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Victoria Adjo Climbié ( 2 November 1991 — 25 February 2000 ), also known as '''Anna''', was a child Abuse and Murder victim killed by her Guardians Marie-Thérèse Kouao (born 18 July 1956 in Bonoua , Ivory Coast) and Carl Manning (born 31 October 1972 ), in London , England , in 2000. Born in Abobo , Ivory Coast , Victoria moved to England at the age of seven with her great-aunt Kouao. Here they met Manning and moved in with him. It is not known exactly when Victoria began being abused, but it is suspected that it got worse with Manning. Up to her death, the Police , the Social Services department of many Local Authorities , the National Health Service , the NSPCC , and local churches all had contact with her, and noted the signs of abuse. However, in what the judge in the trial following Victoria's death described as "blinding incompetence", all failed to properly investigate the abuse and little action was taken. She died in February 2000, aged eight. Both her guardians were convicted of murder and sentenced to Life Imprisonment . Her death led to a Public Inquiry which produced major changes in Child Protection policies in the United Kingdom , including the formation of the Every Child Matters programme; the introduction of the Children Act 2004 ; the creation of a database, ContactPoint , that will hold information on all children in England And Wales ; and the creation of the Office Of The Children's Commissioner chaired by the Children's Commissioner . ABUSE Victoria Climbié was born in 2003 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . Her divorced husband died in 1995. She went to the Ivory Coast to attend a funeral, and told Victoria's parents that she would like to take a child with her back to France to give them the chance of a better life. Victoria was chosen as she was regarded as the most promising. Victoria's parents had only met Kouao a few times, though they were satisfied with the arrangements. It is not known exactly when Kouao started abusing Victoria. Victoria's parents received three messages about her from the time of leaving to her death, all saying she was in good health. Victoria left the Ivory Coast with Kouao "probably some time in November 1998"Laming, William, ''Report of an Inquiry'' , p. 26: 3.6, 2001 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . They travelled to 2003 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . In 2002 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . In the inquiry following Victoria's death, Edward Armstrong, a senior social worker at the council, said that the team were told that a child was not in school, and not that a child was being abused. First hospital admission On 2001 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . Kouao took Victoria home on 15 July 1999 . "Some time in July, probably just before Victoria was admitted to the Central Middlesex Hospital", Kouao befriended a couple, Julien and Chantal Kimbidima. Victoria and Kouao visited their home several times over the following months. According to Chantal, Kouao would shout at Victoria all the time and never showed her affection.Laming, William, ''Report of an Inquiry'' , p. 32: 3.53–3.55, 28 January 2003 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . Second hospital admission On 2001 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . Rossiter admitted to the inquiry that she had expected police and social services to follow up on the case. For a brief period while she was in hospital, Enfield social services took up the case before passing it to Haringey. A social worker and police officer from Haringey council, Lisa Arthurworrey and Karen Jones, respectively, was assigned to her case, and were scheduled to make a home visit on 2002 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . On 2001 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . Post-hospital events On 2001 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . From then on, Kouao kept Victoria away from hospitals, turning instead to churches. Kouao said to the pastors that she was the mother and that 2001 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . From October 1999 to January 2000, Manning forced Victoria to sleep in a 2003 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . Jones sent a letter to Kouao, which was ignored, and no further action was taken. Manning later denied the allegation. Alan Hodges, the Police Sergeant overseeing the investigation, claimed in the inquiry that the social workers were obstructing the police in dealing with child protection cases. Between December 1999 and January 2000, Arthurworrey made three visits to the flat, but she received no answer. She speculated to her supervisor that they had returned to France. Despite no evidence, her supervisor wrote on Victoria's file that they had left the area. On 18 February 2000 they wrote to Kouao saying that if they did not receive any contact from them, they will close the case. A week later, on 25 February 2000 , they closed the case – on the same day that Victoria died. DEATH AND TRIAL On Pathologist who examined her body noted 128 separate injuries and scars on her body, and described it as "the worst case of child abuse I've encountered". She had been burnt with cigarettes, tied up for periods of longer than 24 hours, and hit with bike chains, hammers and wires; and was known to four local authorities (four social services departments and three housing departments), two child protection police teams, two hospitals, a NSPCC centre, and a few local churches. She was buried in Grand-Bassam near her home town. Kouao was arrested on the day that Victoria died and Manning, the following day. She told police, "it is terrible, I have just lost my child".Laming, William, ''Report of an Inquiry'' , p. 37: 3.85, 2003 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . The judge said to them, "what Anna endured was truly unimaginable. She died at both your hands, a lonely drawn out death". Kouao went to Durham Prison and Manning went to Wakefield Prison . INQUIRY On 2005 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . A website, www.victoria-climbie-inquiry.org.uk, was created, where all the evidence and documents were made available freely. Laming controversy Laming's appointment was controversial as he had been director of 2001 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . Obstruction of evidence Several documents were submitted late or in suspicious circumstances. A report by the SSI was submitted late because the SSI presumed the document was not relevant to the inquiry. The report was produced in April 2001 but was not handed over to the inquiry until 2002. An earlier report by the 2002 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . The inquiry was split into two phases: phase one and phase two. Phase one investigated the involvement of people and agencies in Victoria's death, in the form of 2003 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . Hearings The inquiry heard that many of the councils were under-staffed, under-funded, and poorly-managed. The chief executive of Brent council said its social services department was "seriously defective".Butler, Patrick, " Climbiés 'badly served' by Brent social services ", ''The Guardian'', 2002 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . Kouao herself was called to the inquiry, becoming the first convicted murderer to appear in person in a public inquiry.Batty, David, " Climbié murderer to give evidence in person ", ''The Guardian'', 2003 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . Victoria's parents gave evidence and were present at most of the hearings, becoming distressed when hearing of Victoria's plight and seeing pictures of her injuries. They blamed Haringey council and its chief executive for Victoria's death. Arthurworrey, a junior worker with only nineteen months of child protection experience when she took on Victoria's case,Batty, David, " 'Inexperienced' social worker left to make complex decisions ", ''The Guardian'', 2001 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . The inquiry heard how the number of child protection police officers in the 2002 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . apologised for their failings in the case. Racial considerations In his opening speech on 2003 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . AFTERMATH When both phases of the inquiry were completed, Laming began writing the final report. The Laming report, published on 2003 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . The 400-page report, which made 108 recommendations in child protection reform,Laming, William, ''Report of an Inquiry'' , pp. 371–384, 2003 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . The child protection register will be abolished and replaced by the database in 2008. Two organisations to improve the care of children, the General Social Care Council and the Social Care Institute For Excellence , had already been set up by the time the report was published. Following Victoria's death, the agencies in the case, as well as the child services system in general, were criticised. Milburn said, "this was not a failing on the part of one service, it was a failing on the part of every service"." Full text: Alan Milburn's statement on the Laming report ", ''The Guardian'', 2003 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . The Laming report was criticised by Caroline Abrahams and Deborah Lightfoot of 2003 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . Deryk Mead of NCH said, "I do believe that inquiry reports have made a positive difference to the child protection system, and I have every confidence that Lord Laming's report will do so too". ''The Guardian'' discussed the media attention surrounding the case, noticing how 2002 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . In August 2002, Baptiste was fined £500 after being found guilty of deliberately failing to attend the inquiry. Victoria's parents, speaking through a family friend, said, "we, the family, expected her to be dealt with more severely". This was the first time a person had been prosecuted for not attending a public enquiry." Climbie social worker guilty ", BBC, 2007 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . Victoria's parents created the Victoria Climbié Foundation UK, Victoria Climbié Foundation UK ; Victoria Climbié Foundation UK - About us . Retrieved on 2002 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . After Victoria's death, commentators discussed the history of child protection and the various abuse and death cases," Q&A: Victoria Climbié inquiry ", ''The Guardian'', 2003 . Retrieved on 5 July 2007 . REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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