For the first time in history, the UK is planning to introduce the so-called “Cinderella law”, which will jail parents failing to show love to children for up to 10 years in prison, putting it alongside physical or sexual abuse, local media reported.
The UK government is planning to introduce changes to child
neglect laws, which will make “emotional cruelty” a
crime for the first time, according to Daily Telegraph report.
The law will protect children’s emotional, social and behavioral
well-being.
The offence will include deliberately ignoring a child, not
showing them any love over prolonged periods, forcing degrading
punishments or to witness domestic violence, and making them a
scapegoat.
The maximum sentence that parents neglecting children could face
under the law will be 10 years.
The changes are due to be introduced in Parliament within the
framework of the Queen’s Speech in early June.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman came close to confirming the
report to the Daily Telegraph.
“The Government believes protecting children from harm is
fundamental and that child cruelty is an abhorrent crime which
should be punished,” he said. “Every child should be
able to grow up in a safe environment. We are considering ways
the law can support this.”
This follows a 3-year campaign by the charity, Action for Children, which hails the
government’s support as a “monumental step” forward.
The law on child cruelty in Britain has remained unchanged for
nearly 81 years, the charity stated. It is still based on the
1868 Poor Law (Amendment) Act.
If adopted it will update the current laws in England and Wales,
which state that adults responsible for a child can be prosecuted
if they have deliberately assaulted, abandoned or exposed a child
to suffering, or injury to their health.
The changes have been “long overdue”, said Robert
Buckland, a Conservative MP and part-time judge, campaigning on
the issue.
“Not too many years after the Brothers Grimm popularized the
story of Cinderella, the offence of child neglect was
introduced,” he noted, writing in the Daily Telegraph.
“Our criminal law has never reflected the full range of
emotional suffering experienced by children who are abused by
their parents or carers. The sad truth is that, until now, the
wicked stepmother would have got away scot-free.
“We need a clear, concise and workable definition of child
maltreatment — an alternative code that reflects the range of
harm done to children and which provides appropriate legal
mechanisms to tackle some of the worst cases.
“Emotional neglect must be outlawed, the term 'willful’
should be replaced and the criminal law should be brought into
line with its civil counterpart.”
In Britain, as many as 1.5 million children are believed to
suffer from neglect, according to local media. Intervention by
social workers is allowed when abuse is classed as emotional
neglect. However, the new law will allow police to intervene in
cases of physical or sexual abuse.
“Much is still to be done and we have not seen the details
yet,” said the charity in a statement on it’s website.
“When we do we must, of course, make sure that the new law
does not criminalize vulnerable parents, but today I think we
should celebrate a huge legal and cultural step forward.”