Policy Papers

The legacy of 1885: girls and the age of sexual consent

The age of sexual consent – 16 years – has remained since 1885 despite concerns today regarding child sexual abuse and teenage pregnancy. Dr Victoria Bates warns against drawing direct comparisons with this 130-year-old law to promote or resist change to the age of consent.

Scandals and silences: the British press and child sexual abuse

Until the 1970s British press coverage of child sexual abuse was ‘scanty, timid and evasive’. This failure to treat abuse as a serious problem has changed. But according to Dr Adrian Bingham, of Sheffield University, elements of this earlier journalistic culture remain today. 

Child welfare, child protection and sexual abuse, 1918-1990

Across the twentieth century, poor coordination among social workers, welfare charities and doctors meant that most child sexual abuse was undetected. When cases did come to light, the response was often inadequate. While the situation has changed, Dr Lucy Delap argues that some past practices and beliefs remain, risking child safety today. 

Child sexual abuse in England and Wales: prosecution and prevalence 1918-1970

Why were the courts and police so slow to act on child sexual abuse? Dr Louise Jackson, of the University of Edinburgh, reviews the twentieth century criminal justice system in England and Wales.

‘Troubled compensation:’ awarding pensions after political conflict in Ireland

Policy makers planning a pension scheme for victims of the Northern Ireland Troubles could learn from the mistakes of a similar system for conflict-related injury in 1920s Ireland, argues Dr Marie Coleman of Queen’s University Belfast.

The case for Brexit: lessons from the 1960s and 1970s

Contrary to Eurosceptic opinion today, the UK did not stumble blindly into the EEC in 1973, nor vote to stay on a false prospectus, argues Dr Adrian Williamson, who considers lessons from the country’s original engagement with Europe.

Magna Carta and contemporary constitutional change

Ireland and the perils of fixed exchange rates

The Great Irish Famine of the 1840s and the twentieth-century Irish financial crisis might seem worlds apart. But they share key macroeconomic policies that exacerbated the respective economic situations, according to Charles Read, of Cambridge University. Using the macroeconomic concept the ‘trilemma’, Read compares decisions taken during the famine and the recent financial crisis to understand what went wrong – and offer lessons for policy makers today, particularly in countries considering joining a currency union. 

Diagnosing a flight from care: medical migration and ‘dirty work’ in the NHS

Policy makers should recognise the vital contribution of migrant medics to Britain's healthcare system and support them, argues Dr Julian Simpson, of Manchester University. Since 1948 the NHS has been dependent on overseas-trained doctors who fill jobs vacated by emigrating British medics. 

Mentally ill older people aren’t ‘past it’

Ageism and the repeat failure of governments to match rhetoric with resources for mental health services for older people means provision today is patchy and under-funded, argues psychiatrist and historian, Dr Claire Hilton. And this despite recognition dating back to the 1940s of the needs and benefits of treatment.