Consenting adults?

My latest File on 4 is about police and charities' concern that groomers are increasingly turning their attention to children - and adults - with learning disabilities.

In 'Targeting the vulnerable' I heard that some of the girls abused by different gangs of groomers in Peterborough had learning disabilities. One of the girls who suffered the worst abuse (although none of it is relative, it was all horrendous) was 12, but has a mental age of 6. She was told if she breathed a word she would be killed. 

Thank god she did tell a social worker. Praise is due to Cambridgeshire Police who took great care and used skilled intermediaries to help the girl give evidence in court, which resulted in justice for her and others.

But I also spoke to three women with learning disabilities, who, as adults, have faced barriers to justice. 'Hannah' was stalked and also went to police saying she'd been raped by a neighbour. There were no charges, because police said there was not enough evidence. 'Faria' says she was groomed on Facebook by a man who sent her sexual messages and tried to get him to run away with her. Again there were no charges because at 17, in the eyes of the law, 'Faria' was an adult.

And then I met 'Sarah'. She suffered two kinds of grooming, but neither man was troubled by the justice system. 'Sarah's' first experience is told here 

(Names have been changed). 

Riding the retirement wave

This week we've been thinking about pensions. From today there is the new and total freedom to do with your pension exactly what you please.

For those whose private pensions have suffered from falls in the stock market and who are forecast tiny sums a year when they reach retirement, the option to take the money and run is attractive. 

We explained the pros and cons with the help of some fifty-something surfers from the Wessex Surf Club - Gary and Guy. Here's what happened in Bournemouth.

If your pension pot is only say £30K - about average - some feel there's little point putting off taking it. 

But if you're still working and earning say £25K - if you take your pension pot in one go you will be hit for higher rate tax - wiping out thousands of that nest egg. Another option would be drawdowns - taking a little as and when you need or want it. 

Sick of school

People are often interested to know what subject my next documentary is about.

When I told them I was looking at teachers and stress there often came a shrug of the shoulders and something along the lines of 'that's teaching, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the classroom'.

To a certain extend, they're right. Teaching is stressful. Twas ever thus. But was it ever as stressful as it is now, with Ofsted raising the bar, government raising the rhetoric on outstanding schools and achievement and more monitoring (some say surveillance) of teachers than ever before?

We found teachers who'd ended up in hospital with stress, or worse, on the verge of suicide. 

Listen to the programme  here 

And more convincingly, we found exclusive data from a teacher insurance company that stress is the single biggest reason for sick leave in schools. Bigger than colds or the flu. 

So, how worried should we be about our teachers' mental health?