Please can you all be aware that a 15 year old schoolgirl has gone missing from the UK and is believed to be in France.
Please can we all keep an eye out for her within our communities.
Thanks
I have a bone of contention with much of the reporting when they were found. There was endless statement after statement from the mother, stepfather, natural father of Megan, family of Jeremy Forrest chipped in. Where was Megan in all of this? Runs absolutely against the grain of, for instance, Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
GENERAL COMMENT No. 10 (2007) from the COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD at their Forty-fourth session in Geneva, 15 January-2 February 2007 'The right to be heard (Art. 12) stated that:
The right of the child to express his/her views freely in all matters affecting the child should be fully respected and implemented throughout every stage of the process of juvenile justice (see paragraphs 43 and 45 below). The Committee notes that the voices of children involved in the juvenile justice system are increasingly becoming a powerful force for improvements and reform, and for the fulfilment of their rights.
43. Article 12 (2) of CRC requires that a child be provided with the opportunity to be heard in
any judicial or administrative proceedings affecting the child, either directly or through a
representative or an appropriate body in a manner consistent with the procedural rules of national
law.
45. The child should be given the opportunity to express his/her views concerning the
(alternative) measures that may be imposed, and the specific wishes or preferences he/she may
have in this regard should be given due weight. (...) It goes without saying that the judges involved are responsible for taking the decisions. But to treat the child as a passive object does not recognize his/her rights nor does it contribute to an effective response to his/her behaviour. This also applies to the
implementation of the measure(s) imposed. Research shows that an active engagement of the child in this implementation will, in most cases, contribute to a positive result.
Where was Megan Stammers in the media stampede? What are her feelings? Sure, lines must be drawn, but she has been made into a victim because the media says so. There is the silly little detail that might be relevant, that the two people are genuinely in love and because legislation, social pressure and unmitigating rules don't accomodate that possibility two lives are now ruined. There was no law broken in France and I think they handled it very well and Forrest has been cooperative. But I wonder if Megan is being prevented from speaking her truth, which given France and the UK signed and ratified the Convention two decades ago is not allowing her the rights she has, not is just entitled to. Many people may not agree, but law is law and I believe it was said that the law is an ass.
ab·duct
[ab-duhkt] Show IPAverb (used with object)
1.
She has not been carried off or led away illegaly, she has accompanied him, gone willingly and could have left his company at any time. She has not been abducted, she has run away! Do not confuse a runaway with someone who has been taken against their will.
I think the correct word is "eloped".
This girl is mature enough to know what she is doing. We do not know what their relationship involved. It would be wrong to accuse this man of statutary rape with absolutely no evidence.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that its ok to run away with an underage girl, I'm just saying that she was never in any danger, unlike the 5 year old who HAS been abducted.
If she had run away with a 17 year old boyfriend to France we would not have heard a thing. The teacher/schoolgirl thing is a "juicy" story, though.
Just google "15 year old runaways" to find out just how common this actually is, then tell me why this one was so terrible...
So if she is 15 almost 16, going on 20 that’s ok then, what if she was 14 or even 13? Abducting a child under 16 without the permission of her parents is an offence, the fact that she went willingly is of no consequence.
What a non-story! A 15 year old coming on 20, runs away with, is not abducted by, her teacher, a man 15 years older. She was not forced to go with him, & in a few weeks time would have legally been able to leave home without her parents permission. There is no proof of underage sex. She is in no danger.
Her teacher HAS behaved badly, breaking a position of trust & treating his new wife apallingly but none of this is actually illegal!
When he returns to face the music in the UK if he is cleared of any wrongdoing he can be retried by the Football Association - the highest court in the land.
This is the contact number the Embassy have given:
RT @PCCloake #MeganStammers number for Megan Stammers to contact us from France 00441273475432 Please RT
Probably do both. It seems pretty unlikely to me that the car is still being used in France, surely as the registration is known, it would have been spotted by now?
I have thought about this. What would you do if you did spot them? They could be anywhere in France but I did hear this morning on R4 that they are believed to have moved on elsewhere. Would the Gendarmes be interested? or would you contact the UK police.
Pictures have been release of the two onboard a ferry from Dover to Calais, also it turns out that questions were raised after a school trip to LA where they were seen hugging and holding hands.
Some further details have been issued about this. It is believed that they might be travelling in a black Ford Fiesta. The registration number of the Ford Fiesta is GJ08 RJO.