Charity calls on PM to establish stand-alone inquiry into Rotherham abuse
The national charity 4Children has written to the Prime Minister calling for him to establish a new high level, stand-alone inquiry into the extent of Child Sexual Exploitation in Rotherham and other areas.
4Children says it is deeply concerned that the devastating suffering of victims of abuse in Rotherham must never happen again.
And while the charity recognises the Government’s recent announcement to bring the findings of the Rotherham inquiry into the work of the already announced inquiry into historical child abuse, it is concerned that this step gives the false impression that this issue is in the past and does not reflect the horrific reality that children continue to be subjected to abuse today.
4Children further concerned that the full extent of the devastating systemic neglect of more than 1,400 victims of sexual exploitation in Rotherham will not be fully scrutinised or responded to if it is as part of a wider inquiry, and is danger of becoming diluted.
The Charity is now calling for a high level, time limited inquiry to report back on four key areas:
• Child sexual exploitation in Rotherham – what went wrong and why were the experiences of children ignored
• The extent of child sexual exploitation in the UK today
• What must be done to protect children and prevent further victims of child sexual exploitation
• How do institutions and communities need to change to ensure that children are always listened to and warnings are never ignored
Chief Executive of 4Children, Anne Longfield OBE said:”We are calling on the Prime Minister, David Cameron, to establish a stand-alone inquiry to reveal the true extent of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham and other areas and answer questions about how and why services continue to fail our children. Adding it to the remit of an historical abuse inquiry misses the point. This week alone a number of potential new victims have come forward.
“The devastating findings of child abuse in Rotherham shows how countless young lives have and still are being ruined by child sexual exploitation because the authorities who were supposed to be protecting our most vulnerable young people would not listen to their repeated pleas for help. 4Children believes that the 1,400 victims of abuse in Rotherham deserve answers.
“Perpetrators of these horrific crimes were allowed to continue their abuse for decades because nothing was done to stop them. Yet the key findings from the report – agencies not working together and children not being listened to – are not new ones and Government must act now to ensure that children’s voices are never ignored again when abuse of this kind is reported.
“Preventing child sexual exploitation must be central to all the work done by professionals working with children as part of a comprehensive Government led strategy which includes a family-orientated holistic early intervention programme. This would commit all agencies to working together to support the wellbeing of children and set a high standard of working practices.
“The full scale of this systemic failure may never be known, but Government must act now to carry out an urgent and transparent investigation to listen to and protect children and make sure this never happens again in Rotherham or anywhere else in the UK.”
4Children’s call for a stand-alone inquiry is also being supported by The Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE).
Speaking for SOLACE, President Mark Rogers, said:”The Society of Local Authority Chief Executives is already on record as seeking a national initiative in which we confront, challenge and, ultimately, change those societal attitudes that create the conditions in which child sexual exploitation can thrive.
“It is not enough simply to examine how the checks and balances that are the responsibility of professionals can be improved. National and local leaders – political, professional, religious and community – need to lead a examination of our collective conscience and agree how we tackle those values and cultures that ignore, misunderstand or condone abuse.”
