Please don’t think that I don’t take the subject seriously, it is in fact the opposite my own desire for care is wary of the un-intended consequences. I am very concerned that the current climate of protectionism can in fact do more harm than the good that is aimed for. It is very easy to conceive that the good intentions are driving relentlessly towards greater protection or should I say hiding places for paedophiles.

Let me explain, currently in the UK and possibly further, there is an increasing desire to vet, monitor and regulate supervision of children. A burgeoning administration of forms and regulations is building up with the laudable aim of attempting to prevent access by abusive adults to positions of trust and responsibility for children and vulnerable adults.

So often, when objections are raised this is justified by the phrase “if (this of that) saves one child from harm, it has to be worth it”, however this is a common narrowing of focus onto a single desired outcome. We identify the harm and seek to eliminate this with little regard for the impact of our intervention can cause. So for example, the most common objection that is raised is that regulations will deter valid volunteers from participation. That subsequently reduces provision of opportunities for children and youth to develop independent skills outside the home. This subsequent loss of opportunities to mature can lead to impaired social relationships in later life and subsequent harm.

Whilst I am happy that this is a valid, if similarly un-quantified risk, if could be argued that shifting the harm from an earlier age to later life is perhaps justifiable on the grounds that a safe bird in the hand is worth two in the future bush. But this misses out on a much more prescient risk. Underlying all the assumptions of a safe administration is an often subconscious assumption that the administration is perfect, despite at another time regular cynicism about the capabilities of any federal organisations. This artificial sense of security that can produce a clean certificate, has the ability to override the local relationships based upon commonsense and consequently lead to reduced safety rather than increased protection. Take the latest arrest , in Portsmouth

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 UK, of Tracey Lyons, this first quote from the nursery where she work was their defence that “she had been fully checked”, so the regulations become a source of protection for the institution rather than the young and vulnerable individuals.

Whilst it is perhaps sensible to make access to some basic information about paedophiles available, the building of a huge administrative infrastructure can create a counter productive sense of security that has the potential to become a protection for the institutions it was designed to regulate rather than give the security to children that is so genuinely desired.