Parents or carers in the UK who deliberately deprive their children of love and kindness could be jailed for up to 10 years under a proposed new law.
The proposed change to neglect laws in England and Wales would see parents guilty of ‘emotional cruelty’ face prosecution for the first time, alongside physical or sexual abuse.
It follows a campaign for a ‘Cinderella Law’ from charity Action for Children, led by Robert Buckland, the Conservative MP for Swindon South as well as leading family law campaigners.
The new law would mean any parent or carer who harms 'emotional, social or behaviourial development' could go to jail for up to 10 years - the maximum term in child neglect cases.
The British Government will introduce the change in the Queen’s Speech in early June to enforce the protection of children’s emotional, social and behavioural well-being.
Action for Children's chief executive, Sir Tony Hawkhead, said, "This is a monumental step forward for thousands of children who we know suffer from emotional abuse and countless others whose desperate situations have yet to come to light."
"We are one of the last countries in the western world to recognise all forms of child abuse as a crime. Years of campaigning have been rewarded – the government has listened and this law will change lives," he added.
Action for Children claims neglect is the most common reason for a child protection referral across the UK, and emotional abuse is more common in these referrals than physical abuse, according to the Department for Education.
As many as 1.5 million British children are believed to suffer from neglect. The legal changes will allow police to intervene earlier and build a criminal case before children are physically or sexually abused.
Currently, the criminal definition of child neglect, which affects as many as one in 10 children, covers physical harm only.
Child neglect legislation had not been reviewed in the UK for more than 80 years and is still based on the 1868 Poor Law (Amendment) Act.
Action for Children said that out of 41 legal systems examined around the world, only two, including England, did not criminalise emotional abuse.
