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Alex Renton and his experience at Edinburgh Academy

Alex Renton, an English journalist, spoke out about the abuse he suffered at one of Britain’s elite private schools only after reading an article in 2013 that made him realise that his abusers can still teach and hurt other children.

 

Renton said that he had made peace with his horrific experiences but decided to give support to others in need of revenge.

 

The BBC Radio 4 series, In Dark Corners, shares a platform for abuse survivors in British independent schools. William Renton\’s direct support supports the series, books and articles.

 

There have been many allegations. On Wednesday, Nicky Campbell talked about his days as a private schoolboy at the fee-paying Edinburgh academy in the 1970s. The TV presenter spoke about the abuse he experienced and witnessed during his days as a private schoolboy.

 

Schools go to great lengths to avoid being held accountable for sexual abuse. The overwhelming harrowing details and the numbers involved leave me concerned that I\’ll never be able to take on this responsibility.

 

Shockingly, people at large companies with self-esteem have committed crimes equal to allowing abusers to transfer to another company and continue their abuse.

 

This shows that the more reputable schools would rather threaten legal action to cover potential problems, rather than make things safer for children.\”

 

Instead of fixing the problem and preventing future abuses, many schools protect themselves from accusations from recent or historical events of child sexual abuse.

 

He adds, “The school is trying to placate parents with false promises while not admitting any responsibility. If the case goes to court, despite their efforts, they hire extremely expensive lawyers to keep names out of the court papers on the grounds of protecting the kids. That means that the school’s failings in accommodating an abuser don’t get revealed so they can avoid addressing it.”

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Scorer, who represented many of the victims of Jimmy Savile, has encountered that many schools have changed their legal status, running the chain of companies to avoid litigation.

 

In some cases, companies will move on to a new company, so they don’t have to be financially responsible for crimes committed in the past. When liabilities are not transferred to the new entity, there won’t be insurance, and victims won’t receive compensation.

 

Mandatory school reporting and sexual abuse cases would be much more easily tracked. Tom Perry has been an advocate of this and has been encouraging people to report these cases as they\’re happening.

 

Reporting known or suspected abuse is discretionary, and we have a minimal expectation that it should be reported. Perry dismisses the claim that this was drastically improved since the #METOO movement.

 

John Sutherland says the old foundations of institutional safeguarding date back to the 50s. The 5-step approach is an unwieldy patchwork of inconsistencies with hundreds of different rules in different places, which needs updating.

 

Without a legal overhaul, Renton believes boarding schools are unsafe. He asserts, “I’m the first person in my family in about seven generations not to send their children to boarding school. I wouldn’t do it.” In orToect children, he believes more needs to be done because they are at risk of being preyed on by predators.

 

What precautions should the school or the department of education initiate to prevent further distraught?  Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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