SCOTLAND
Scotsman
Child sexual abuse is written about everywhere in the media nowadays. Systematic sexual exploitation of children in places like Rotherham and Derby, high-profile offenders like Jimmy Savile, the historical abuse of children in institutional contexts like care homes and faith settings. Every day we are subjected to descriptions of unimaginable harm that leave us angry and distressed.
There’s been more over the last few weeks. A Scottish Government committee recently examined a bill to allow victims of abuse to claim compensation beyond the current time bar. If passed, it could permit claims dating back to 1964. The current time bar of three years has been a major barrier for survivors of sexual abuse achieving justice.
Police Scotland’s Detective Chief Superintendent Lesley Boals told the committee that the force last year examined files for the ongoing Scottish child abuse inquiry and identified 2,300 relating to 4,400 victims in the Strathclyde area alone. She argued this was “a small proportion of children who have been abused or neglected in Scotland across the years”.
How big a problem is child sexual abuse in Scotland? It’s difficult to estimate as only around one in eight cases of sexual abuse are ever known to police and social work.
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