The CYFSWATCH Blog
There is fault on both sides in relation to the CYFSWATCH Blog. Let’s work through the issues, one by one:
Is there anything wrong with a blog which scrutinises a Govt Dept?
By itself, no. Blogs are all about giving a voice to, and empowering the individual. When people get bad service at a restaurant they blog it.
In a general sense, it can be a good thing for Govt Depts (or any organisation) to know that every person they deal with has an outlet in which they can air grievances if they are treated badly.
Is it unfair to target individual staff?
Yes and no. Teachers have to put up with rate my teacher dot com. Journalists get rated individually every day on blog sites. However the way it is being done here seems vindictive. They only want bad stories and requesting photos, car registration details borders on harassment.
So is this CYFSWATCH blog okay?
No, in my opinion parts of it are disgraceful.
If the blog was being used to describe in detail wrongs done to families, with a minimum of vilification it could be a valuable resource. In fact one or two of the later posts are heart wrenching and do just that.
But posts which refer to staff as “this bitch” and comment on their personal appearances are just nasty. Also many posts make comments which appear to be highly defamatory and unprovable.
The naming of staff is different to say naming a staff member who gives you bad restaurant service. In most situations your relationship with a staff member should always be positive. You should get good service from a waiter, you should get good encouragement from a teacher or lecturer. So to have a bad experience is comparatively unusual.
CYFS staff though by the nature of their jobs are involved in deeply emotional and confrontational episodes with families. I doubt a single staff member goes through a month without having a family member very upset with them. It is the nature of their jobs.
Having said that, I have no doubt some CYFS staff have done very bad things but nevertheless the actual naming and vilification of CYFS staff is undesirable. The call for photos and contact details is deplorable (I note though none have been published yet).
If the site used initials instead of names, and got rid of the more personally offensive posts, then they may find they get a lot more sympathy. Some of the stories on the site are heart wrenching, but of course there may be another side to them.
Is the Government right to try and close the blog down?
No. It breaks no laws that I know of and we should be concerned that the Police e-crime unit are involved in trying to have it taken down. The proper remedy for CYFS is to sue for defamation and/or seek an injunction against the (anonymous) publisher. If a case can be made for harassment, then again that should go to court.
Are you going to link to the site?
No. Lots of other blogs have done so making it easy to find. But at the end of the day I don’t want to link to a site which I disapprove of (in its current format). Yes I linked to neo-nazi sites in the past, but that was for the purpose of humiliating them and showing how pathetic they are.