April 16: Vulnerability of the disabled

Given the recent revelations of the rape and abuse of thousands of teenage girls living in care in towns and cities across the country, however, this latest report is not so much a historical document as a grave warning of the dangers faced by vulnerable people even in environments where they are supposed to be safe 
and secure.

The British Sociological Association was told yesterday of research by academics from Leeds and Glasgow universities showing just how vulnerable to abuse are disabled girls and women.

The report includes accounts of women mercilessly exploited by those on whom they had become most reliant, whether this was a partner supposedly acting as a carer, or whether it was rape and violent abuse carried out by staff members in official institutions.

What is perhaps most shocking about these women’s recollections, however, is the ease with which their links to any hope of outside assistance were so easily severed.

At the very least, this report should prompt an urgent review of the current situation of disabled women in care, of how easy it is for them to be exploited and of whether they know who to call for help should such situations arise.

What is really needed, however, is a complete overhaul of the care system to ensure that it actually lives up to its name and that those who are most vulnerable of all, whether they be children, the disabled or the elderly, are protected from those who would harm them.

Party games

Crunch time for Lib Dems, Ukip

THE LIBERAL Democrats and the UK Independence Party may have few policies in common, judging from the manifestos launched yesterday, but for both parties this is a crucial General Election.

Struggling in the polls, their erstwhile supporters horrified at the hard choices they have had to make in government, the Lib Dems could be facing a huge reduction in their number of MPs with their leader, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, staring at political oblivion unless he can improve his own standing in his Sheffield Hallam seat.

Yet it is a mark of this election’s crazy unpredictability that there is an equally good chance of the Lib Dems again forming a coalition government, although which particular party they might prop up may depend on whether Mr Clegg can continue as leader.

Ukip, too, is facing a struggle. The party is haemorrhaging support as polls indicate voters drifting back to the Conservatives and Nigel Farage is another leader facing a personal battle. Should he fail in his attempt to win South Thanet in Kent, the man who has single-handedly turned Ukip into an election contender will resign as leader, leaving the party’s future in severe doubt.

To add to the confusion, research from Sheffield University suggests that, in more deprived areas, Ukip may yet take as many votes from Labour as it does from the Conservatives, although whether that will be to Ukip’s advantage or the Tories’ remains to be seen.

In short, then, in spite of their tribulations, neither Ukip nor the Lib Dems can easily be dismissed. The fact that either could find itself playing a key role in the balance of power come the post-election horse-trading means that, for better or worse, their manifestos must be taken seriously.

Soccer’s tragedy

Hillsborough 26 years on

TWENTY-SIX years after Britain’s worst sporting disaster gave the name Hillsborough a terrible new significance, the crowds gathered again in Sheffield to pay tribute to the 96 Liverpool fans who travelled to an FA Cup semi-final never to return home.

For much of that time, the grief felt by the families of those who died has been exacerbated by bitterness over the belief that lies were told about the deaths, that a cover-up was put into operation and that a conspiracy of silence reigned.

Now, however, an independent report into the disaster has shown those suspicions to be correct, the ongoing inquiry is slowly uncovering the truth and there is at last a sense that justice is being done.

As was made all too clear in yesterday’s sombre ceremonies, however, the pain and loss of the families will endure.