How Safe Are Our Children

A new report from the NSPCC:
"This report compiles the most robust and up-to-date child protection data that exists across each of the four nations in the UK.

It sets out 19 different indicators and each indicator looks at the question from a different perspective. These indicators will be regularly updated as new statistics are published.

The report allows us not only to understand how many children are being abused and neglected, but also to track progress so that society can be held to account for its responsibility to children. Only by monitoring the extent of child abuse and neglect in the UK can we judge whether efforts to prevent maltreatment and to protect children are working."

A rapid literature review of evidence on child abuse linked to faith or belief

This publication from the Childhood Wellbeing Research Centre, funded by the Department for Education (England and Wales), is a small scale review of previous research conducted to collate information for future policy. The review looked at the incidence and characteristics of child abuse linked to faith or belief in the UK and some other countries, looked to identify good practice in the identification and reduction of such abuse and sought to define gaps in the evidence base where further research may be helpful. The main sources of information were Stobart’s analysis of Metropolitan Police cases (2006; 2009) and the more recent (as yet unpublished) research from La Fontaine (2012). The review includes evidence on "witchcraft and spirit possession" related cases and also "ritual and satanic abuse".