
The Cleveland child abuse scandal is a wave of suspected child sexual abuse cases in 1987 in
Cleveland, England
Cleveland is a land of hills and dales from the River Tees to Vale of Pickering, England. The name means "cliff-land".
The area corresponds to the former Langbaurgh Wapentake. The North York Moors national park, established in 1952, covers ...
, many of which were later discredited.
In that year, a large number of child sexual abuse allegations followed the use of a new and controversial diagnostic test by paediatricians at the Middlesbrough Hospital. A total of 121 children were removed from their parents as a result. In 1988, the Butler-Sloss Inquiry into the cases concluded that most of the diagnoses were incorrect; 94 of the children were subsequently returned and the two paediatricians involved were criticized.
In 1991, the
Children Act was implemented, in part as a result of the scandal and the ensuing report.
In 1997, a controversial TV documentary suggested that the majority of the diagnoses were in fact correct, and that a number of the children had again been determined to be at risk of abuse.
Background
At this time, the administrative county of Cleveland, established in 1974 from parts of
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
and
County Durham
County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...
in the
Teesside
Teesside () is an urban area around the River Tees in North East England. Straddling the border between County Durham and North Yorkshire, it spans the boroughs of Borough of Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough, Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, Stockton ...
area, included four main towns:
Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in County Durham, England, with a population of 84,815 at the 2021 UK census. It gives its name to and is the largest settlement in the wider Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. It is part of Teesside and the Tees Val ...
,
Hartlepool
Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...
,
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
and
Redcar
Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority. It is in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England, and is located east of Middlesbrough.
The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdiv ...
.
It ceased to exist in 1996.
History
In the years prior to the scandal, levels of reported child abuse in the Cleveland area were consistent with those of other parts of the United Kingdom.
[ However, in 1987, during the period of February to July, many children living in Cleveland were removed from their homes by social service agencies and diagnosed as sexually abused.] The 121 diagnoses were made by two paediatricians at a Middlesbrough hospital, Marietta Higgs and Geoffrey Wyatt, using reflex anal dilation for diagnosis (later discredited). When there were not enough foster homes in which to place the allegedly abused children, social services began to house the children in a ward at the local hospital.[
Later, the test being used to establish child abuse was contested by the area police surgeon, and cooperation between the social workers, police and hospital doctors involved in diagnosis began to disintegrate.][ There was public concern regarding the practices being used by the local social service agency, such as the removal of children from their homes in the middle of the night.][ In May 1987, parents marched from the hospital where their children were being held to the local newspaper. The resulting media coverage caused the social service agency's practices to receive public scrutiny and criticism.][ Controversy increased when Mr Justice Hollis ruled that 19 of 20 children who had been made wards of the court should be returned to their parents due to the weakness of the medical evidence.
The Butler-Sloss report was commissioned by the Secretary of State for Social Services in July 1987 and published in 1988.] The report was led by Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss and it concluded that most of the diagnoses were incorrect. Ninety-four of the 121 children were returned to their homes. An editorial in ''The Lancet
''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal, founded in England in 1823. It is one of the world's highest-impact academic journals and also one of the oldest medical journals still in publication.
The journal publishes ...
'' concluded: "The kindest description of Dr Marietta Higgs and Dr Geoffrey Wyatt would be to say that they were naive, but naivety should not number among a consultant paediatrician's characteristics. By their bull-headed approach, Dr Higgs and Dr Wyatt ... have set back the cause they sought to promote". In July 1988, six MPs tabled a House of Commons motion for charges of indecent assault and conspiracy to be brought against Higgs and Wyatt.[
On 14 October 1991, the ]Children Act 1989
The Children Act 1989 (c. 41) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that received royal assent on 16 November 1989 and came into substantial force across all three jurisdictions of the United Kingdom on 14 October 1991. In 1995, for the p ...
was implemented in full as a result of the Cleveland child abuse scandal and other child related events that preceded it.[
In 1997, a controversial television documentary, ''The Death of Childhood'', claimed that "independent experts under the guidance of the Department of Health later found that at least 70 per cent of the diagnoses" were correct.] According to the documentary, two years after the scandal a number of children were again referred to social services and determined to be at risk for child abuse.
In February 2007, Sir Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer, who was the regional medical officer at the time of the scandal, said of the original diagnoses: "The techniques that have been used have not been reliable and it does look as if some mistakes have been made". A few days later, two of the children who had been the focus of the scandal asked the Middlesbrough police for an investigation of their 1987 experience.
Afterwards
In 2023, Beatrix Campbell published ''Secrets and Silence'', in which she describes what she considers new information about the scandal, drawn from official records now publicly available, including the impact on those children affected.[Beatrix Campbell]
Secrets and Silence - Uncovering the Legacy of the Cleveland Child Sexual Abuse Case
2023, Bristol: Policy Press.
See also
*Abuse
Abuse is the act of improper usage or treatment of a person or thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, ...
*Child abuse
Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...
*Child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in Human sexual activity, sexual activit ...
* False allegation of child sexual abuse
*Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...
Notes
Bibliography
* Bell, Stuart (1988). ''When Salem Came to the Boro, The True Story of the Cleveland Child Abuse Crisis''
External links
Kerry's story
BMJ summary of official enquiry
{{Child sexual abuse in the UK, state=collapsed
1987 in England
1987 in British law
1987 scandals
20th century in County Durham
Abuse
Child sexual abuse in England
Children's rights in England
History of mental health in the United Kingdom
Scandals in England
Cleveland, England
History of County Durham
English family law
False allegations of sex crimes