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In 2000 in London, an eight-year-old Ivorian girl, Victoria Adjo Climbié (2 November 1991 – 25 February 2000), was tortured and murdered by her guardians. Her death led to a public inquiry and produced major changes in child protection policies in the United Kingdom. Born in Abobo, Côte d’Ivoire, Climbié left the country with her great-aunt Marie-Thérèse Kouao, a French citizen, for an education in France, where they travelled, before arriving in London in April 1999. It is not known exactly when Kouao started abusing Climbié, although it is suspected to have worsened when Kouao and Climbié met and moved in with Carl Manning, who became Kouao's boyfriend. During the abuse, Climbié was burnt with cigarettes, tied up for periods of longer than 24 hours, and hit with bike chains, hammers and wires. Up to her death, the police, the social services department of four local authorities, the National Health Service, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), and local churches all had contact with her, and noted the signs of abuse. However, in what the judge in the trial following Climbié's death described as "blinding incompetence", all failed to properly investigate the case and little action was taken. Kouao and Manning were convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. After Climbié's death, the parties involved in her case were widely criticised. A public inquiry, headed by Lord Laming, was ordered. It discovered numerous instances where Climbié could have been saved, noted that many of the organisations involved in her care were badly run, and discussed the racial aspects surrounding the case, as many of the participants were black. The subsequent report by Laming made numerous recommendations related to child protection in England. Climbié's death was largely responsible for the formation of the Every Child Matters initiative; the introduction of the Children Act 2004; the creation of the ContactPoint project, a government database designed to hold information on all children in England (now defunct after closure by the government of 2010); and the creation of the Office of the Children's Commissioner chaired by the Children's Commissioner for England. == Life == Victoria Climbié was born on 2 November 1991 in Abobo near Abidjan, Ivory Coast, the fifth of seven children.〔Verkaik, Robert. ("Climbie council 'is still failing abused children'" ). ''The Independent''. 20 November 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2010.〕〔Laming, p. 25.〕 Her parents were Francis Climbié and his wife Berthe Amoissi.〔Batty, David. ("Key figures in the Climbié case" ). ''The Guardian''. 4 February 2002. Retrieved 1 August 2010.〕 Marie-Thérèse Kouao, Francis' aunt, was born on 17 July 1956 in Bonoua, Ivory Coast and lived in France with her three sons, claiming welfare benefits.〔〔Laming, p. 46.〕 She divorced her former husband in 1978 and he died in 1995.〔 Kouao was attending her brother's funeral in the Ivory Coast when she visited the Climbié family in October 1998. She informed them that she wanted to take a child back to France with her and arrange for their education; this sort of informal fosterage is common in the family's society. Victoria Climbié was apparently happy to be chosen,〔 and although her parents had only met Kouao a few times, they were satisfied with the arrangements. From that point onwards, Kouao pretended that Climbié was her daughter. Kouao had originally planned to take another young girl called Anna Kouao, but Anna's parents changed their minds. Climbié travelled on a French passport in the name of Anna Kouao and was known as Anna throughout her life in the United Kingdom.〔 It is not known exactly when Kouao started abusing Climbié. Climbié's parents received three messages about her from when she left them until her death, all saying she was in good health.〔("Climbie case is 'turning point'" ). BBC News. 26 September 2001. Retrieved 1 August 2010.〕 Kouao and Climbié left the Ivory Coast possibly in November 1998 and flew to Paris, France, where Climbié enrolled at school.〔 By December 1998, however, Kouao began to receive warnings about Climbié's absenteeism, and in February 1999, the school issued a child-at-risk notification and a social worker became involved. The school observed how Climbié tended to fall asleep in class, and the headteacher later recalled Kouao mentioning Climbié suffering from some form of dermatological condition and that, on her last visit to the school on 25 March 1999, Climbié had a shaven head and was wearing a wig.〔Laming, p. 26.〕 When they left France, Kouao owed the authorities £2,000, after being wrongly paid in child benefit, and it is claimed that Kouao viewed Climbié as a useful tool for claiming benefits.〔("Victoria's life of horror" ). BBC News. 12 January 2001. Retrieved 1 August 2010.〕 Kouao had also been evicted from her home in France because of rent arrears.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Murder of Victoria Climbié」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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