Survivors of childhood sexual abuse have demanded the government provide dedicated funding to ensure a much-delayed plan to tackle paedophiles is put into action.
The recommendations were made by Professor Alexis Jay in 2022, following her Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) investigation into grooming gangs in Rotherham.
“As of today, not a single one of those 20 recommendations is in place yet,” said one survivor, Beverley Fenlon, although she welcomed Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s promise of a timetable by Easter saying “we need progress reports and deadlines”.
Act on IICSA campaigners joined Rotherham’s Labour MP Sarah Champion in Westminster to sign a letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer calling for the endemic child abuse in the UK to be treated as a “national priority”.
Champion said she was pleased the government has committed to “taking forward” all 20 of Prof Jay’s recommendations – but called for the government to ring-fence funding for each of them.
“We must keep the pressure on, to ensure transparency and accountability are embedded throughout this process, with every recommendation fully adopted, and victims and survivors at its centre,” she said.
“Ring-fenced funding for IICSA is essential – ensuring the money cannot be segued into other government priorities, and to send a clear message that the government is serious about implementation.
“Victims and survivors have too often seen past government pledges never materialise, or the same money being double or treble counted, ring-fencing stops that and hopefully starts to rebuild trust in the system.”
The group of survivors were joined by nearly 100 MPs and peers in parliament pledging to work across party lines to tackle the issue rather than fruitlessly “kicking it about” in party political rows.
Beverley said she was left feeling “frustrated and angry” at recent political spats and another, Diane Ginn, said the years of arguing without action made her feel “unheard and unrecognised”.
Beverley added: “We need to get this cross-party support in place instead of one party going after another because this is absolutely not a political football they can keep kicking about – these are our lives.”
Supporting the calls, Prof Jay said: “We know of the appalling and lifelong effects that child sexual abuse can have on people.
“During IICSA, we set out what should be done to make sure children are better protected and now look forward to hearing the detail of the Government’s timescale for delivering these recommendations, along with the necessary resourcing.”
