25 years on from Victoria Climbie’s murder, why are children still dying from neglect?

When Victoria Climbie was seen by doctors and nurses in the multiple hospital trips she endured in her short life, she was sweet, bubbly and lively. But as soon as her guardians appeared, the little girl immediately went into herself; silent and frightened. 

It was just one of the many signs that something was seriously wrong and should have been picked up. Instead, it cost the child her life. 

25 years ago that eight-year-old Victoria died at St Mary’s Hospital, London, after months of unimaginable cruelty. Her story shocked the nation – how could any human inflict such pain and terror to a child, and how did nobody notice? 

The Home Office pathologist who examined Victoria’s body, found 128 separate injuries and scars, many of them cigarette burns – and described them as ‘the worst case of child abuse I’ve encountered’. 

The little girl had been violently assaulted, tortured and neglected by the people that were supposed to care for her. 

Horrifyingly, Lord Laming’s 2003 inquiry into Victoria’s death listed 12 missed opportunities when various agencies could have saved her life, blaming racism, incompetence and failures of duty of care. 

A life full of hope

Victoria Adjo Climbie was born in the Ivory Coast to Francis and Berthe Climbie and sent to live with her great aunt Marie-Therese Kouao in Paris ‘for a better life’ in 1999. Her aunt then took her to London after being pursued by French authorities over benefit payments.

In July 1999, Kouao and Victoria, who spoke no English, moved into the home of Carl Manning – Kouao’s boyfriend – in Tottenham, north London. There, the couple called the little girl  ‘Anna’. 

*Warning: contains distressing and graphic content* 

Within days, Manning started abusing Victoria and she was taken to hospital that same month with bruising on her feet, arms, legs, buttocks and infected bruises on her fingers. 

The daughter of her childminder who looked after Victoria during the day (she never went to school in the UK)  suspected that her injuries were inflicted, but medical staff accepted Kouao’s story that Victoria had caused the wounds herself by scratching at scabies sores.

That same month the little girl was seen in casualty again with scalding to her head and face. Doctors immediately suspected that the injuries had been deliberately inflicted but Kouao insisted she poured hot water over Victoria to try and stop her scratching her scalp and that the child caused other injuries with utensils.

A little girl failed by grown ups

A nurse on duty remembered how Victoria had no possessions, only the clothes she arrived in. She told the inquiry into her death: ‘Some of the staff had brought in dresses and presents for Victoria. One of the nurses had given her a white dress and Victoria found some pink wellingtons which she used to wear with it. I remember Victoria dressed like this, twirling up and down the ward. She was a very friendly and happy child.’

On 24 February 2000, Victoria was again rushed to North Middlesex Hospital, this time suffering from a combination of malnutrition and hypothermia. She was bruised, deformed and malnourished. Her temperature was so low it could not be recorded on the hospital’s standard thermometer. 

The little girl was transferred to the intensive care ward at St Mary’s Hospital in west London but tragically died the following day.

In the space of just a few months, Victoria had been transformed from a healthy, lively, and happy little girl, into a wretched and broken wreck.

She had spent much of her last days living and sleeping in a bath in an unheated bathroom, bound hand and foot inside a bin bag, in her own urine and faeces. Towards the end of her short life, Victoria was stooped like an old lady and could walk only with great difficulty according to eye witnesses at her church. 

Police, doctors, social workers all had contact with her while she was being abused. Yet she was never take out of her Kouao’s care.

On 12 January 2001, her great-aunt, Marie-Therese Kouao, and Carl John Manning were convicted of her murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Just this month, Manning was granted a fresh appeal for freedom – his third in total – after he was told he must serve a minimum of 21 years behind bars.

During the trial, it emerged that Kouao would strike Victoria on a daily basis with a shoe, a coat hanger and a wooden cooking spoon and would smash her toes with a hammer or hit her with a bicycle chain. Victoria’s blood was also found on Manning’s football boots. 

The horror of what happened to the little girl during her last months was outlined by Neil Garnham QC, who told the public inquiry into her death: ‘The food would be cold and would be given to her on a piece of plastic while she was tied up in the bath. She would eat it like a dog, pushing her face to the plate…To say that Kouao and Manning treated Victoria like a dog would be wholly unfair; she was treated worse than a dog.’ 

Lord Laming, the report’s author wrote: ‘Perhaps the most painful of all the distressing events of Victoria’s short life in this country is that even towards the end, she might have been saved… She died a slow, lonely death – abandoned, unheard and unnoticed.’ 

Following their daughter’s death, Francis and Berthe set up the Victoria Climbié Foundation in 2003 to campaign for improvements in child protection policies and practices and to ensure effective links and coordination between statutory agencies, care services and communities.

They explained they had sent their much-loved daughter to Europe in the hope she would have a better education and life. ’Many people in England have asked us why we gave Victoria away. I want to say that we didn’t give her away. In African society children are not just the children of their parents, but the children of their aunts and uncles, grandmothers and grandfathers, brothers and sisters,’ they explained. ‘The greatest privilege of all is for a relative to offer to educate your child abroad.’

How many more children need to suffer?

Victoria’s death was a watershed moment in the UK, exposing horrific failures in the system. Her murder prompted the largest review of child protection arrangements in the UK as the public asked – why did no one save her? 

However, despite this overhaul – which included the introduction of the Children Act 2004, better joint working between agencies, enhanced training for public service workers and information sharing – children have continued to die. 

‘Baby P’, Peter Connelly, was a 17-months-old when he died in 2007 after prolonged abuse – despite being on the child protection register. He was supposed to be cared for by Haringey, the same council that failed Victoria.

In 2012, four-year-old Daniel Pelka was starved and beaten to death, by his mother and her partner. 

Ellie Butler was murdered by her father in 2013 after being returned to his custody and in 2020 Finley Boden was killed at 10 months despite social services being aware of both parents’ drug addiction. 

In the last five years alone, Star Hobson was murdered by her mother, Arthur Labinjo-Hughes was tortured to death by his father and stepmother and Baby Victoria died after her parents Constance Marten and Mark Gordon went on the run from the authorities.

Just two months ago, the father and stepmother of 10-year-old Sara Sharif were found guilty of murder after she was hooded, burned and beaten during more than two years of abuse.

More than 480 children in England alone died or were seriously harmed by abuse or neglect, between April 1 2023 and March 31 2024, according to data from the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel.

So if we all keep saying ‘never again’, why is it still happening?

Spotting the signs

Dr Jennifer Obaseki, an east London solicitor with over 20 years experience, much of it in child protection, says that despite the host of reforms and legislation in the wake of Victoria’s death, serious questions remain. 

‘Due to the high turnover caused by a high burn out rate, local authorities are often stretched and caseworkers frequently have caseloads that far exceed recommended levels,’ she tells Metro. ‘A case may see frequent changes in allocated social workers before its conclusion, making it harder for social workers to properly assess situations.

‘The isolation caused by the pandemic also created significant challenges for professionals to spot warning signs, and many children who were already at risk of harm may have slipped through the cracks.’ 

Dr Obaseki’s list of where the blame lies includes underfunding and resource constraints, inefficiency and bureaucracy, poor communication, failure to listen to whistleblowers and a lack of foster carers for ongoing cases of abuse and neglect. She also calls out cultural and social bias, saying professionals sometimes hesitate or overlook concerns for fear of being called racist. 

‘The legacy of Victoria Climbie serves as an ongoing reminder of the systemic failures in protecting children. Only with continued reform and investment in social services can tragedies like this be prevented in the future,’ she adds. 

But you don’t have to be a police officer or social worker to notice abuse, according to safeguarding experts Gabriella Russo and Emma Rodriguez,who train local authorities, charities, businesses and other organisations in child protection.

They argue that any of us can spot the signs. 

‘A typical issue is sharing safeguarding information and things like GDPR, and people being afraid of being accused of breaking confidentiality, which can be a barrier,’ Emma, a registered social worker, tells Metro. ‘But you can share information to safeguard somebody if you are worried about them. If something doesn’t feel right, act on it.’ 

Gabriella adds: ‘It’s worth emphasising that you’re not being a nosy neighbour if you have a concern. The NSPCC has an adult helpline for people who are concerned about children and professionals will know what to look for. 

‘In terms of members of the public noticing a change in family dynamic, or a change in a child’s demeanour, or they are quieter than they normally are for example, it is worth considering all the possibilities.’ 

Among the red flags to look out for, Gabriella and Emma list sexualised conduct in a child, fearful behaviour around certain people, physical marks or winter clothing in hot weather that could be being used to cover up injuries, and uncharacteristic, ravenous hunger that could signify that a child is not being fed.

‘We mustn’t be afraid to step in,’ says Gabriella. ‘This anniversary is an opportunity to honour Victoria and to remind people that it takes a village to raise a child; it takes everyone for a society to be safe.’ 

A Department for Education spokesperson said: ‘The anniversary of Victoria’s death, and each tragedy since, serve as poignant reminders of the children’s social care system we’ve inherited and how much more needs to be done to keep children safe from harm.

‘We are wasting no time in reforming the system as part of our Plan for Change through our landmark Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, and we are doubling investment in early intervention to £500 million to provide help for families before issues escalate.

‘Social workers do a tremendous job of giving children the very best life chances and we want to make sure heavy caseloads and red tape don’t stand in the way of getting children and families the support they need to thrive.’

If you’re worried about a child, even if you’re unsure, you can speak to the NSPCC about your concerns. Contact the charity’s Helpline by calling 0808 800 5000 or emailing help@NSPCC.org.uk