13. Appealing to the Council of Europe

Christopher Chope MP told me that the Council of Europe in Strasbourg would be more effective than the EU Parliament in Brussels. He had written Family Courts and Human Rights in 2012.

But mind the gap between the law, mere guidance and those insubstantial ‘resolutions’.

For example, we have

• Building a Europe for and with Children
• Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse
• Child-friendly Justice

and then we have

• its enforcement, practice and the ignoring of it, i.e. what we are hearing ‘on the ground’ is actually going on.

Now there is a new Resolution:

• The inclusion of children’s rights in national constitutions as an essential component of effective national child policies

and a new list of 18 UK Members of the

• Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development

to look after it.

18 November has been earmarked as European Day against Sexual Abuse against Children,so I encouraged online activists to email the 18 UK Members of the Council of Europe to ask for some ‘action’, as that’s what is needed – not more ‘resolutions!