Following an astonishing year of revelations into historic child abuse cases surfacing in British institutions, Tim Loughton MP will call on the Government to combat the drip feed of individual enquiries overwhelming the system by undertaking an overarching inquiry into the history of child abuse in this country.
Tim, as co-sponsor along with Ann Coffey MP, will be initiating a House of Commons debate tomorrow where he will outline the astounding number of allegations which have come forward since the high-profile Jimmy Savile affair graced TV screens and newspapers one year ago, and how it is more vital than ever to reassure the public that the Government has got a grip on this crisis.
Accounts of historic abuse, in its many guises, have not been confined to the realms of the media and shockingly permeate all fabrics of society from music schools and children’s homes, through to religious institutions and family homes.
Tim will express his dismay at the relegation of Government policy on child protection from the children’s social services team in the Department for Education which is best placed to support and champion the issues affecting children, to the Home Office which is the leading authority on catching and prosecuting perpetrators. At a time when child abuse has never been higher on the public agenda, there is a real need for the Government to take a lead on giving reassurance to the public that child protection systems in this country are fit for purpose.
Although convictions in the court system reflect welcome news that authorities are seeking and meting justice, shocking statistics released by the NSPCC suggest this is just the tip of the iceberg:
- Referrals to Childline about sexual abuse were nearly twice as high in June and July 2013 than for the same period in 2012
- 2.4 million people visited the Childline website, up 28% from 2011/2012
- 32% of sexual crimes in 2011/12 were against children under 16
On the eve of his debate, Tim commented:
‘The Government must show it is absolutely serious about learning lessons from historic child abuse, which scandalously involved British institutions turning a blind eye, and to reassure the public that we will no longer stand for this once taboo subject to remain hidden and unsolved. After the Savile revelations and everything that has followed, the public are more concerned and sceptical than ever.
With numerous individual inquiries dragging out and losing impetus, I am calling on the Prime Minister to reconsider his initial reluctance towards a historic system wide review and support our cross party call for an overarching inquiry. We simply cannot wait for another year to pass by with more horrific cases coming forward and where victims feel their experiences are falling on deaf ears. Time is of the essence. That time is now.’