Children as young as six
Update: The story is from 2011. I blogged it then.
The BBC reports an incredibly depressing situation in the UK.
Britain’s madrassas have faced more than 400 allegations of physical abuse in the past three years, a BBC investigation has discovered.
But only a tiny number have led to successful prosecutions.The revelation has led to calls for formal regulation of the schools, attended by more than 250,000 Muslim children every day for Koran lessons.
That’s a lot of children. And – every day? That’s a lot of time, too. And the “lessons” are just memorization of the Koran in Arabic – they’re about the most futile time-wasting kind of “lessons” it’s possible to have.
And on top of that they’re abused.
BBC Radio 4’s File on 4 asked more than 200 local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales how many allegations of physical and sexual abuse had come to light in the past three years.
One hundred and ninety-one of them agreed to provide information, disclosing a total of 421 cases of physical abuse. But only 10 of those cases went to court, and the BBC was only able to identify two that led to convictions.
421 cases, 10 prosecutions, 2 convictions. 2 out of 421.
Some local authorities said community pressure had led families to withdraw complaints.
In one physical abuse case in Lambeth, two members of staff at a mosque allegedly attacked children with pencils and a phone cable – but the victims later refused to take the case further.
In Lancashire, police added that children as young as six had reported being punched in the back, slapped, kicked and having their hair pulled.
In several cases, pupils said they were hit with sticks or other implements.
All in aid of memorizing a “holy” book in a language they don’t know.
Nazir Afzal, the chief crown prosecutor for the North West of England, said he believed the BBC’s figures represented “a significant underestimate”.
“We have a duty to ensure that people feel confident about coming forward,” he said.
“If there is one victim there will be more, and therefore it is essential for victims to come forward, for parents to support them and for criminal justice practitioners to take these incidents seriously.”
Corporal punishment is legal in religious settings, so long as it does not exceed “reasonable chastisement”.
What? Corporal punishment is legal in religious settings? Why? Why is religion allowed to assault people when no one else is?
What a sick mess.
H/t Gina Khan
Just to let you know, you reported on this same story in 2011:
http://freethoughtblogs.com/butterfliesandwheels/2011/10/corporal-punishment-is-legal-in-religious-settings/
Not that I have great hope that the situation has improved…
Children should be protected in spite of community pressure on their families. This needs to be something the state can prosecute without a victim willing to press charges.
Argh I missed the date. I did notice the mention of Nazar Afzal in a job I thought he’d left, but thought maybe it was a different branch of the same job. Sigh. MUST REMEMBER TO CHECK THE DATE.
I’ll forget again though.
Ah well, at least I didn’t use exactly the same words.
When they say “children” they mean boys, right? Are girls enrolled in madrassas to memorize the Koran? I didn’t think they were. . .
Abusing little boys is just as terrible as abusing children. . .
It would be nice if such events were so extraordinary and so rare that of course you would remember writing about them before. Sadly, this is not the case. Thanks for all your efforts shining a light on these stories from around the world.
Hmm, good question, Claire. I think madrassas are usually for boys only, but I’m not sure how formalized that is in the UK. But given the conservatism of the whole idea, it seems likely that madrassas are conservative in that way too.
Maybe I’ll ask the people in the Muslims for Secular Democracy group.