Government Response

The Government responded to this petition on Thursday 5th November 2020

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse is already examining institutional responses to sexual exploitation by organised networks. The Home Office also intends to publish a paper on this issue

Child sexual abuse and exploitation is a despicable crime, and cases of child sexual exploitation perpetrated by groups have had devastating impacts on individuals and communities. We have heard of truly shocking cases of vulnerable children being preyed upon by ruthless predators and failed by the state and those whose job it was to protect them. The Government is committed to keeping children and young people safe from all forms of abuse, and to support victims and survivors to rebuild their lives.

In 2015, the Government established the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse with wide-ranging terms of reference to consider the extent to which institutions in England and Wales have failed in their duty to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation.

The Inquiry is well underway and as part of its work programme, is already investigating the current nature and extent of, and institutional responses to, the sexual exploitation of children by organised networks. This investigation is focusing on six separate geographic areas (St Helens, Tower Hamlets, Swansea, Durham, Bristol and Warwickshire), representing a range of sizes, demographics and institutional practices. The investigation aims to assess the extent to which authorities have learned lessons from recent high-profile cases, examine what went wrong and why, and challenge the institutions responsible.

The Inquiry recently held two weeks of public hearings from 21 September to 2 October 2020. Evidence was heard from a range of witnesses, including victims and survivors of child sexual exploitation and representatives of police forces, local authorities, Government departments and charities. Evidence was sought on a range of topics, including the investigation’s eight key themes: CSE problem profiling and the disruption of offenders, empathy and concerns for child victims, risk assessment and protection from harm, missing children, return home interviews and looked-after children, male victims, children with a disability, partnership working and audit, review and performance improvement.

The Inquiry will publish a report of its investigation, setting out its conclusions on institutional failings, lessons learnt, and identifying practical recommendations for change to improve the prevention of child sexual abuse and exploitation in the future. The Government welcome the Inquiry’s scrutiny in these important issues and will carefully consider its recommendations.

Home Office officials have also been pursuing work on a number of fronts to improve our understanding of the characteristics of group-based child sexual exploitation, considering the broadest range of evidence sources and applying due scrutiny to existing research. This work has included completing an assessment of relevant literature, conducting interviews with police officers about recent investigations, and using experiential data analysis.

The Government set out on 19 May its intention to publish a paper on group-based child sexual exploitation by the end of this year, bringing together insights from the Home Office’s own work and other sources of research and evidence. We intend this paper to present the available evidence on the characteristics of this form of offending, in order to help agencies learn lessons from the past to tackle group-based offending and safeguard vulnerable children. This paper is currently being scrutinised by an External Reference Group, to provide constructive challenge on this complex issue. The Group is comprised of experts from academia and research, victims’ groups, third sector organisations, parliamentarians and representatives of the criminal justice system.

In order to keep up with the fast-evolving threat, we have also committed to publish a first of its kind national strategy on tackling all forms of child sexual abuse. The strategy will outline our long-term ambition to drive a whole system response to tackle this heinous crime. The Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy will set out how we will work across sectors - including government, law enforcement, safeguarding partners and industry - to root out and prevent offending, and help victims and survivors to rebuild their lives.

Home Office