Disabled children in Wales 'three times more likely to suffer abuse than able-bodied'.

Disabled children are three times more likely to be abused than non-disabled children in Wales and are less likely to get the protection they need, a new report has revealed.

The NSPCC publication, which will be launched in Cardiff today, claims people’s reluctance to believe disabled children are suffering physical, sexual and emotional abuse is to blame.

The charity says there are “barriers” for the families of disabled children in accessing the right support services.

And it also blames a lack of professional skills, expertise and confidence in identifying child protection concerns and criticises the weakness of an effective child protection response across the UK.

The NSPCC fears cases go unreported because some disabled children have difficulties in communicating what is happening to them.

In addition, there are claims disabled children in residential care face particular risks of harm.

Mark Drakeford, Minister for Health and Social Services, will be at the Millennium Centre today to help unveil the report with the help of schoolchildren from Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn in Morriston, Swansea.

He said: “Enabling children to recognise and understand different forms of abuse is key to ensuring we respond effectively to concerns when they arise.

“The Social Services and Well-being Wales Act will strengthen the statutory framework which underpins how professionals who work with children and adults at risk ensure that they are protected from abuse.”

The report, called We Have a Right to be Safe, makes a number of recommendations to lower the levels of abuse.

It has called on the Welsh Government to introduce sex and relationships education for disabled children to raise their awareness of abuse and their ability to seek help.

The charity also wants to develop a “wider and deeper evidence base” to help the public better understand the vulnerability of disabled children to abuse and how they can be protected.

Viv Laing, NSPCC policy and public affairs manager for Wales, said: “Today’s report does demonstrate that there is knowledge and good practice out there but also that we need to share and build on that to ensure that our disabled children and young people are equally protected.

“We’re very much hoping to work alongside Welsh Government over the coming years to develop our knowledge of the issues facing disabled children and young people in Wales.

“This will help us better understand the issues they, and those who care for them, face so that they can be better protected.”

Ysgol Pen-Y Bryn is also to be the first special school in Wales to pilot an adapted version of the ChildLine Schools Service.

The ground-breaking service, which has to date visited 38,607 children across 684 schools in Wales, uses trained volunteers to help children understand abuse and recognise it if it occurs.

Aron Bradley, deputy headteacher at Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn, said: “As the report identifies, bullying is a particular area of increased risk for disabled children – because they’re more vulnerable.

“It’s very important for them to know what it is and where to get help and we’re pleased that the ChildLine Schools Service will help re-enforce that message.

“They will also provide valuable expert knowledge on sensitive issues which are not easily addressed in school.”

During today’s event, two new bilingual versions of the NSPCC’s successful Underwear Rule guide will also be launched to help parents teach children with learning disabilities and Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) about sexual abuse.

The guides were produced in association with Mencap and the National Autistic Society.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/disabled-children-wales-three-times-7960830

Jimmy Savile was part of satanic ring | UK | Express.co.uk - Home of the Daily and Sunday Express

The perverted star wore a hooded robe and mask as he abused the terrified victim in a candle-lit basement.

He also chanted “Hail Satan” in Latin as other paedophile devil worshippers joined in and assaulted the girl at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire. The attack, which happened in 1975, shines a sinister new light on the former DJ’s 54-year reign of terror.

Savile, who died aged 84 in October 2011, is now Britain’s worst sex offender after police revealed he preyed on at least 450 victims aged eight to 47.

The girl kept her torment hidden for nearly 20 years before finally opening up to therapist Valerie Sinason.

Dr Sinason told the Sunday Express she first spoke to the victim in 1992. “She had been a patient at Stoke Mandeville in 1975 when Savile was a regular visitor.

“She recalled being led into a room that was filled with candles on the lowest level of the hospital, somewhere that was not regularly used by staff. Several adults were there, including Jimmy Savile who, like the others, was wearing a robe and a mask.

“She recognised him because of his distinctive voice and the fact that his blond hair was protruding from the side of the mask. He was not the leader but he was seen as important because of his fame.

“She was molested, raped and beaten and heard words that sounded like ‘Ave Satanas’, a Latin­ised version of ‘Hail Satan’, being chanted. There was no mention of any other child being there and she cannot remember how long the attack lasted but she was left extremely frightened and shaken.”

Savile was a volunteer porter and fundraiser at the hospital between 1965 and 1988 and had his own quarters there.

Five years after the hospital attack, he abused a second victim during another black mass ceremony held at a house in a wealthy London street.

The woman was 21 at the time and was made to attend an orgy, which later took on a darker twist.

Dr Sinason, director of the Clinic for Dissociative Studies in London, said: “A second victim approached me in 1993. She said she had been ‘lent out’ as a supposedly consenting prostituted woman at a party in a London house in 1980.

“The first part of the evening started off with an orgy but half-way through some of the participants left.

“Along with other young women, the victim was shepherded to wait in another room before being brought back to find Savile in a master of ceremonies kind of role with a group wearing robes and masks. She too heard Latin chanting and instantly recognised satanist regalia. Although the girl was a young adult, who was above the age of consent, she had suffered a history of sexual abuse and was extremely vulnerable.”

Both victims contacted Dr Sinason, who is president of the Institute of Psychotherapy and Disability, while she was involved in a Department of Health-funded study into sexual abuse committed during rituals and religious ceremonies. She said: “Both these witnesses did speak to police at the time but were vulnerable witnesses and on encountering any surprise or shock did not dare to give all the details.”

The police took no action.

She had been a patient at Stoke Mandeville in 1975 when Savile was a regular visitor

Dr Sinason

Dr Sinason added: “Savile was still a huge celebrity in the early Nineties, let’s not forget, and there was never any action taken against him or any of the others involved.

“Neither girl knew one another, they lived in different parts of the country and contacted me a year apart yet their experiences are very similar. Whether Savile was a practising Satanist or merely enjoyed dressing up to scare his victims even more will perhaps never be known but he left those two girls mentally scarred.”

Dr Sinason has passed details of the abuse to officers from the Savile inquiry, Operation Yewtree.

A joint report published on ­Friday by the Metropolitan Police and the NSPCC uncovered at least 30 claims of abuse at Stoke Mandeville.

The hospital said it was unable to discuss individual cases while its own “Speaking Out” investigation was ongoing.

Anne Eden, chief executive of Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “As the investigation’s name suggests, it is very keen to hear from anybody with any knowledge that they feel could help its work or anybody that needs support because of Jimmy Savile’s alleged behaviour.”