Reflections UK: a voice for survivors

From David Hencke:

"Yesterday [25 July 2015] in a community hall in Loughborough a new group calling itself Reflections UK representing survivors of child abuse across the UK was born."

"It has arisen because many survivors – at first buoyed up by the creation of the over arching child sex abuse independent panel – have been knocked down by its replacement body, the statutory Lowell Goddard inquiry. While there was a populist demand for a statutory inquiry – many don’t seem to have realised that the price of that was to exclude survivors from sitting on it."

"There has now been a strong backlash from survivors who believe their voices have been excluded and they have decided to do something about it. Yesterday’s meeting was the start."

"It is a powerful 21st century response to a government trying to find a traditionally 20th century solution to a very, very serious issue. The Goddard inquiry is a classic way governments try to solve problems – appoint an eminent judge, bring in a bevy of QC’s, hold hearings, make recommendations and spend a lot of money on an inquiry to sort it. The great and the good solve it all for the great unwashed who are eternally grateful."

"Reflections UK is a 21st century response to this – made possible through instant communication on Facebook and Twitter – and expecting the survivors to be treated as equal partners. And they are not going to keep quiet and nor are they going to have their very emotive, raw and angry response to what happened to them filtered by the Whitehall bureaucracy. And in the 21st century they have the medium and the power – through the internet – to do it."

https://davidhencke.wordpress.com/2015/07/26/child-abuse-survivors-strike-back-a-reflection-on-reflections-uk/

Or do they ?

From Philosophical Politics:

"Since 1968, the Police have used undercover tactics to infiltrate groups that posed what they considered a public order threat. Along the way, though, something went wrong. They began to put victims’ families under surveillance and infiltrate victim support groups. The police behaviour follows a trend that raises questions about their role and legitimacy today."

"With the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (aka Goddard Inquiry) underway, a new question emerges. Have they placed the victims and survivors groups under surveillance as a potential public order threat? Have they infiltrated these groups with undercover officers? Have the MPS considered infiltrating these groups to investigate their threat to public safety? The historical trend suggests that this is a strong possibility. If we follow the historical logic the MPS appear to have used, it would indicate the victims and survivors are a potential threat to the regime and would need to be infiltrated and placed under surveillance."

https://lawrenceserewicz.wordpress.com/2015/07/22/police-surveillance-are-the-goddard-inquiry-survivor-groups-a-target/