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Encouraging false accusations of sex abuse; [Final Edition] The booklet, which is concerned with child sexual abuse (CSA),
was first endorsed by the Parliamentary Cross Party Group (CPG)
and is part of a GBP2m project by the executive on child protection.
I first called the office of Marilyn Livingstone, CPG convener,
in late January, to voice my concerns about the booklet but was
told to write to her. I did so on February 2, outlining my concerns
and drawing attention to the number of high-profile cases where
false allegations of sexual abuse had led to children being taken
into care and families almost destroyed, using the self-same techniques
now being advocated in this booklet and endorsed by the executive. THE report by Karen McVeigh (March 6) that the Royal College of Psychiatry is calling for the withdrawal of the booklet, A Can of Worms, is good news. The response from the spokesperson for the Scottish Executive is not so good, but is par for the course for this body, when called on to deal with its own incompetence. The booklet, which is concerned with child sexual abuse (CSA), was first endorsed by the Parliamentary Cross Party Group (CPG) and is part of a GBP2m project by the executive on child protection. I first called the office of Marilyn Livingstone, CPG convener, in late January, to voice my concerns about the booklet but was told to write to her. I did so on February 2, outlining my concerns and drawing attention to the number of high-profile cases where false allegations of sexual abuse had led to children being taken into care and families almost destroyed, using the self-same techniques now being advocated in this booklet and endorsed by the executive. In order to establish my own status on this issue, I mentioned my own experience, along with Rochdale, Cleveland, Shieldfield and Nottingham, as well as Ayrshire (twice), Orkney, the Borders and Western Isles. I pointed out that some of the references used by the authors of the booklet, were highly questionable and that one of them, The Courage to Heal, has been described as one of the most pernicious self-help books ever written. More important, I asked why there was no mention of any of the scientific literature such as the Brandon Commission report, which completely discredited the approach of the authors of A Can of Worms. Ms Livingstone's reply of February 14 was that "the CPG had taken a decision not to become involved in individual cases" and that she could not help me. I wrote again on February 17, pointing out I had neither asked for her help in my case, which has been resolved, nor had I asked her to get involved in any individual cases. She also claimed the CPG "believed that the majority of survivors are telling the truth about their abuse". That seems to suggest that a minority are lying and I asked her on what basis the group had come to that decision. She was also asked what experience,
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