Prof Alexis Jay, the former chair of a national inquiry into child sexual abuse, has called for the "full implementation" of reforms set out in her 2022 report, which warned of "endemic" abuse across society in England and Wales.
A campaign group chaired by Prof Jay, called Act on IICSA, said ministers must commit to a "clear timeline" to adopt the recommendations laid out by the Independent Inquiry Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). The government says it supports the changes.
The group warned against "politicising" sexual violence and pushed back against "misinformation". Prof Jay also distanced herself from calls from the Conservatives and Reform UK for a new inquiry into grooming gangs.
The IICSA national inquiry was set up in 2015 and carried out 15 investigations, including into grooming gangs and abuse in schools and church settings. Prof Jay had previously led a landmark local inquiry into widescale abuse in Rotherham, where it was estimated 1,400 children were exploited between 1997 and 2013, predominantly by men of Pakistani heritage.
The IICSA's final report was published in 2022 and set out 20 recommendations it said were necessary to reduce child suffering.
They included setting up a national child protection authority, implementing tighter controls on who can work with vulnerable children, legislating to force tech firms to take stronger action over online abuse material and making not reporting abuse a criminal offence.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Act on IICSA said: "Politicising the issue of sexual violence fails to acknowledge its lifelong impact and hinders the implementation of vital and urgent overhaul to our systems required."
Prof Jay said: "Our mission is not to call for new inquiries but to advocate for the full implementation of IICSA's recommendations." A Home Office spokesperson said it was "working at pace across government" to implement the report's recommendations.
She has previously said she was "frustrated" at the previous Conservative government's lack of progress in adopting the recommendations, and described its response as "weak", which the Home Office disputed at the time.
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário