Loophole just part of a pattern of State’s neglect of children: report

THE legal loophole which allowed ‘Mr A’ to walk free from court despite having sex with a 12-year-old girl is symptomatic of the Government’s inaction on children’s rights, according to the authors of a major new report which will be presented to the UN.

The report, From Rhetoric to Rights, was carried out by Children’s Rights Alliance and analysed the government’s progress in implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child since 1998.

It found the Government has failed to implement significant reforms in many areas of child welfare, and in some areas, such as children smuggling, no progress has been made at all.