This article has been brought to you by Slough Borough Council's Education Safeguarding Professional, Zarine Power for the attention of all schools.
Child Sexual Abuse
NSPCC Learning has updated its statistics briefing on child sexual abuse in the UK. This briefing looks at data and statistics about child sexual abuse to help professionals, and the organisations they work for, make evidence-based decisions.
Read the briefing: Child sexual abuse: statistics briefing
Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation
The Home Office has published a statement made by the Home Secretary to Parliament outlining the Government’s commitment to tackling grooming and child sexual abuse. The statement discusses recommendations from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) and commits to setting up a victims and survivors panel to help shape new proposals and plans on child sexual abuse and exploitation. It confirms that the Government will act on three key IICSA recommendations: making it an offence to fail to report or to cover up child sexual abuse, with professional and criminal sanctions; legislating to make grooming an aggravating factor in the sentencing of child sexual offences; and making reforms related to the information and evidence gathered on child sexual abuse and exploitation, including a new performance framework for policing.
Read the statement: Tackling child sexual abuse
Child Sexual Abuse Inquiry
The BBC has published a news story exploring the 20 recommendations that were set out by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in October 2022. The Inquiry investigated abuse in churches, schools, custodial institutions and other settings. The news story looks at what progress has been made. Proposals included: a mandatory duty for people working with children to report child abuse; improvements to data collection, analysis and use; the creation of Child Protection Authorities for England and Wales; and calls for platform providers to pre-screen material for child sexual abuse images. The Government says it is committed to all the recommendations.
Read the news story: The 20 child abuse inquiry proposals - what has happened so far?