{"id":3518,"date":"2008-08-20T18:43:23","date_gmt":"2008-08-20T17:43:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/?p=3518"},"modified":"2025-08-16T18:45:21","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T17:45:21","slug":"the-families-in-your-church-may-not-be-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/the-families-in-your-church-may-not-be-safe\/","title":{"rendered":"The Families in Your Church May Not Be Safe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Churches should be aware of the threat posed by social workers steeling children from their parents, Christian Voice has warned.<\/p>\n

Secret family courts continue to forcibly remove hundreds of children from their parents throughout the UK every year. The children are then put up for adoption and prevented from seeing their biological parents, many of whom have not committed any abuse.<\/p>\n

Last June Christian Voice reported on a number of cases of children being \u2018freed for adoption\u2019 in order to meet targets.<\/p>\n

Freeing for adoption was first introduced in England and Wales under the Adoption Act 1976, following the Report of the Departmental Committee on the Adoption of Children chaired by Sir William Houghton in 1972. The Children Act 2004 later established secret family courts to oversee the removal of children from their birth parents.\u00a0 These courts use contempt of court laws to prevent parents going public with their stories.<\/p>\n

In addition to the thousands of children removed from their parents every year, the family courts also send parents to prison for contempt of court because of breaching a contact order. A Parliamentary question last year revealed that the judges in family courts regularly send more than 200 people a year to prison, in strict secrecy with no public hearing at all.<\/p>\n

SECRET COURTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

The secrecy of the family courts means that if an MP does his democratic duty to check out a constituents\u2019 heart-rending tale of social service child-snatching, he will be held in contempt of court, as would the parent approaching their MP for help.\u00a0 Nick Cohen reported in the Observer<\/a> that in one case a judge\u2019s ruling \u2018meant that it was a contempt of court to tell the solicitor general, who is responsible for the honest functioning of the legal system, and the Minister for Children, who is responsible for the welfare of children, about an alleged miscarriage of justice involving a child.\u2019<\/p>\n

The secret courts also prevent parents who are accused of abuse from calling in witnesses in their defence. Parents who are unable to afford a lawyer, or who are refused legal aid, are prevented from asking a lay adviser to help.<\/p>\n

Ian Joseph, Ex-Kent County Councillor and author of the book Forced Adoptions<\/em><\/a>, reported on his website<\/a> that, \u2018A couple I helped recently had their baby removed the same day it was born!\u00a0 The distraught mother was told that she was blameless, but that her partner, the baby\u2019s father, some years previously had been accused by his ex-wife of violence towards her in a custody dispute.\u00a0 No charges were ever brought by anyone but this unproved accusation was enough for the horrified mother to see her baby taken by social services with a view to adopts.\u00a0 After several court cases a second baby was born and threatened with the same fate\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n

Official figures show that in 100 cases, low family income was the main justification for removing children from their parents. Newspapers have also reported on cases where social services targeted children because the parents are were \u2018not clever enough.\u2019 In some cases, a mother\u2019s \u2018troubled childhood\u2019 has been used as evidence that her children should be removed.<\/p>\n

In 21% of all cases where a child needs protection, the reason is allegedly because of \u2018emotional abuse.\u2019 While emotional abuse is on the rise (in 1997 it only accounted for 14% of cases), no one quite understands what it actually means. According to the Enfield local authority, emotional abuse includes \u2018swearing\u2019, \u2018conditional love\u2019 or \u2018discriminatory remarks\u2019. The Nottingham council defines it as \u2018an ingrained pattern of interaction . . . which it is essential to observe and understand over time\u2019. \u2018Right now, it looks as though around 6,000 people stand accused of abuse, or potential abuse, that no lawyer can even define\u2019 complained Camilla Cavendish in The Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2018From the time\u2019 wrote Sue Reid in the Daily Mail<\/a>, \u2018a child is named on a social services care order until the day they are adopted, the parents are breaking the law – a crime punishable by imprisonment – if they tell anyone what is happening to their family. Anything from a chat with a neighbour to a letter sent to a friend can land them in jail.\u2019<\/p>\n

READ<\/strong>:\u00a0 Deut. 1:17; Lev. 19:15; 1 Sam. 2:10; Prov. 24:23-25; Is. 5:20-23; 10:1-4; Mic. 2:1-2; Jn. 7:24 1 Tim. 5:21; James 3:17.<\/p>\n

PRAY<\/strong>:\u00a0 Pray for the numerous families being torn apart to satisfy Government\u2019s adoption targets.\u00a0 Pray this issue remains high profile in the media, despite all the social services and secret courts are doing to keep it quiet.<\/p>\n

WRITE<\/strong>: to your MP and make any of the following points<\/p>\n