UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian
Saturday 2 April 2016
A number of commentators have in past weeks spoken out, inaccurately, about the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which I chair and the way in which the inquiry will conduct its work. I’d like to correct those inaccuracies, specifically that the inquiry relates to individuals of public prominence.
The inquiry is unprecedented in both size and scope. Let’s remember that 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 to gain unfettered access to children. And in towns such as Rotherham, Oxford and Rochdale, we know that organised networks have targeted vulnerable children for sexual abuse. We also know that the widespread sexual abuse of children has taken place – outside 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 about one in eight children who are sexually abused are ever identified by statutory agencies.
I have been asked to investigate institutions in England and Wales to identify the failures that may have contributed to the abuse of children. To discharge the challenging mandate in a timely manner, I have announced 13 investigations to date. Most do not relate to individuals of public prominence.
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