The Judgment of Lord Justice Ward (E)Any harm which he has suffered or is at the risk of suffering

(E) Any harm which he has suffered or is at the risk of suffering

I am satisfied he has not suffered harm. He is not likely to be at risk of suffering sexual harm from any resurrection of the freedoms given by the Law of Love to abuse children in the way they have been abused in the past. The practice of sharing seems more discreetly conducted and there is no present evidence that he will be exposed to rampant sexual high-jinks which will rob him of the precious innocence of his youth. There are, however, deviant and damaged members of The Family who have perpetrated abuse, or have suffered abuse, and their personalities are warped accordingly. They are hard to identify. Even those who have suffered, tend to suffer in silence. They will continue to do so unless and until this dreadful secret is brought out into the open. Given their peripatetic and communal lifestyle, there are real possibilities that S may come into contact with some whose responses cannot be guaranteed. It poses a risk of harm to S which is higher though not substantially higher, than it must be recognised he would face in life outside The Family. He suffers real risk of harm from excessive punishment. The tendency is for parents to surrender their responsibility to the Child Care Team and there are too many recent examples of excess for me not to regard this risk as a real one not withstanding the new guidance from World Services. As matters currently stand S's full intellectual emotional social and behavioural development is at risk of being impaired. The Family's isolation and tight control stultifies full development. I must, however, balance against this the freedom to live life in a religious community and a degree of tolerance must be allowed. The current educational policies of The Family will harm S because he will not receive an education which equips him to make informed choices.

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