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Thursday 30 January 2014

Patient Raped Repeatedly For About 60 Times in A Year !!

Ex-psychiatric patient speaks of repeated abuse

Catherine being interviewed by Victoria Derbyshire 
Catherine told Victoria Derbyshire it took her years to figure out why she had not resisted the abuse
A woman who says she was raped more than 50 times while at an NHS psychiatric hospital has told BBC Radio 5 live such institutions are an "open playing field for predators".
Catherine told the Victoria Derbyshire programme about being an in-patient at Little Brook Hospital, Kent, several times in 12 months in around 2003.
She said she was groomed and repeatedly raped by a care worker at the hospital.
A man was later convicted of one count of unlawful intercourse with a patient.
'I was open to abuse' Catherine said it was the result of a nervous breakdown and developing anorexia, after getting out of a 10-year abusive relationship, that she was admitted to the Dartford hospital.
The abuse began within days of her arrival, the mother-of-two said.
"I was on a very heavy amount of Valium, not to where I was unconscious, but add the sedative effect to my already defeated self, I was putty.
"He came in my room, pulled the covers back, got on top, did what he had to do and left... all over very quickly. I didn't murmur... didn't move."
She added: "Very quickly it became every night he was on shift I would expect it."
Catherine being interviewed by Victoria Derbyshire
Asked if she knew why she had not offered resistance, Catherine said: "It took me a couple of years after to understand why... I asked myself that every day for a couple of years.
"I was a defeated person. I wasn't able to care for myself, I wasn't washing, I wasn't feeding myself - I was like an abused dog that if you went up to and gave another kick to she wouldn't have flinched.
"If someone had come into my room with a knife and stabbed it in me, I don't think I would have flinched. I was in a bad way, and therefore I was hugely open to abuse."

You can hear Catherine's interview in full on the 5 live website or the BBC iPlayer radio app. You can watch some of Catherine's interview exclusively on Newsnight on BBC Two from 22:30 GMT.
Her abuser also told her he could help secure her discharge from the hospital if she complied with his demands, she said.
"There was no point me telling anybody. Who's going to believe a mental patient - a mental in-patient - over a longstanding member of staff who was seemingly highly respected and regarded by his colleagues?"
Several years after leaving the unit, Catherine told a community psychiatric nurse what had happened and the care worker was immediately arrested.
In 2008 he pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a patient and was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years.
He was also told he could never work with vulnerable people again. Catherine received a letter of apology from Kent and Medway NHS Trust and £100,000 in compensation.
But this is the first time she has ever spoken publicly about what happened to her.
Stigma Catherine described psychiatric hospitals as a "playing field for predators".
She said: "It's a group of people who are probably the most vulnerable in society with regards to being open to abuse and then subsequently being believed.
"It is an open playing field for predators in that environment. Who is going to speak up when they have been in a mental health institution?
"There is a stigma, you are ashamed, it's not something you tell people. To then say that a member of staff raped you... it's probably one of the hardest things I've ever done, and yet I was believed and that was wonderful."
However, she also recalled the judge saying he was only able to sentence in relation to one offence.
"[That] again reinforces that [in terms of] mental health... you are deemed not quite a first-class citizen," she said.
"You are a second-class citizen so therefore it doesn't matter so much. One time, 50 times, it doesn't matter."
The Crown Prosecution Service told the BBC that in cases where multiple allegations were made it was common for a trial to consider a single specimen case.
The way allegations of sexual assault are dealt with have changed substantially since 2003.
New sentencing guidelines, under which sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder can carry a life sentence, are due to come into force in April.
Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust, which runs Little Brook Hospital, told the BBC it could not comment on Catherine's case because it happened before the formation of the trust.
But it pointed out that all staff undergo "an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check" before they can work in such a unit.
Some names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.
Source : BBC

Monday 13 January 2014

NIGERIA - UK Set To Exchange Prisoners

British Prime Minister
The United Kingdom and Nigeria have signed an agreement to allow the transfer of prisoners between the two countries. 

Under this arrangement, citizens of one who commit crimes in the other will serve sentences in their homeland. The UK government said it meant inmates could be "properly prepared for release into the community in which they will live following their release". 

Both countries already have prisoner-transfer treaties in place with several other states. The UK-Nigeria agreement was one of the objectives outlined by UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan following a meeting in 2011. It is expected the first prisoner transfers will take place before the end of this year.

UK Justice Minister Jeremy Wright said: "Removing foreign national offenders is a key priority for the British government and the prisoner transfer agreement I signed this morning with the Nigerian attorney-general plays a significant role in supporting this. 

"Both the United Kingdom and Nigeria have prisoner transfer arrangements with other countries and it is right that our two countries, which have such strong ties and shared interests, should develop our own arrangements. "I strongly believe that this agreement will have significant benefits for both our countries."

Tuesday 7 January 2014

NIGERIAN HUGE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES PRIORTISED FOR NIGERIANS - MINISTER

Nigerian Minister of Industry, Trade and Industry
Olusegun Aganga, Minister for Industry, Trade and Indusrty
Global MINT Value: Nigeria growing economy at par with Mexico, India and Turkey!

NIGERIAN HUGE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES PRIORTISED FOR NIGERIANS - MINISTER


Nigerians are assuredly guaranteed of benefitting from the present huge economic gains and growth recorded in the past few years. Minister of Industry, Trade and Investments , Dr Olusegun Aganga emphasised this at the recent Honorary International Investors Council (HIIC ) meeting held in London.
At the Press brief chaired by Baroness Lynda Chalker, it was revealed that huge economic opportunities abound in Nigeria and the economic gains are attributed to the stable exchange rate, local investments and foreign reserves that are accumulated to the tune of $45 billion among others.
Explaining further, Dr Aganga disclosed to Nigeria Union Of Journalists Europe, NUJE that Aliko Dangote, a major local investor, has invested $9 billion in an integrated petrochemical business that Nigeria would not need to import petroleum related products from anywhere in the world again.Stressing that Dangote’s investments into local economy are evidence in the Nigeria’s boasting of one of the largest cement factories in the world. According to him, Nigeria will be exporting 39 megatons of cement by middle of 2014.
‘We urge Nigerians to evaluate the micro scale enterprise as they will key-in into larger enterprises.We have made provisions for easier access to land, financing private equities and also enhanced Nigerian legal security to investors’’. Said, Dr Aganga.
The Council however made notes on the issues of oil theft and hinted that concerted efforts are being made to curbing the threats of oil piracy.
The Minister, while answering to questions at the council meeting expressed that excess from crude oil accounts are being used to diversify economic potentials in other sectors. Stressing that Nigerians will, by this year, benefitting from the broad based privatisation of the power sector.
Reiterating the progress of the bi-annual meeting of the Honorary International Investors Council over its inception the brief panel maintained that the composition of expertise stakeholders otherwise, the brainiest have been adding immeasurable values to Nigeria. The Council members share experiences with Nigeria and serve as advisory to the Nigerian President on the long term economic policies and sustainable investment opportunities. HIIC has become a framework that governors are being summoned to listen to many of the council's submission. It was hinted the birth of Lagos as economy hub of Nigeria came as a brainstorm of ideas by economic experts who look inwardly into the future. Members of the Nigeria’s HIIC include Brazil, North Korea and few other European and African countries.
At the press brief the Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku acknowledged the support of OECD and DFID and other foreign councils in their committed efforts to support Nigeria. Mr Maku explained that collective efforts have been yielding positive results in the security and that media comprehensive reports about Nigeria’s security are being done. Emphasisng that steps taken and strategies employed were made with caution with utmost respect for human rights.
The Chairman of Nigerian Investments Promotion Council NIPC, Engr. Mustafa Bello stressed that economic growth of Africa, especially from Nigeria’s investments was tantamount to the growth to be felt in Europe. Engr. Bello disclosed that Nigerians are always being prioritised to be beneficiaries of massive opportunities and successes of the economic upshot. He said company registration and finance by equity are being reviewed and Nigerians with adequate skills from different walk of life are welcome to come and tap the easier access to wealth creation in the country.
Mrs Omobola Johnson, the Minister for Information, Communication and Technology while giving kudos to President Goodluck Jonathan for his insights at first creating the ministry said the high tech-approach in Nigeria is greatly supporting average economic growth making Nigeria the hub of ICT in Africa. She claimed that her ministry is open to help a number of young people in Nigeria to further enhance their ICT skills training and knowledge. Mrs Johnson however hinted that at least 37 Israeli firms are working on how to help the country on this.

Lashley Oladigbolu , the Acting Chairman of Nigeria Union of Journalists Europe Chapter, NUJE writes from London.

Mandatory Credit is advised by writer.

Watch this Video Link 

Olusegun AgangaNUJEurope interviews Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment Dr. 'Segun Aganga at HIIC London 2013 , Exposing Huge Economic Opportunities Abound In Nigeria. In the video background are Mr Labaran Maku, the minister for INFORMATION NIGERIA , Federal Ministry of Information, Nigeria Mr.Labaran Maku; Nigerian Investments Promotion, NIPC Engr. Mustafa Bello; Ben Tellevision CEO, Alistair Soyode; The ActingNational Chairman, NUJEurope, Lashley Oladigbolu among others.





Additional Links:
 The MINT Countries- Next Economic Giants.Mexico, India,Nigeria and Turkey – BBC
Listen to the first episode of MINT: The Next Economic Giants on BBC Radio 4 on Monday 6 January from 09:00 GMT, or afterwards on iPlayer

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