Your Royal Highness, Your Grace, My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen.
A centenary is a very special sort of birthday. And the centenary of the NSPCC is both a happy and a solemn occasion. — It is happy, because today we celebrate a hundred years of voluntary effort and a hundred years of magnificent achievements. And I should like to thank and congratulate you, Madam Chairman, for your unsurpassable leadership as our Chairman for fifteen years, and for your devoted work for us ever since you became a member of our executive thirty-seven years ago. — It is solemn because the need for a Society to prevent cruelty to children is as pressing now as it every was. [end p1]
There has after all been cruelty to children for thousands of years.
In our own country remarkable progress was made under Queen Elizabeth I, including the introduction of discretionary poor relief for families in need.
But hideous practices prevailed right up to the Nineteenth Century.
Why did it take until 1883 to begin to found a National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children? [end p2]
And why, despite a hundred years of devoted work by the Society, and a hundred years of material progress, do we need to raise a further £20 million this year to prevent abuse of the most innocent and defenceless members of society?
Remember for a moment the spirit of the NSPCC's early years. Alongside the emergence of new industries, the nineteenth century saw the birth of a new kind of practical conscience. Inspired by religious beliefs, men and women of influence saw it as their duty to use their new found wealth to relieve the suffering of others. [end p3]
These ideals found an echo in the hearts of many people. Some gave money, and some gave time, to the great voluntary movements of the age. A spirit of self-help and mutual aid brought practical support to the disadvantaged, and a sense of personal fulfilment for those who took part.
Attention focussed first on the adult world: the abolition of slavery, and the improvement of conditions in factories and towns. Then at last came the turn of the children. [end p4]
It was in the 1870s that we first began to legislate seriously about public education. And it was in the same period that the legislative attack on child labour gathered pace.
The founders of this movement set to work persuading Parliament to legislate on all forms of child abuse.
When they started, there were more laws to protect animals than there were to protect children. By lobbying and cajoling, and by appealing to the moral principles of the legislators, [end p5] they finally brought about the first child protection legislation—the Children's Charter of 1889.
The full title of the Children's Charter was “An Act for the Prevention of Cruelty to, and better protection of, Children.” Thus, five years after our Society was founded, its very name had been reproduced in an Act of Parliament. [end p6]
These achievements owed much to two ideas. First that something had to be done: second that we had a personal responsibility to do it—we couldn't just leave it to others, or to the state.
And so began the NSPCC. Your survival—your growing strength—is evidence that this vein of selfless concern for others runs as strongly through our society now as it did then. [end p7]
And despite the enormous improvement in material conditions, today we need that spirit—that special concern with the quality of human relationships—just as much as we ever did. Because behind all the statistics—behind the billions of pounds spent in providing practical support for our fellow citizens—lies the real world of the child and the family.
Of course poverty matters. Of course job insecurity and job losses matter. But when it comes to the welfare of children it is the family, and relations within the family that count the most. [end p8]
In this country, family life is rightly treasured and the majority of children throughout the land enjoy a secure and loving home. Through their close family relationships such children develop into mature and happy young people.
Other families face tensions and stress which are of concern to us all.
And some of the support which used to be available may no longer be there. Where once there were several generations of the family at home to share the task of caring for the children, and several people with the [end p9] time to amuse and talk to them—now a young mother may find herself isolated for much of the day. Unable to leave her child even for a moment, the frustration and tensions of loneliness build up.
For a few, the strains may be too great. Some may themselves have experienced difficulties and sufferings in their childhood, which may surface again when they in turn are faced with the challenge of parenthood. [end p10]
And we must not forget that tragically some people have a violent and cruel streak in their nature. We feel most of all for children in the care of such people, and common humanity compels us to do everything we can to help those innocent young lives. [end p11]
To prevent violence and to help relieve stress, the NSPCC provides a 24 hour emergency service in all areas—a service capable of responding to sudden family crises, or to a call from a neighbour that something is badly wrong.
That service is just what the House of Commons Select Committee on Social Services had in mind when it said that “Prevention should be a priority” . The purpose of the NSPCC is to gain the confidence of those in trouble, and to work with parents and children together to try to re-establish a happy home. [end p12]
This is the kind of work that the NSPCC is ideally suited to do. Seeing the difficulties at first hand. Listening, supporting, explaining—simply being there. And having a network of willing helpers.
We in the NSPCC know that many of the tensions which give rise to cruelty to children stem not from lack of material things but from emotional and spiritual poverty. [end p13]
We know that material advance has brought enormous benefits. But we know also that we must be alive to its limitations.
To get better housing and new industry we have built new towns, but we have not always succeeded in creating new communities—we must never forget the human factor.
The vast majority of us have televisions in our homes. They have brought knowledge and entertainment to millions. [end p14] They have expanded our horizons, showing us the marvels of nature, reporting events on the other side of the globe. But how often has the habit of watching television taken the place of simple human contact, leaving us no time for family discussion or an evening with friends?
It was Longfellow who said:
“Between the dark and the daylight When the night is beginning to lower Comes a pause in the day's occupations That is known as the children's hour.”
That was in 1863. But I was interested to read very recently about a survey carried out in the EEC which [end p15] found that two thirds of adults in the Community think that parents nowadays spend too little time with their children. And when it came to arrangements for giving them more time together, fathers were just as interested as mothers.
The truth is that every new technology, every change has advantages and disadvantages.
We have to learn to make use of progressive ideas without sacrificing the conventions, customs and human values which make up a kindly and generous society. [end p16] The secret is to get the right blend between the old and the new.
Today there are many State welfare services dealing with problems to which no adequate answer has been found. But never seeking to supplant or to take over what can only be done by families, friends and voluntary help for there can be no substitute for the good neighbour.
Over the past three years, the Government has helped to meet the Society's headquarters' costs, as well as support certain specific projects. To mark the NSPCC centenary Norman Fowler has decided to make available over the next three years a total of a further £500,000 towards [end p17] headquarters' costs, in addition to continuing project support.
The NSPCC has demonstrated the value of partnerships between voluntary help and the state. In more than a dozen parts of England, including great cities like Manchester, Newcastle and Leeds, the NSPCC has set up special units in conjunction with the local authority.
It was wonderful to read just last week of the success these units have had in reducing the severity of injuries to children and in helping to prevent recurrent abuse. And we must thank our marvellous professional staff for their skill and dedication, and for the love and understanding they bring to the children. [end p18]
In Northern Ireland, the NSPCC operates sixty non-sectarian day-care centres on behalf of the Government to help with the appalling problems that face children in that Province.
Where the NSPCC has to work alone, it does. Where it can work with the Government or with the local authorities, it will. The attitude of the NSPCC has always been that it's results which count. And never more than in its Centenary year.
Children are the hope of the future. But they are also people of the present. They are people whose lives are a gift to us, [end p19] whose development is our responsibility, whose protection and well-being are our duty. Where else can they turn if not to us? The NSPCC will not fail them.