 2010/03/09 16:57:52 GMT By Daniel Thomas BBC News, Birmingham A family which defied child protection authorities has made headlines in recent days, but not for the usual reasons. "Mother branded as abuser for telling daughter of Caesarean," warned The Sunday Times. "Mother accused of 'emotional abuse' for telling daughter of Caesarean," echoed The Daily Telegraph. It was the story of 41-year-old Birmingham mother and masters graduate Shahnaz Malik. In late January she disappeared off the radar with her five-year-old daughter after the child was put on a Child Protection Plan; the suspected victim of "emotional abuse". On 19 February the family was due to attend a Child Protection Conference. When they failed to turn up, their apartment was raided by police over concern for the child's welfare. The father was later arrested for obstruction, but the mother and child had long gone. And they haven't come back. 'Stomach cut open' The headlines were not incorrect. Questions about a conversation on Caesareans between mother and child did crop up during police inquiries. In December, Ms Malik made a complaint to police against her child's nursery, claiming a teacher had grabbed her daughter's arm too hard. Following that, IT consultant husband Vijay Bansal, 42, was called into Birmingham Ladywood police station and asked a series of questions. He told the BBC: "They told me 'somebody at the nursery has heard your wife tell your daughter she has had her stomach cut open'." He added: "They also said 'your wife was cuddling her daughter for 10-15 minutes'." Ms Malik freely accepts she told the child about Caesarean birth, and once hugged her child for a long time at the nursery gates. "I was trying to find a way of leaving my child in an amicable way," she said. So, a Child Protection Plan - which places the child on what used to be known as the "at risk" register - for hugging a child and telling her about Caesareans? 'Challenging behaviour' Well... "no", says the committee which reviewed her case. By her own admission Ms Malik has suffered a strained relationship with Birmingham City Council Children's Social Care. She made a complaint against a health visitor and refused to attend some meetings, including the one which put her daughter in the Child Protection Plan. [The child] has been observed by both health and nursery staff to have very challenging behaviour and difficulties interacting and engaging Child Protection Conference Minutes Birmingham City Council refuses to discuss individual, ongoing cases, but in case documents seen by the BBC, a GP reported the child was "unruly," adding Ms Malik did not intervene when the child misbehaved. Nursery staff said the child expressed "very challenging behaviour" and swore. In notes produced by the Child Protection Conference, West Midlands Police describe Ms Malik as "manipulative and overpowering" when making complaints about the nursery - complaints which were later dropped. There are also concerns over the child's education, with Ms Malik saying she is not currently willing to put her child into a conventional school. Past mistakes But many people say the child is not in any serious danger, the concerns are minor and the council overcautious. Indeed, Liberal Democrat MP for Birmingham Yardley, John Hemming, called the case "trivial," and Ms Malik rejects many of the allegations. Behind the "nanny state versus victimised family" claims, the case is one of many which represent the tightrope care services increasingly feel they must walk when dealing with children. It can be a case of you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. Colin Tucker, Birmingham City Council And Birmingham City Council has more reason than most to be sensitive. Last month its children's services were savaged by a High Court Judge following the death of Khyra Ishaq. Seven-year-old Khyra was starved to death by her mother and stepfather while she was meant to be being tutored at home. Then, Birmingham was pilloried for not doing enough for Khyra. Now the same department risks being too interfering when death is not a threat. Director for Children's Social Care at Birmingham City Council, Colin Tucker, said: "It can be a case of you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. "People want to portray things as black and white but the reality in social care is that we are dealing with very complex situations. "Staff are trained to focus on the needs and welfare of children first and foremost and this does not always coincide with the views of the parents." Since Khyra's death in 2008, there has been an increase in referrals to Children's Social Care of between 35 and 40%, according to the council. Police concern Birmingham City Council said some 22,000 cases of abuse are referred each year in the city, and at any one time 1,400 children are subject of Child Protection Plans. On Thursday Ms Malik's child was presented to police by her brother. In that instance the girl was allowed to return to her mother. West Midlands Police have written to John Hemming MP to say they still have concerns Ms Malik may continue to avoid contact with social services and try to leave the country. "If contact is made with social services," the email reads, "then the police have no further role to play." Yet it remains the role social services plays which is in dispute, with views of their actions ranging from heavy-handed to callous. Getting it wrong, in either direction, leaves behind a devastation far more serious than any headline. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/8555975..stm Published: 2010/03/09 16:57:52 GMT
From: Kent Wills on 11 Mar 2010 04:23 At one time, not so long ago, Greegor <greegor47(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >Is this ""Controversial"" or just plain socialist BS? >Notice the same story has two different titles! They come from two different sources. >The one formatted for printing is titled "Child care or nanny state?" > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/8555975.stm > >http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/8555975.stm > >Controversy of mother who told girl of Caesarean >Page last updated at 16:57 GMT, Tuesday, 9 March 2010 > > >vs. >http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/8555975.stm?ad=1 > >Child care or nanny state? >Published: 2010/03/09 16:57:52 GMT [...] Two different sources, two different titles. Nothing amiss about it, really. -- It's hard to relate to this high-tech world when your kid says her Lego Toys need more memory.
From: Greegor on 11 Mar 2010 12:37 KBW > Two different sources, two different titles. KBW > Nothing amiss about it, really. The exact same article by the exact same author with two different titles. Even more bizarre is that if you click for printable version THAT has a different title than the the online (supposedly non-printable) version. Kent, Which of these was not written by Daniel Thomas of the BBC? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/8555975.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/8555975.stm Page last updated at 16:57 GMT, Tuesday, 9 March 2010 Controversy of mother who told girl of Caesarean By Daniel Thomas BBC News, Birmingham Shahnaz Malik says she is being made to feel "like a criminal" A family which defied child protection authorities has made headlines in recent days, but not for the usual reasons. vs. http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/8555975.stm Child care or nanny state? Published: 2010/03/09 16:57:52 GMT By Daniel Thomas BBC News, Birmingham Shahnaz Malik says she is being made to feel "like a criminal" A family which defied child protection authorities has made headlines in recent days, but not for the usual reasons.
From: Greegor on 13 Mar 2010 01:00
What part of this was good for your ego, Kent? |