We have recently been instructed by a person who alleges they were a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of a deceased priest Reverend Canon William James ‘Jim’ Hawthorne, a former vicar of the Church of England.
Gabrielle Litson
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We have been instructed by a victim who was sexually abused as a child whilst a resident at St Vincent’s Orphanage in Newcastle.
We have recently been instructed by a victim of Keith Hartle (deceased) who was a National Boating Officer in the Nautical Training Corps (‘NTC’). Our client was assaulted by Hartle over many years in the 1990’s.
Recent televisions programmes have shone a light on the prevalence of female paedophiles: the current storyline in EastEnders which sees Mick Carter reliving the sexual abuse he suffered as a child by his social worker Katie, is a case in point.
It would usually be around this time in a ‘normal’ year that Emmott Snell Solicitors would have taken part in the annual Bedford Legal, which is a 10K sponsored walk around Bedford organised by the Eastern Legal Support Trust.
Over recent years, there has been a shocking increase in the number of students presenting with a mental health problem. Researchers in 2019 undertook an investigation into 38,000 university students in the UK and found that, alarmingly, half of these students had suffered with suicidal thoughts. Moreover, four out of ten of these students admitted to using drugs or alcohol to cope with their problems, whilst one in three had had experienced a serious psychological issue for which they felt they needed professional help.
The purpose of a civil claim is to seek recognition for survivors in the form of ‘damages’ or compensation for abuse suffered by them. This compensation aims to put survivors in the financial position they would have been in, had the abuse not occurred.
When the UK was placed on lockdown on 23rd March 2020, the government’s message was clear: you should not leave your home unless absolutely necessary. Families have been forced to spend every day together under the same roof, without the option of “popping out” to achieve some respite from each other. Whilst this is tough for most families, for the victims of domestic abuse this lockdown may actually be life-threatening.
A former resident of a children’s home in Coventry children’s home has successfully obtained an out-of-court settlement in a civil action against Coventry City Council for physical and sexual abuse he suffered while in the care of the Council.
We all have times when we have to “Find our Brave”. This is the theme of Children’s Mental Health Week which is taking place (3rd to 9th February 2020) in the United Kingdom. The awareness week is now its sixth year and its purpose is to highlight the importance of good mental health in children and young people.
