There are “extensive failures” in the way child sexual exploitation is tackled, with police and local authorities downplaying the scale of abuse over concerns about negative publicity, according to a damning new report.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), featured harrowing testimony from more than 30 young witnesses across six case study areas – including Durham.
It found there is “a flawed assumption” that child sexual exploitation was “on the wane” in those areas, with councils and police forces denying the scale of the problem, despite evidence to the contrary.
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The report concluded this might be because they don't want to be seen as “another Rochdale or Rotherham” – towns blighted by recent child sexual exploitation revelations – rather than a desire to “root out … and expose its scale”.
It said there was evidence of child sexual exploitation by networks in all six areas investigated (Bristol, Durham, St Helens, Swansea, Tower Hamlets and Warwickshire), but that the relevant police forces were “generally not able to provide any evidence about these networks”.
Professor Alexis Jay, who chaired the inquiry, said: “The sexual exploitation of children by networks is not a rare phenomenon confined to a small number of areas with high-profile criminal cases.
“We found extensive failures by local authorities and police forces in the ways in which they tackled this sexual abuse.
“There appeared to be a flawed assumption that child sexual exploitation was on the wane, however it has become even more of a hidden problem and increasingly underestimated.”
The report, the 18th from the IICSA since it was established, found that some child victims were often blamed by authorities for the ordeals they suffered while some were even slapped with criminal records for offences closely linked to their sexual exploitation.
In Swansea, a child was described on official paperwork as having had “sexual partners from the age of 11”, despite children under the age of 13 not able to give consent to sexual activity in the eyes of the law.
John O’Brien, secretary to the inquiry, told the PA news agency: “This lack of recording data properly means at the fundamental level none of the authorities … could look you in the eye and say: ‘We understand the scale and nature of abuse in our area, and we are putting in place the right mechanisms to both prosecute those who are responsible and give the right support to those who are victims’.”
The report concluded: “It was clear from the evidence that none of the police forces or local authorities in the case study areas in this investigation had an accurate understanding of networks sexually exploiting children in their area.”
Victims, many of whom had a history of self-harm and running away from home, repeatedly described how their allegations against their perpetrators were routinely dismissed by police.
In one case, a girl abused from the age of 12 described how she was convicted of several offences including possession of a weapon after chasing her abuser with a bread knife after he assaulted her.
Mr O’Brien said a “culture shift” was required, adding: “All organisations in this need to see the victim in this, not the crime.”
The report said: “The prospect of receiving a criminal conviction may deter children from disclosing child sexual exploitation, and indeed may serve to increase the hold that perpetrators have over their victims.
“The focus should be on investigating the criminal conduct of sexual exploitation, not sanctioning children for what is frequently low-level antisocial behaviour.”
John Pearce, Durham County Council’s director of children and young people’s services, responded to the report: “We fully recognise the impact of child sexual exploitation on children and young people. The case studies included in the inquiry provide a clear picture of the harm those affected have experienced.
“We have acknowledged throughout the inquiry that we haven’t always got everything right in the past, but we continue to strive to build on the improvements we have made in recent years.
“The report highlights a number of examples of good practice and improvement in County Durham, and we are pleased this has been recognised.
“We welcome the opportunity to contribute to the IICSA process and the ongoing national learning in relation to child sexual exploitation.
“We will now take some time to look at the finer details of the report and consider where further improvements to our processes could be made, in order to ensure we are providing the highest quality of service to protect and support our children and young people.”
A Durham Constabulary spokesman said: “Our officers and staff work incredibly hard to protect young people from harm and bring perpetrators of child sexual exploitation to justice.
“But we know that there is always more that can be done and the inquiry has highlighted those areas where we could improve further.
“We will learn from the report and its recommendations to ensure we do all we can to protect children from exploitation and that our officers are empathetic, respectful and use appropriate terminology.
“Survivors of abuse need to know that they are never responsible for what has happened to them - responsibility lies solely with the perpetrator.
“Every child deserves to be safe and cared for within our communities. If anyone has concerns about the exploitation of children, we would urge them to contact us in confidence and be assured we will take effective action.”
The report said senior leaders within local authorities and police forces must take the lead on “eradicating attitudes and behaviours which suggest that children who are victims of exploitation are in some way responsible for it”.
It identified a number of recommendations including a requirement for police forces and local authorities to collect specific data on all cases of known or suspected child sexual exploitation, including by criminal gangs and organised networks.
The final overarching IICSA report, taking in all 19 strands of the inquiry such as investigations into abuse in Westminster and the church, is expected to be laid before Parliament later this year.
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