Child sex abuse ‘national epidemic’ in Britain, inquiry finds

A seven-year public inquiry has concluded that child sex abuse has been “a national epidemic” in Britain, affecting millions of victims over the past few decades.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), released on Thursday, said institutions and politicians had prioritized reputations over the welfare of young people, meaning horrific acts were hidden away for decades.

“The nature and scale of the abuse we encountered was shocking and deeply disturbing,” said Alexis Jay, a social care expert who leads the inquiry. “This is not just a historical aberration which happened decades ago, it is an ever-increasing problem and a national epidemic.”

The inquiry, set up in July 2014, has published 15 investigations and dozens of other reports, cataloguing details of appalling abuse at institutions including the Catholic Church, the Church of England, and Britain's political hub in Westminster.

Over 1,000 children in British town were sexually abused, inquiry finds

A new damning inquiry has found that over 1,000 children were abused by sexual grooming gangs in an English town due to failure of police and local authorities to prosecute the offenders.

The inquiry is one of the largest and most expensive investigations of its kind ever undertaken in Britain. It heard from 725 witnesses during 325 hearings, which began in February 2017, processing nearly 2.5 million pages of evidence.

Over 6,000 victims and survivors of abuse also related their experiences to the inquiry's ‘Truth Project.’ The abuse, involving children, babies and toddlers, was often carried out by someone the victims knew and trusted, and accompanied by extreme violence and acts of sadism, causing agonizing physical pain. “It is vile and degrading and its consequences are frequently life-long for the victims.”

The inquiry said in any group of 200 children, 10 boys and more than 30 girls would be victims before the age of 16. The scale of online abuse had risen dramatically over the past few years.

Statistics showed a 45% rise in offences against those aged under four.

The probe found the rich and well-connected had been treated differently than those who were poor, with “the prioritization of reputation over the needs and safety of children.”

"Deference was often shown to people of prominence including councilors, MPs (members of parliament) and leading clergy by those whose job it was to investigate allegations," Jay said. "Even when they tried to investigate thoroughly, they were often told by their superiors to back off." 

The probe was also conducted following a series of shocking abuse scandals with the most notable involving the late BBC television star Jimmy Savile. After his death in 2011, he was revealed to be one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders.

Sexual abuse perpetrated by homosexual priests: US pastor

Sexual abuse by Catholic priests in the US and other countries has largely been perpetrated by homosexual clergy, a US pastor says.

The inquiry said there were still inadequate protection measures in place.

Lawyers who represented victims said the recommendations did not go far enough.

"We will fight to strengthen these proposals as they go through parliament, so that future generations of children can secure the comprehensive protection they need," said Richard Scorer, head of Abuse Law at Slater & Gordon.

A 2019 crime survey indicated there were 3.1 million victims and survivors of abuse in England and Wales, or about 7.5% of the population aged 18 to 75.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk