Tag Archives: shirley oaks survivors association

Abuse victims to get chance of legal redress

Today I’m proud of the work I have been doing for the unheard, marginalised ignored and abused members of our society. Read on.

During the last few years I have admired the work of Shirley Oaks Survivors Association (SOSA).

They represented hundreds of people who were abused whilst in the care of Lambeth Council.

SOSA was able to get over £140m from Lambeth Council in compensation paid to those affected by the Shirley Oaks abuse scandal.

I sat and listened to the stories of those affected by sexual abuse. A friend of mine told me at the age of 35, that he was abused by one of our teachers at school, one by one others came forward. I felt pig sick that I never knew anything about it. They suffered in silence.

I was determined that people who committed crimes like this should not hide any longer.

Working with SOSA in their endeavour to get the 3 year time bar status lifted was time consuming, however, made easier by knowing that perpetrators could no longer hide behind the three year rule.

Those police officers involved in avoiding justice and the families who were kept out of the Lambeth legal redress scheme can now have their day in civil court.

Whilst I must thank the hard work of Dr Raymond Stevenson & Ms Lucia Hinton of SOSA, it has been a cross Party affair.

The agenda is not pretty or fashionable, a lot of people stay clear of it, however, when you know close friends who have been abused and not been able to communicate it to you for over 20-25 years it focuses your mind.

I must also thank other people that made this ground breaking day happen:

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 16 Comments
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  • Ben Wood
    It is such sad news. I was lucky to get to know Micheal over the last few years (working on a book project for the John Stuart Mill Institute). He reaffirmed fo...
  • Ed Sanderson
    Very sad news. I remember many a lively evening of erudite discussion in Leeds - Michael was a true intellect - and a genuinely warm soul. My condolences to his...
  • Jack
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    I totally understand this is a key issue for many Lib Dems (and I'm not speaking for Lib Dems myself, I'm an ex-member). But I don't understand how this 'vangua...
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    Fully agree with all of this. I've seen a few MPs' Pride Month posts reference Section 28 abolition and Same-Sex Marriage - we need to start talking about this...