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Please note that this insight was first published in March 2020, and therefore whilst the subject matter is still relevant, it may not represent the most up to date information or use of language in this area.
Introduction
In a press release at the beginning of February 2020 published on GOV.UK (Unseen evil: Sex abuse in families going under radar, say inspectorates), a group of inspectorates (led by Ofsted) stated that:
local agencies are often woefully ill-equipped to deal with child sex abuse in families. Efforts to prevent abuse are largely absent …
Further down the same press release, Amanda Spielman, Chief Inspector for Ofsted, is quoted as saying:
As a society, we are far too reluctant to talk about sex abuse within the family home. It’s much easier to think of abuse happening elsewhere, to other people. […] As it stands, children abused in the home are going unseen and unheard because agencies simply aren’t capable of keeping them safe.
This represents a damning indictment of the state of safeguarding in relation to sexual abuse. However, there is evidence from a number of sources, including a number of case reviews that supports this viewpoint.
Whilst the report above (Ofsted, 2020) relates to child sexual abuse in the family environment (which the report estimates as accounting for two thirds of all instances of child sexual abuse), it is also important to note that sexual abuse can and does occur in organisations that work with or allow access children and young people. The scope of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse demonstrates this, with their website identifying that the Inquiry launched 15 investigations into a wide range of institutions including local authority residential provision, religious settings and custodial settings. Separately we have also seen reports of child sexual abuse in football and the wider issue of sexual abuse in the entertainment industry which lead to international use of #MeToo, with Dierking (2019) suggesting that this “laid the grounds for addressing the widespread rape culture that pervades western society” (p.4).
Using the Ofsted report as a base document, in this safeguarding insight we will look at some of the issues identified in greater detail.
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