By Harry Burns, The Scotsman, December 4, 2019
Reducing the number of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) would be a better way to make society happier, safer and wealthier than building prisons, writes Professor Harry Burns.
According to one newspaper, Boris Johnson’s response to the dreadful stabbings in London last Friday was a vow to lock up terrorists and throw away the key. The families of both victims have spoken about how dedicated Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones were to the idea of rehabilitating offenders and helping them live better lives. They had good reason to believe that rehabilitation was both feasible and desirable.
Twenty-two years ago, the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) project in the US began to study the impact on children of different forms of neglect and abuse. They have shown how such experiences affect children’s lives in adulthood. Children exposed to fouor or more ACEs such as domestic violence, significant parental mental illness, neglect or sexual abuse are significantly more likely to become alcoholics and drug abusers.
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