Mores the merrier...
"Can there be a more tragic figure than Mairead Philpott? Losing six children is tragedy enough, but through her own act of collusion in a bungled plot? Disowned by family and despised by public opinion, she is now in prison.
She had suffered the humiliation of sharing her home with her partner's girlfriend; was treated as a domestic slave and a child-bearing machine. Meanwhile, Mick Philpott was being offered a media celebrity that could well have fuelled in him a sense of invincibility. What was an undereducated woman of low self-esteem to make of that?
The issue of her being abused as a child was raised. There have been countless examples of children reporting abuse who have been disbelieved. The burden of proof is set very high; and the reputation of the accused may take priority over the protection of the child. If a child is not believed and protected, he/she may enter exploitative relationships. Mairead Philpott spoke of her partner as her protector.
But this case is only unusual in terms of the scale of the tragedy. Mick Philpott's plan to take revenge on his former girlfriend Lisa Willis through children is by no means unique. In this country two women a week are killed by partners or ex-partners and there are regular reports of fathers killing their children and themselves as revenge against women.
Women's Aid has aways struggled for funding but never more so than now. The Philpott case must not be used to divert attention from the mounting pressure on low-income families reaching crisis point.
Pauline M Colledge
London"
More remarks on the circumstances...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/apr/07/welfare-mick-philpott-killer