New criminal sanctions for those who fail to protect children from sexual exploitation
New criminal sanctions for those who fail to protect children from sexual exploitation are at the heart of a package of new measures to be announced today by Prime Minister David Cameron.
The government will consult on extending the new criminal offence of ‘wilful neglect’ of patients to children’s social care, education and elected members as part of its national response to damning reports by Alexis Jay, Ann Coffey, Louise Casey and others, which found systematic institutional failings and cultures of denial and blame in Rotherham, and elsewhere.
The Prime Minister - alongside the Home Secretary and Secretaries of State for Health, Justice, Education and Communities and Local Government - will meet leaders from local authorities, children’s services, health professionals, Chief Constables and experts in child protection today in Downing Street where he will demand local areas work more effectively to strengthen the systems in place to protect children.
The new package will ensure local areas have long term practical plans to uncover child sexual exploitation (CSE) and bring more offenders to justice - or face tough consequences.
CSE remained hidden and was ignored: a new national whistle-blowing helpline for public sector workers to report bad practice will help shine a light on problems and help authorities to spot patterns of failure in order to address them quickly.
Victims were appallingly let down, disbelieved and even blamed: we will eradicate the culture of denial including through new joint official health, police and education inspections and a new Child Sexual Abuse Taskforce of professional troubleshooting experts in social work, law enforcement and health to support local areas at every level.
Those who failed to protect them saw no consequences – some got huge pay-offs: we will ensure that exit payments for senior staff, including council staff, can be clawed back where those people are quickly re-employed in the same part of the public sector.
Perpetrators were free to walk the streets for years with impunity: child sexual abuse will now be prioritised as a national threat, like serious and organised crime which means police forces now have a duty to collaborate with each other across force boundaries to safeguard children including more efficient sharing of resources, intelligence and best practice, supported by specialist regional CSE police coordinators.
Survivors are still suffering today: we have given an additional £7 million this year and in 2015/16 to organisations which support the victims of sexual abuse.
The cross-government national response, led by the Home Secretary Theresa May, was commissioned by the Prime Minister following revelations of a long-term culture of denial in Rotherham, where it is estimated at least 1,400 children were sexually abused over a number of years, and elsewhere.