Experts have revealed the horrifying extent to which Covid lockdowns provided a dangerous cover for abusers to inflict fatal harm on vulnerable children. Government figures show a 20% rise in child deaths involving abuse or neglect in 2020-2021. The Mail has the sad story.
Lockdown restrictions at the height of the Covid pandemic were used “as a cover” by abusers to hurt their children, an expert has said, after the “evil” parents of 10 month-old Jacob Crouch were this week jailed for his murder.
Jacob is just the latest in a string of tragic, fatal cases of child abuse to have emerged from the pandemic including that of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, Lola James and Star Hobson.
Experts have told how usual safeguarding methods or chances to spot serious abuse such as schools, health workers and children’s clubs were absent or moved online during the pandemic, meaning abusers could harm children in their care with impunity.
Just this week 10 month-old Jacob’s killer stepfather was jailed for life with a minimum term of 28 years, after the infant was found dead with dozens of injuries and at least 39 rib fractures in December 2020.
Now national child abuse charities such as the NSPCC are warning of the rise in deathly harm which occurred during lockdown, and the impacts which are still coming out of it.
Read more: Covid Lockdowns Used as Cover by Abusers to Inflict Tragic Child Abuse, Experts Warn
