Survive makes appeal one year on from publication of damning report
Friday 20 October 2023 marks one year since the publication of the final Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) report which concluded that over a period of decades, children in England and Wales were let down by State and non-State institutions and subjected to horrific sexual abuse by people in positions of trust.
Says Mags Godderidge, Chief Executive Officer of Survive – a specialist sexual violence charity “We are using this one-year milestone to bring attention back to what needs to happen to protect current and future generations of children from sexual harm and what needs to happen to support adult survivors. The final IICSA report made 20 recommendations – not one of which has been adopted in full. Alongside other sexual violence charities, we are asking the Government to set up a Child Protection Agency and appoint a cabinet level minister for children. We believe these two actions will ensure accountability and oversight in the adoption of the remaining 18 recommendations made by IICSA”.
A spotlight has once again been shone on the impact of child sexual abuse with the recent airing on the BBC of The Reckoning – a docudrama about the devastating impact of the sexual abuse committed by Jimmy Saville on children and young people.
Says Ms Godderidge: ‘No one could have watched The Reckoning without feeling immense sadness and compassion for the survivors of Savile’s heinous crimes. The impact of child sexual abuse is long-term and often life-long. To survivors of child sexual abuse, it is not historical – they live with what happened to them every day, in the present. Survivors told the independent inquiry that they do not want other children to go through what they went through. Survivors tell Survive every day that they do not want other children to go through what they went through. We’re saying one year on, it’s time to act. It’s time to #ActOnIICSA”.
Survive has written to MPs in York and across North Yorkshire, including the Prime Minister, The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak warning that the absence of a Child Protection Agency and a cabinet level minister for children will mean more lives being adversely impacted by child sexual abuse and more adults not reaching their true potential. Survive has also written to the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner to request more funding for specialist trauma-informed services specifically for adult survivors of child sexual abuse to help them rebuild their lives.
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