London Met lecturer speaks up for victims of child abuse

Liz Davies says last week’s public meeting in Parliament was ‘a very significant turning point’ in inquiry campaign

Date: 20 January 2015

Over 450 people gathered in Parliament on Wednesday 14 January, where child abuse survivors, campaigners, whistleblowers and MPs joined together to speak up about allegations of historic child abuse and the government's failure to produce an inquiry.

Dr Liz Davies, Reader in Child Protection at London Metropolitan University’s Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, and child welfare expert, helped organise the meeting.

Liz, who herself acted as a whistleblower on her experiences as a social worker at Islington Borough Council, has actively campaigned for the rights of child abuse victims since 1992.

Speaking at the meeting, she said, “We are making history. This is the first meeting of its kind in the Houses of Parliament.

“For 25 years some of us have been whispering in dark corners and today we are shouting out loud.

“It is a very significant turning point in our campaign”.

A call for change

Before the meeting, a large number of MPs and child abuse survivors laid flowers at Old Palace Yard, next to Parliament.

The WhiteFlowers campaign is based on the Belgian march of 1996 where 300,000 people took to the streets against the establishment in solidarity with parents of children kidnapped and murdered by a paedophile gang including people of very high status.  

The campaign is calling for a change in child protection services, a more transparent and qualified panel to deal with child abuse allegations, and for perpetrators to be brought to justice.  

Liz Davies said: “The WhiteFlowers and the survivor organisations are very strong and with cross party support the campaign will definitely build.

“We will not stop until we get the Chair of the inquiry we want, the panel we want, the terms of reference we want and the safeguarding protocols we want.

“Today we have come out of the shadows and there’s no going back.”

The event, and Liz Davies’ contribution, has been covered by media nationwide, including the Islington Gazette and Sky News.

Liz is a leading expert in the field of child protection. More information about her work can be found on her blog.

For more information, please contact

Larissa Schneider

PR & Internal Communications

l.schneider@londonmet.ac.uk

Find out more about the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities

Liz Davies lecturer at London Met