Engage: New Cardiff office will give voice to victims and survivors of sexual abuse
By Engage, , , ,

I am delighted to be opening the Inquiry office in Wales this week and speaking directly with some of the organisations who provide support for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.

I’m attending as Chair of the Inquiry and along with the three members of the Inquiry’s Panel, Dru Sharpling, Ivor Frank, and Malcolm Evans. We are greatly encouraged that more than 100 individuals and organisations have accepted invitations to attend. This includes officials from the Welsh government, local authorities, NHS Wales, education, charities and the third sector, national safeguarding boards in Wales and religious institutions. I believe this demonstrates the level of concern about child sexual abuse in Wales and a determination to do something to make children safer.

The Inquiry was set up in 2015 to gather evidence on the extent to which State and non-State institutions in England and Wales have failed in their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation. We will consider the extent to which those failings have since been addressed and we will identify further action needed.

The opening of the Wales office this week marks a significant development in the progress of the Inquiry. I am determined that the work of the Inquiry will continue with pace, confidence and clarity.

The three projects, Public Hearings, Research and Truth, will all crucially contribute to our recommendations to better protect children in future and will also play a vital role in providing accountability for the failings of the past. Together the information, experiences and evidence received will inform the overall conclusions and recommendations of the Chair and Panel.

Last week I announced that we are also aligning the elements of this Inquiry across four major themes

  • cultural: examining the attitudes, behaviours and values within institutions which prevent us from stopping child sexual abuse
  • structural:  examining the legislative, governance and organisational frameworks in place, both within and between institutions
  • financial: examining the financial, funding and resource arrangements for relevant institutions and services; and
  • professional and political: examining the leadership professional and practice issues for those working or volunteering in relevant institutions.

I believe this will allow us to focus our work and to report by 2020. I will be reporting back on this to our stakeholders in Cardiff this week and encouraging them to inform the public that our Wales office is open for business.

Along with our offices in the North West, the North East and, shortly, the South West of England, our Wales office will help ensure this Inquiry will reach all victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.

Bookings for Truth sessions in Wales for victims and survivors are now open. This is that part of the Inquiry that gives a voice to victims and survivors, and importantly, enables them to contribute to the work of the Inquiry.  They have an unqualified right to be heard, as well as the right to share their experience in a safe, secure and confidential environment. This is not the same as giving evidence at a hearing, it’s simply telling us about what happened to you, to help inform our work.

Shortly we plan to release our first report from the Truth Project, ‘Experiences Shared’. It  contains anonymised summaries of 50 of the experiences that have been shared by victims and survivors at private sessions of the Truth Project.

I urge you to read these experiences. They are powerful accounts of the terrible experiences of victims and survivors of sexual abuse.  It takes great strength and courage for these victims and survivors to come forward and share their darkest moments with us.  I am grateful to all those who have come forward to participate in the Truth Project.

After the private sessions the victims and survivors are asked to provide comments and feedback to the Inquiry.

One, in particular, caught my attention: “After 37 years of silence and self-blame, I found the courage to tell. I recommend the Truth Project to all victims and survivors as our opportunity to give versions of events through a process that is safe and dignified. Go for it.”

I fully welcome and endorse these words of encouragement and would like everyone to support us in our work and help us achieve our aim to make children safer.

About the Author

 

Professor Alexis Jay OBE is the Chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and was speaking on the opening of the new Inquiry office in Cardiff.