New Research Shows 65 Per Cent Of Child Abuse Deaths Could Have Been Avoided

Expert lawyers say urgent action is needed to provide children who are known to be at risk with proper protection by the authorities after a report claimed nearly two-thirds of children who died as a result of abuse last year could have been saved.

The abuse team at law firm Irwin Mitchell say the report, published by the Children's Rights Alliance for England (CRAE), which found that a total of 43 children died as a result of "deliberately inflicted injury, abuse or neglect" in 2011-12, shows more must be done by children’s services to prevent any more unnecessary deaths.

CRAE said ‘a lack of resources’ was behind a number of the problems facing children's rights but it added that ‘a lack of money is not an excuse for the Government's failure to secure children's rights’.

Tracey Storey, a Partner and expert in child abuse claims at Irwin Mitchell, said: “We are deeply concerned to hear that 65 per cent of child abuse deaths in England could have been avoided and it is clear that urgent action is needed from the authorities to give vulnerable children the protection to which they are entitled.

“Sadly we are not surprised by these latest findings as we see too many cases involving failings on the part of children's services.

“We hope that more can be done to ensure that prompt investigations can be carried out into all cases, and that effective safeguarding measures are taken at the earliest opportunity to avoid unnecessary abuse and neglect.

“These are children known to be at risk and we cannot afford for the same mistakes to be made time and time again as in the cases of Peter Connolly and Victoria Climbie”

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