KARACHI: A damning child safeguarding review revealed a string of missed opportunities and failures by Surrey county council and other local agencies to protect 10-year-old Sara Sharif, the British girl brutally murdered by her father and stepmother in Aug 2023 after years of horrific abuse.

The independent review found that a number of agencies repeatedly overlooked clear warning signs, failed to question unexplained bruising and even visited the wrong address just a day before Sara was murdered.

Sara was found dead in a bunk bed at her home in Woking on Aug 9, 2023. Her father Urfan Sharif and stepmother Beinash Batool fled to Pakistan, leaving a note claiming he had “lost it”.

The child’s mother says her cries for help went unheard

Both were later jailed for life, while Sara’s uncle Faisal Malik received a 16-year sentence for “allowing her death”.

Systemic neglect

But the report, commissioned by the Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership, paints a disturbing picture of systemic neglect by multiple agencies, ranging from social workers and educators to health professionals, who despite years of contact, failed to grasp the scale of the danger Sara faced.

“The seriousness and significance of her father as a serial perpetrator of domestic abuse was overlooked, not acted on and underestimated by almost all professionals involved,” the review stated.

Critical warnings ignored

The most shocking revelation came from events on Aug 7, two days before Sara’s death, when staff from the home education team attempted a home visit but mistakenly went to the family’s old address.

The error was noticed only after staff returned to the office, and the visit was rescheduled for September, which was too late.

“Sara’s situation was not one where information has only come together with the benefit of hindsight,” the review said. “A great deal of information, especially about the risks posed by her father, was available but opportunities were lost to join up all the dots.”

The report concluded that services “did not identify that Sara was at risk of being abused” despite visible bruises and behavioural changes.

It said professionals lacked the courage to “think the unthinkable” — the child might be facing severe violence at home.

Lost childhood

Sara’s early life was already marked by instability and state intervention and she was placed on a child protection plan at birth in 2013 amid domestic abuse concerns. She spent time in foster care and later in a refuge with her biological mother, Olga Domin.

Yet in 2019, a family court ruling returned her to her father’s care. The decision was made without providing Domin with an interpreter, effectively silencing her warnings of danger.

In 2023, Sharif withdrew Sara from school under the pretext of home education, after which she “disappeared from view”.

The report criticised the absence of legal safeguards around elective home education, noting there was “no requirement for formal discussion between parents and professionals” even when a child had previous safeguarding concerns.

Sara’s teachers had noticed changes such as her sudden decision to wear a hijab at age eight and her increasing withdrawal. But accepted the family’s explanations without further inquiry.

Experts later described the situation as “highly unusual” and said staff should have sought cultural and safeguarding advice.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2025