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From Prevention through to Therapy: Supporting Evidence‐Informed Practice across the Spectrum of Child Maltreatment

Supporting Evidence‐Informed Practice

In a helpful review article in the British Journal of Social Work some years ago, Nevo and Slonim‐Nevo[1] emphasised the importance of practitioners using findings from research ‘in an integrative manner, taking into consideration clinical experience and judgement, clients’ preferences and values, and context of intervention’ (p. 1193). Drawing on Sackett’s original definition of evidence‐based medicine[2], we could thus define evidence‐informed practice as

the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence, integrated with relevant expertise and an understanding of the context and clients’ views, to guide decision‐making in relation to individual cases.

Such an approach takes us away from a very rigid and narrow concept of evidence‐based practice which does not sit well with the complexity of the world of child protection[3].

 

From Prevention through to Therapy

The papers in our latest issue of Child Abuse Review, now available online, explore some of the nuances of evidence‐informed practice across the spectrum of child maltreatment and safeguarding encompassing: issues of preventive work, recognition and intervention, through to therapy and rehabilitation; different forms of maltreatment, from infancy to adolescence, including neglect, physical abuse and complex issues such as trafficking; and the challenges for professionals within a range of agencies.

In my accompanying editorial, I review some of these issues and the content of the various papers. We include a reanalysis of a systematic review of parenting interventions to reduce physical child abuse recurrence; a literature review on the trafficking of children in the Greater Mekong Region; a qualitative study with focus groups of teachers and family support workers to explore their experiences of working with neglect; and an evidence‐informed approach to develop and implement a therapeutic service for children who have experienced abuse and neglect in Victoria, Australia. We have a CPD article looking at issues around adolescent neglect, a training update and two book reviews. The full contents are listed below and all are freely available to members of the Association of Child Protection Professionals, or those who have library access to Child Abuse Review.

Some key messages from this issue:

  • teaching concrete parenting strategies such as alternatives to physical punishment is important in reducing recurrence of physical abuse

  • child trafficking needs to be treated as a public health issue, recognising the huge adverse impacts on these children

  • while professionals may recognise neglect quite early on, and want to intervene, they typically felt the need to gather evidence of multiple examples of neglectful behaviour and actual harm to the child in order for the maltreatment to be considered serious enough to cross a threshold for statutory intervention

  • successful interventions in adolescent neglect require a sustained focus on the young person within the family and an agreed plan for improvements in parental care

 

Table of contents

Editorial – Peter Sidebotham. From Prevention through to Therapy: Supporting Evidence‐Informed Practice across the Spectrum of Child Maltreatment

Original Articles

J. Melendez‐Torres, Patty Leijten, Frances Gardner. What are the Optimal Combinations of Parenting Intervention Components to Reduce Physical Child Abuse Recurrence? Reanalysis of a Systematic Review using Qualitative Comparative Analysis

Carmelle Tsai, Melissa E. Dichter. The Trafficking of Children in the Greater Mekong Region: A Review of Recent Literature

Lydia Bullock, Miriam Stanyon, Danya Glaser, Shihning Chou. Identifying and Responding to Child Neglect: Exploring the Professional Experiences of Primary School Teachers and Family Support Workers

Margarita Frederico, Annette Jackson, Carlina Black, Ric Pawsey, Allison Cox. Take Two – Implementing a Therapeutic Service for Children who have Experienced Abuse and Neglect: Beyond Evidence‐Informed Practice

Continuing Professional Development

Phil Raws. Adolescent Neglect: Messages from Research for Policy and Practice

Training Update

Lynn Davies. Signs of Radicalisation: Gamer Zak and Zak at University (online simulation resources) by The Centre for Child Protection, University of Kent, 2018, 2014, £199 including the training and teaching pack. Available: https://www.kent.ac.uk/sspssr/ccp/simulationsindex.html

Book Reviews

Qays Stetkevych. Responding to Domestic Violence: Emerging Challenges for Policy, Practice and Research in Europe edited by Stephanie Holt, Carolina Øverlien and John Devaney,. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London and Philadelphia, 2018. 368pp. ISBN 978‐1‐78592‐261‐9 (Pbk). £30.00

Goodman Maddocks. The Short Guide to Social Policy (second edition) by John Hudson, Stefan Kühner and Stuart Lowe, Policy Press, Bristol, 2015. 216 pp. ISBN 978–1–44732‐568‐0 (Pbk). £12.99

 

[1] Nevo I, Slonim‐Nevo V. 2011. The myth of evidence‐based practice: Towards evidence‐informed practice. The British Journal of Social Work 41( 6): 1176– 1197. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcq149

[2] Sackett DL, Rosenberg WM, Gray JA, Haynes RB, Richardson WS. 1996. Evidence based medicine: what it is and what it isn’t. BMJ 312( 7023): 71– 72. Available: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8555924

[3] Stevens I, Hassett P. 2007. Applying complexity theory to risk in child protection practice. Childhood 14( 1): 128– 144. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568207072535

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Adventures of an armchair activist: Gratitude, generosity and greed

One of my greatest pleasures at the moment is to spend an hour each morning in quiet contemplation, gazing out of the window. It is the height of summer and the garden at Breathing Space is flourishing. The bees buzz busily among the flower heads; the tall grasses wave their heads in the morning sun (or glisten in the gently falling rain); the raspberries and blueberries are starting to take over from the strawberries and currants to give us our breakfast fruit; everything is lush, vibrant and green.

 

Building Barns

It was in the midst of all this abundance and generosity that I read, the other day, the hard-hitting parable of the barn builder:

The farm of a certain rich man produced a terrific crop. He talked to himself: ‘What can I do? My barn isn’t big enough for this harvest.’ Then he said, ‘Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll gather in all my grain and goods, and I’ll say to myself, Self, you’ve done well! You’ve got it made and can now retire. Take it easy and have the time of your life!’

Just then God showed up and said, ‘Fool! Tonight you die. And your barnful of goods – who gets it?’

(Luke 12: 13-21 The Message)

 

When I took early retirement I thought we might need to do some very careful budgeting to live on a much lower income. In fact, Lois and I have found ourselves in the strange position of having far more than we either need or want. My financial adviser will tell me that I have to invest wisely to get a good return, to set aside contingencies for the future, and to ensure I pass on a good inheritance to my children. But all of that seems rather hollow: self-congratulatory; resting on my laurels and my well-endowed profession; dominated by excessive comforts; and adding to the already gross inequalities in our society.

It seems to me that the counters to the consumerism, self-absorption and sense of entitlement that seem to dominate our culture are gratitude and generosity: gratitude for all that we have, for the simple things in life, for the goodness and beauty that is all around us; and generosity with what we have been given – learning to share and to bless others as we have been blessed.

 

Learning to live with gratitude and generosity

So how do we live with gratitude and generosity in a culture of entitlement?

As with so much, we can only ‘make the road by walking’. So here are some of the things we are exploring:

  • Getting close to nature. Lois and I are blessed through where we live – being able to enjoy the garden at Breathing Space and to share it with others; spending time working with the soil and the plants; putting out food for the birds and creating havens for wildlife; going for walks in the countryside around us.
  • The ‘prayer of examen’. We often end each day by each reflecting on the two or three things for which we are most grateful in that day. It generally isn’t hard: even when one of us has had a bad day, there is usually something we can find for which we can give thanks.
  • Living simply and within our means. I recognise that we are wealthy and privileged, and not everyone will be in the same place. For us, though, it is fairly easy to live within our means; it is less easy to resist the constant drive to acquire more things, to get the latest gadget, or to treat as essentials what are really luxuries.
  • Enjoying treats and celebrations. We do try to make a point of taking opportunities to celebrate and to enjoy special treats: going to the theatre; relaxing with a nice glass of wine; having a special meal with family or friends… We have been blessed, and I don’t want to spend my life feeling guilty about that, but rather to be grateful, enjoy the blessings we have, and share them generously with others.

I am reminded of the story of the pious woman, who lived a life of austerity and spent her life in constant service of others. Arriving at the gates of heaven, God met with her and asked her just one question: ‘Did you enjoy the world I made for you?’

  • Conspiring to bless others. We came across this wonderful phrase in one of Brian McLaren’s books. I love the idea of looking for ways to bless other people – whether through gifts or little acts of service. We try to give generously, recognising that we could do more. We have been blessed with the generosity and support that others have shown to us, at different points in our lives, both individually and now through Breathing Space. Now, at this stage of our lives, we have both money and time and want to use those to bless other individuals and causes.
  • Supporting charities that promote justice, compassion, and care for creation. It is always hard to choose which charities to support – with money or time. There are so many out there – all good causes. We have tended to look for smaller, local charities that are clearly making a difference: ones that are involved in supporting vulnerable families and individuals; ones that are addressing deep-seated problems such as homelessness and poverty; ones that are working for our environment; and ones that are engaging with local communities in less wealthy areas of the world.
  • Investing ethically. One of our biggest challenges is deciding what to do with the extra capital that we have. We don’t want to just be sucked into the trap of feeling we need to insure ourselves against any possible bad-outcome scenario; nor do we want to buy into a system that ultimately just benefits those who are already wealthy. So we have opted for ethical banking through Triodos, and we are exploring the possibility of partnering with Hope into Action – a charity that provides affordable housing for vulnerable people, linked in with support from local church communities. Someone once said that the process of discernment is not so much about choosing between good and bad options, but about choosing between different good options. So there will be those who promote investing wisely for a high return with which we can then be more generous in our giving; others who take the opposite view of ‘sell all you have and give to the poor’. Perhaps we can find a middle way, which stems from both gratitude and generosity.

 

 

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On walls, ramps and ditches

There were few places where it was more than 3-4 feet high, and for much of the 70 miles we walked, there was nothing remaining to be seen. Nevertheless, walking the length of Hadrian’s wall from Newcastle to Carlisle was an incredible experience, and for those Roman legions, slaves and paid labourers, 1900 years ago, building the wall was an incredible achievement.

The wall itself, 8-10 feet wide by 10-20 feet high, is just one part of the overall complex of defence and communication. The full structure consisted of a ditch, the wall, a military road, and the vallum – a ditch flanked by two large mounds. In many places it is the vallum that is the most prominent surviving feature. Along the length of the wall were milecastles and turrets and several forts and towns adjoining the wall. The surviving parts are impressive in their scale, the engineering involved, and a lingering beauty that blends with the wild open moors and crags of the Pennines, stretching away to North and South.

There is a sense of enduring history in the neatly aligned stones of the wall, and the once-ordered barracks, baths and storehouses of the forts we visited along the way. And that sense was carried forward in the glimpses into the way of life of these Roman soldiers and the citizens of Britannia. It was also carried forward in the snippets of Victorian industrial, archaeological, imperial and philanthropic history that we encountered walking through Newcastle and at other points along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

There was also a sense of timelessness in the wide blue skies, the stretching vistas, peat bogs and ancient woodlands that we wandered through along the way. And for us, stepping away from our ordinary lives, the activities of Breathing Space and my academic pursuits, we were able to put it all aside and simply enjoy being in the moment, shouldering our packs, and tramping each day’s miles.

(Not that it was all pure bliss, though. There were times when our shoulders ached from the weight of our packs, our feet were weary and confined in our boots; times when the path just seemed to stretch on and on with no prospect of a rest, or when we longed for a cool, refreshing drink or an indulgent, frothy coffee.)

 

Meanwhile, back at Breathing Space, time had not stood still. Our faithful team of builders, Mick, Ryan and Jack were beavering away at the next stage of our alterations. Over the previous weeks they had built their own walls. On a very different scale, but still impressive in the beauty of their craftsmanship. Far from being a statement of imperial pride (‘I’m going to build a wall…’), and a defence against unwanted intruders, the walls our team have built at Breathing Space are the retaining walls for our wonderful new access ramp – there to welcome people; walls that lead people in to this place of peace and beauty.

The ramp itself is now finished and already has made a huge difference to the ease of access. And work has now started on the next stage – to create two new flexible-use rooms in the loft and a new, open entrance hall.

 

 

 

 

 

We have been so blessed, through all this, by the generosity of so many people. To date we have received over £11,000 of the £16,000 we need in sponsorship, donations and pledges from individuals and churches. We have also been really blessed by some unexpected little gifts – a ‘jar of smiles’, a pot of flowers, several little notes and messages encouraging us in what we are seeking to provide through Breathing Space. Thank you so much to all of you who have contributed. If you would still like to contribute in any way, please click on the ‘donate’ button below, or get in touch with us at breathingspacecoventry@gmail.com

 

With the ongoing building work use of Breathing Space is limited at the moment, but we hope to be up and running again in September, with greater opportunities, particularly for those who might otherwise find it difficult to find spaces of peace and beauty in their lives – keep an eye on the Breathing Space website for details.

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In the footsteps of Hadrian

I’m not sure what Hadrian would have made of us setting off to walk his wall just for the sheer joy of doing so; nor even in order to raise money for Breathing Space – a place dedicated to peace and stillness. While he was generally considered to be one of Rome’s more benevolent dictators, he nevertheless (at least according to Wikipedia) had ‘a capacity for both great personal generosity and extreme cruelty’ and (perhaps not unlike other leaders with imperialist ambitions) had a penchant for building walls.

Still, as Lois pointed out to me this morning, he probably never walked his own wall, and he is not here to either condone or condemn our endeavour.

The summer solstice has come and gone; the dreadful British weather seems to have taken a turn for the better; my two big projects (the Triennial Review of Serious Case Reviews and designing a child death review programme for Jordan) are both complete; work is progressing on our the access ramp and alterations to Breathing Space; and we have both cleared our diaries for the next week.

So, fortified with a breakfast of strawberries and raspberries from our garden, we set off for Newcastle. Tomorrow we will start our 70 mile hike across the country to Carlisle.

We are really grateful to all those who have donated or pledged to sponsor us for our fundraising for Breathing Space. So far, we have raised over £5,500 towards the cost of the alterations. Once the work is complete, it should allow us to be much more accessible to all who are seeking a place of beauty and stillness, and overall we should have far more flexibility in how we can use Breathing Space to serve others.

If you would like to contribute towards this project, please click on the button below.

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Preventing Children’s Deaths in Jordan

On Saturday, as I set out to hike up the stunning Wadi Feynan in South Jordan, a Bedouin lad on a donkey rode up to me and introduced himself as 16-year old Khaled with his donkey Ferrari. He rode beside me a little way before heading off to find his herd of goats scattered about the valley. His happy, carefree manner and endearing sense of humour brought home to me the reason I am here in this amazing, complex country.

Every year in Jordan at least 5,000 children do not survive to the age of 16. That is similar to the numbers of children dying in the UK – yet in a country with a population less than a sixth of the UK. And the real tragedy is that many of those deaths are preventable. Outside infancy, nearly a half of all child deaths (280 children aged 1-14 each year) are from external causes – mostly road traffic accidents, but also from falls, drowning, fires and electrocution, suffocation. A further 220 infants and children each year die as a result of infections.

Over the past year I have had the privilege of working with UNICEF and the Jordanian National Council for Family Affairs to develop a national system for reviewing and learning from children’s deaths.

The overall aim of the project is straightforward: to systematically gather comprehensive data on all children’s deaths in order to learn lessons and make recommendations for system improvements to prevent future child deaths and improve child health and welfare.

A straightforward aim, perhaps, but far from straightforward to achieve.

Jordan is an amazing and profoundly complex country: a haven of peace and stability in one of the most troubled regions of the world; a country where progressive, liberal values are dominant, yet sometimes seem to hide some deep and confusing traditional ways; a country where rapid urbanisation and development have both improved living standards for many, but also caused huge problems of overcrowding, traffic congestion and pollution; a country where the generous and hospitable nature of the Jordanian people has seen huge influxes of refugees, now making up close to a third of the total population.

With wide discrepancies in the life chances of children from the wealthiest and poorest segments of society, and significant pressures on resources and infrastructure, making changes to improve children’s lives remains a massive challenge.

This week marked the end of the project. We delivered the finished protocol and forms, and ran a training workshop for senior representatives of the different agencies who will be involved in running the programme. With a sense of fulfilment, I started writing my final project report, and recognised that, in spite of the inevitable challenges, we had met all the project objectives we’d set 12 months ago. With my colleagues Vicky and Hamza, we set off to our final meeting with UNICEF and the National Council, ready to hand over the baton and fly back to England to enjoy my retired life.

Only to be told that they would like me to prepare a proposal to support the implementation of the programme over the next 12 months!

Perhaps I should take a lesson from Khaled and Ferrari, take it with a smile, and launch into this next phase.

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Adventures of an armchair activist: Going green-er… gingerly (2)

In my last blog I started exploring how we could live in a way that is better for our environment. As our personal biggest contributor to carbon emissions, I thought about what Lois and I are doing in terms of travel and transport, the struggles we face, and what more we could potentially be doing.

It seems to me that, after travel and transport, the big areas in which I, personally, have an impact on our environment are (not necessarily in this order):

  • Housing and energy
  • Food
  • Waste
  • Consumer goods

 

So, as with travel and transport, I have to ask myself what am I doing about each of these? What could I be doing? And where is it that I am struggling?

 

Housing and energy

This is the area that I’m most tempted to give myself a pat on the back. When I calculated our carbon footprint, I worked out our energy use on the basis of zero kgCO2e/kWh. Was this a bit ingenuous? It certainly made a significant difference to our overall carbon footprint, but is it really true?

When we moved to Breathing Space, there was no active gas supply for heating or cooking. We decided to keep it that way and rely on electricity.

For several years now we have been purchasing our electricity from a company that only supplies renewable electricity (first Good Energy, more recently Bulb).

One of the first things we did when we moved in was to install solar panels.

Our newly-installed solar panels

So, although between us and Breathing Space, we consume 13.7MWh of energy per year, all of this does come from renewable sources, and we are putting 2.4MWh of energy back into the grid from our solar panels.

My slight reservation about all this is that we remain very high energy consumers. So far we’ve done what I think we can do to insulate our home, turn our heating down, use low energy bulbs and appliances, and turn things off when we’re not using them. But is this enough?

And what about our appliances? Our cooker, fridge/freezer, dishwasher and washing machine are all quite old and I’m sure not as energy-efficient as newer models. Should we replace them? Or run them firmly into the ground and then replace them? Or could we do without any?

And, much as I might like to congratulate myself for using green energy companies, the reality is that our energy comes from the national grid, so ultimately remains a mixture of renewable energy, coal, gas and nuclear.

The domestic sector accounts for 28% of all energy consumption in the UK. Over 2/3 of this energy comes from fossil fuels. (Source: Energy consumption in the UK. HM Government, 2018) 

 

Food

The other evening, Lois and I went out for a lovely vegan meal at Arabian Bites, a Middle Eastern restaurant run by recently arrived refugees from Syria and Iraq.

The food was great and the staff friendly and welcoming.

The following day, sticking with the vegan theme, Lois persuaded me to try my cereal with apple juice rather than milk. I don’t think I’ll be trying that one again.

Much as it may be better for our environment. I’m ready to go vegan yet. I confess – I am far too attached to milk on my cereal and in my coffee, a bread and cheese lunch, meat of fish for at least some of my evening meals.

 

So what can we do to reduce our food imprint?

  • We have already cut down our meat intake, rarely eating red meat, and eating vegetarian several times a week;
  • We now shop mostly at our local OneStop store,  buying only what we know we will consume and local, seasonal produce rather than air-freighted food from NZ or Morocco;  but how to avoid unnecessary packaging? where is our nearest greengrocer?
  • We may not be particularly green-fingered, but we more and more grow our own vegetables, salad leaves, and fruit; and commit to preserving, freezing, or giving away any surplus
  • We are avid composters – the three compost bins behind our greenhouse are one of my favourite parts of the garden. To see, smell and feel all that wonderful, rich humus is a pleasure few can beat! (Nah .. there are many others! but its good) (Lois added that last bit!)

 

Waste

Which brings us onto waste.

The UK statistics on waste make interesting reading. As a country, we generate over 200 million tonnes of waste each year, mostly from construction, demolition and excavation (61%), followed by commercial and industrial waste (19%) and household waste (12%). Nearly half of this is recovered or recycled, but nearly a quarter (52.3 million tonnes) goes into landfill.

While we have seen increases in the proportion of waste recovered, recycled, and used for energy production, and decreases in the proportion going to landfill, the overall volume of waste generated has gone up over the years. We clearly have a long way to go.

We are doing what we can here at Breathing Space, but it sometimes feels rather like a drop in the ocean – particularly as the third skip from our building work is now full and ready to be taken away, no doubt to go to landfill somewhere!

  • We strive not to buy things we don’t need; to repair things that are broken and to reuse things for different purposes
  • We are taking some steps towards upcycling – I enjoyed making a bench from an old pallet last year and recently used an old drawer to repair our wheelbarrow and made a sorrel composter out of an old dustbin
  • We give unwanted clothes and other items to charity shops, or offer them on Freecycle
  • We do our best to allocate our waste appropriately – composting what we can in the garden; putting other garden waste in the brown bin and recycling in the blue bin
  • Should we be weighing our different types of waste so we can monitor and set our own targets for waste reduction? Does anyone know any sensible way of doing this?
  • It seems to me there is some value in keeping things that we’re no longer using in case they come in handy somewhere else (e.g. old bits of wood, or hardware that could be upcycled), but that takes up space. How do you strike a balance between sensible reuse and pointless hoarding?
  • How do we deal with all the senseless packaging – particularly from things ordered online?

 

Consumer goods

It sounds like a dirty word now. I don’t like it. But the reality is, I am a consumer.

The issues surrounding our consumer lifestyle go way beyond waste and the impact on the environment. They also affect my fellow human beings, the inequalities we see both within and between countries, and the exploitation of so many who work to produce the goods I consume.

So I will put that on one side for now and tackle it more deeply in another armchair activist blog.

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Adventures of an armchair activist: Going green-er… gingerly (1)

Going Green-er…

Last week’s UN report on biodiversity and ecosystems, together with the 2018 IPCC report on global warming have dramatically highlighted the damaging effects that we are imposing on our planet. Greta Thunberg and the leaders of Extinction Rebellion are surely right in emphasising that this is the most pressing issue for all of us: politicians, corporate leaders, and individual citizens alike.

So it seemed an appropriate place to start in my deliberations on how to live ethically in an exploitative, unjust, consumerist world.

I am so grateful for the beauty and goodness of our world, and the privilege I have in being able to enjoy that beauty. I long for others too – both now and in the future – to be able to enjoy and appreciate this goodness, and for the destruction and exploitation that has devastated so much of our planet to be rolled back.

And yet, as a wealthy consumer living in one of the wealthiest nations of our world, I have to acknowledge that – in spite of the small steps I have taken to reduce my carbon footprint – I am really more a part of the problem than the solution.

…gingerly

I recently calculated my carbon footprint and my conservative estimate came out at 7.69 tonnes of CO2 per year – higher than the reported UK average of 6.50 tonnes (although I note that other sources put this at closer to 10 tonnes), nearly double the global average of 4 tonnes, and four times the required target of 2 tonnes.

 

So what are we doing about it? What could we be doing? And where is it that we are struggling?

  • The biggest contributor to our carbon footprint is flying. Lois and I both do it: to visit family and friends abroad; for work and conferences; to support others living and working in challenging circumstances. Neither of us enjoy it: the long waits in airport departure lounges and arrivals halls; the uncomfortable seats and tray food; the jet lag; and most of all, the knowledge that with every flight we are contributing to the destruction of our planet. But still we do it. We do what we can to offset our flying by buying carbon credits, but recognise that can never undo the damage we are doing. We try to limit our flying: not using a plane if there is an alternative transport option; limiting our flying to visiting family and friends; cutting down the number of such trips; avoiding international conferences where possible; and taking holidays in this country rather than abroad. And yet, we chose a cross-national marriage, our families are spread across four countries and our friends even wider, and we do want to prioritise our relationships. So we will continue to struggle with this. Is one long-haul flight per year acceptable? Is seeing grandchildren just once a year enough? Should I turn down invitations to international conferences on environmental grounds?

 

  • Other forms of transport make up our next biggest contribution. Here, perhaps we are taking some worthwhile steps (literally) by walking, cycling (me), and taking public transport when we can, rather than driving. Last year, we passed on our diesel estate to Joe and bought a smaller, hybrid car. Perhaps we should have gone fully electric, but the cost, patchy infrastructure, and limited second-hand market all put me off doing so at this stage. So we try not to use the car unless we have to, tend to drive at 60-65 rather than 70-75mph, and avoid heavy acceleration and braking. We are privileged, living where we do, that I can get into town by bike in 20 minutes, or the University in 30; that we have 4+ buses an hour going from outside our door to Coventry or Birmingham; and that we have such a good rail network from Coventry and Birmingham International. But it does frustrate me that rail travel is such an expensive (and time consuming) option. Travelling to Nottingham to see Esther and Rob would take 2 ½ hours and cost around £50 by train, compared to 1 hour and about £5 by car; further or more remote excursions increase dramatically in both time and cost. So, do we go further in our efforts to travel sustainably? Should we aim to ultimately get rid of our car? Do we sacrifice efficiency and cost (both of which we can afford) for the sake of sustainability?

 

  • When we set up Breathing Space a year ago, we deliberately chose a place on the outskirts of Coventry so it would be accessible by public transport. We have the advantage of regular buses to outside our front door combined with a sense of peace in the garden, and countryside walks from our doorstep. We encourage others to travel sustainably to Breathing Space. The reality is, however, that most of our visitors come by car, even those who live in Coventry (and we would probably do the same if it were us visiting somewhere else in the city). We don’t apologize for having no parking available on the property and will install a bike rack once the access ramp is completed, but is there more we could do to promote green-er travel among the users of Breathing Space?

 

  • And we have voted (in both local council and European elections) for the Green Party – a party that clearly has greener transport policies in its manifesto, and has done for years. But could we be doing more to lobby the government to incentivize train travel? to not build more airports but actually close a couple? to fund cycleways within towns?

 

So there we are – struggling to travel sustainably; succeeding in some aspects and failing in others; wrestling with the dilemma of balancing family relationships with green living.

What about you? Are there ways you have managed to cut down on environmentally damaging travel? Do you struggle with the same dilemmas as us? Do you have any suggestions that we could take up? Add your comments to the blog or join in a conversation on Facebook…

 

 

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Fifty years of nuclear deterrence: a cause for celebration or a cause for lament?

Today at Westminster Abbey a service was held to ‘recognise the commitment of the Royal Navy to effective peace-keeping through the [continuous at sea] deterrent over the past fifty years and to pray for peace throughout the world.’

I am extremely grateful for the peace we in the West have enjoyed over the past fifty years. I recognise that there are many in our armed forces who are committed to peace keeping and long, as I do, for peace throughout the world.

And yet I struggle with the very concept of celebrating what is ultimately the world’s most deadly weapon of mass destruction in a Christian service of worship. To me, this is totally at odds with the God I believe in, and with the very life and teaching of Jesus Christ, the ‘Prince of Peace.’

‘This sends out a terrible message to the world… that, here in Britain, we celebrate weapons – in a place of worship – that can kill millions of people.’  – Kate Hudson, general secretary of CND

In 1969 Britain launched its nuclear deterrent service. I have grown up with the very real threat of nuclear war. I am grateful that that threat has not materialised, and I am grateful to the women and men of our armed services and to those working in international diplomacy who have helped ensure that we have lived in peace.

Whatever our views about the effectiveness of policies of nuclear deterrence, however, we have to acknowledge that they are built on the foundation of the most awful weapons of mass destruction.

The UK holds 120 operational nuclear warheads. The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II killed between 100,000 and 250,000 people. Today’s nuclear warheads are far more powerful.

Westminster Abbey describes their service as a service to recognise the commitment of the Royal Navy to effective peace-keeping through the deterrent over the past fifty years and to pray for peace throughout the world. However, by linking it to the nuclear deterrence programme, whatever the intention, it gives the message that the Church of England not only condones, but actually celebrates – in a service of worship – these weapons that carry the potential to indiscriminately kill thousands of innocent people.

‘To celebrate a device that is designed to indiscriminately kill and destroy thousands of innocent civilians is totally incompatible with the gospel of Jesus Christ, and with our commitment as a Church to peace and to the flourishing of all humanity.’ – Rt Revd Roger Morris, Bishop of Colchester

For me, the very existence of nuclear weapons is a cause for lament, not for celebration.