Sep 5, 2021
This podcast highlights a recent report issued by the Independent Inquiry into CSA into how abuse has been covered up within faith communities. This report is just one of many issued by the Inquiry (www.iicsa.org.uk) which is due to finish in 2022. Part of the Inquiry is THE TRUTH PROJECT which is where victim/survivors can provide a verbal or written account of their experience of sexual abuse during childhood, including how and where an intervention could have taken place, or if it did why it failed. The Truth Project is closing on 31st October 2021, so time is running out for anyone who wishes to choose this route to disclose what happened to them.
The public fail to appreciate that there is no legislation that requires institutions to report their suspicions or knowledge of CSA. If there had been mandatory reporting, then all of the organisations that failed to seek appropriate help for children and to report the offender within their institution, would have committed a crime by not reporting it.
This means that IICSA can only be critical of their failings and make recommendations. We are hopeful that one of the final recommendations by IICSA in 2022 will be the introduction of Mandatory Reporting. For more info on this specific topic look at https://mandatenow.org.uk/