What did the child sexual abuse inquiry say about grooming gangs?
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A multi-million pound seven-year inquiry described child sexual abuse as an “epidemic” in England and Wales. The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) looked at institutional failings and found there were tens of thousands of victims across the two nations when its final report was published in October 2022.
Laws compelling people in positions of trust to report child sexual abuse and a national compensation scheme for victims failed by the state and other institutions were among a raft of recommendations. It also called on the former Conservative government to hire a cabinet-level children’s minister and establish a child protection authority in its 458-page report, which brought together its overall findings, as it urged politicians to act “promptly”.
When asked at the time how likely it was the changes recommended would be adopted, inquiry chairwoman Professor Alexis Jay told a press conference: “We don’t have the power to force the government to do it, but they should do it and need to do it.”.
In January last year, some 15 months on, she vented her frustration that action had not yet been taken and repeated calls for the recommendations to be implemented – demands she reiterated again on Monday. Resisting calls for another review specifically into grooming gangs, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said IICSA’s work had been extensive and blamed the previous government for failing to bring in the recommendations, adding that now was the time for “action”.
