On a slip of paper dropped into a school ‘worry box’, a child makes a devastating cry for help. They write that their father has been sexually abusing them, desperate and unsure where else to turn.
But in the family court the child’s father was granted continued access to them, and the child was banned from using the worry box again.
It is just one of many examples of fathers accused of child sexual abuse given legal access to their alleged victim - and the victim being effectively gagged - according to a recent study.
Dr Elizabeth Dalgarno, at the University of Manchester, believes, after years of research, that courts are too trusting of claims that such allegations arise from women's attempts to turn children against their fathers.
Read more on manchestereveningnews.co.uk