Voice of the Child Podcasts
12 Mar 2020
Children in Care
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Ed Nixon, a social worker who co-founded the Every Child Leaving Care Matters movement which aims to ensure that all children in care are properly supported until they turn 21, talks to the Voice of the Child about life for children in care, unregulated care homes and why he believes the UK government doesn't understand children.
More episodes from Voice of the Child Podcasts
19 Nov 2021
The Best Interests of the Child Review - Meet the Team
Welcome to the Best Interests of the Child Review, the first parent-led review of children's social care in England and Wales.
In our first podcast the team at BIC introduce themselves, and talk about why they decided to launch the review. They also explain what their first publication "Children and Their Families Have Rights" is about.
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20 Apr 2021
Should domestic abusers be allowed contact with their children?
What happens when a domestically abusive parent asks for contact with their child following a separation or divorce in the family courts?
And is the family court in its current form the best place to process child contact requests in cases where there are allegations of domestic abuse, or cases where one parent has already been convicted of at least one violent offence?
The Voice of the Child speaks with campaigners Sammy Woodhouse and Victoria Hudson about a new campaign they've launched, which proposes some radical changes to the family justice system in England and Wales, and why forcing children to have contact with domestically abusive or violent partners is often harmful to them.
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25 Mar 2021
The World's First Corporal Punishment Case At The United Nations
A young girl has lodged a case with the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) detailing the relentless corporal punishment and abuse she experienced at her school in Sri Lanka, when she was just 11 years old.
The case, believed to be the first of its kind, has been accepted by the top UN body, and asks the court to protect all children in Sri Lanka from corporal punishment, and to put an end to conflicting legislation inside the country which has created a loophole allowing child assaults.
Speaking to the Voice of the Child from London, Adriana Wickramanayaka Cutter, who is now 14, talked about the violence she experienced at an international school in Sri Lanka and how it led to a trauma diagnosis.
Like many children at school in Sri Lanka, Adriana was subjected to repeated blows to the head, painful bouts of ear pulling and demands to kneel before male teachers in front of the class, as forms of discipline.
Her brother Alex Wickramanayaka Cutter, 18, spoke about how his sister's treatment affected him, and what happened to him at school after his parents complained.
Adriana and Alex's mother Dr Thushara Wickramanayaka -- who is the daughter of former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka, and the founder of the Stop Child Cruelty Trust -- joined the call from Sri Lanka to explain how the law suit came about, and why it is needed to put at end to a culture of child assault inside the country.
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