UNITED KINGDOM
Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse
A number of commentators have this week spoken out, inaccurately, about the Inquiry Chair and the way in which the Inquiry will conduct its work. I want to correct those inaccuracies.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse is unprecedented in both size and scope. It came about as a result of catastrophic failures of institutions to recognise and address the extent of child sexual abuse in England and Wales. Those failures destroyed the lives of children and left them growing up in a society that let them down.
We know of high profile cases where abusers, such as Jimmy Savile, used their positions of trust within institutions to gain unfettered access to children. And in towns like Rotherham, Oxford and Rochdale, we know that organised gangs and networks have targeted vulnerable children for sexual abuse. We also know that the widespread sexual abuse of children has taken place outside of the media spotlight, in the care system, in residential schools, in custody and in other institutional settings. And we know from recent research by the Children’s Commissioner that only around one in eight children who are sexually abused are ever identified by statutory agencies.
As Chair of the Inquiry, I have been asked to investigate the full range of institutions in England and Wales to identify the failures which may have contributed to the sexual abuse of children. The Inquiry is also asked to make recommendations that will help to keep children safe in the future.
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