Rejected petition: Expand UK child cruelty laws to include emotional and psychological abuse
Rejected on
Current UK child cruelty laws do not adequately protect children from emotional and psychological abuse. The law should be updated to recognise and prosecute non-physical forms of abuse that cause lasting harm.
Update UK child cruelty laws to include emotional and psychological abuse. Currently, victims are left unprotected unless physical harm can be proven. The law must recognise emotional abuse as equally serious, ensuring justice for survivors of non-physical cruelty. The government should provide clear training and guidance for police, CPS, and social workers so every child is protected. No child should grow up believing their pain doesn’t matter simply because it can’t be seen.
Why was this petition rejected?
We can't publish petitions when the request is something that's already happening or something that has been announced since you started your petition.
We think your petition is covered by Government or Parliament action already. If you'd like something else, you could start a new petition clearly explaining what it is.
Emotional and psychological harm was added in 2014 which you can find more information about below:
Summary in press release: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/damian-green-child-cruelty-law-to-be-updated#:~:text=Children%20will%20be%20better%20protected,are%20protected%20by%20the%20law.
Set out in Section 66 (3) of the Serious Crime Act 2015 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/9/part/5
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.