The Home Secretary has announced that the government will
publish a paper into group-based child sexual exploitation
in order to better understand the characteristics of
group-based offending and help deliver justice for victims.
The paper, to be published later this year, will outline
the insights gained from this work and focus on how
agencies can learn lessons from the past to tackle
group-based offending and safeguard vulnerable children.
The Home Office will set up an external reference group of
experts to review the research before its publication.
The work was commissioned by the previous Home Secretary to
better understand the scale and nature of group-based child
sexual exploitation, including the characteristics of
offenders, victims and the context in which these crimes
are committed.
Home Secretary said:
Victims of these sickening child sex abuse groups have
told me how they were let down by the state in the name
of political correctness.
What happened to these children remains one of the
biggest stains on our country’s conscience. It is
shameful.
I am determined to deliver justice for victims and ensure
something like this can never happen again.
The Home Office continues to support and drive improvements
in the police response to child sexual abuse, which will be
discussed at the virtual Hidden Harms Summit on Thursday.
The event will bring together government, law enforcement
and the charity sector to work together to protect
vulnerable people during the lockdown, including children
at risk of sexual abuse.
Last September, the government announced an additional £30
million to take down the worst offenders and safeguard
victims.
The Home Office will shortly publish the first of its kind
cross-government Child Sexual Abuse Strategy to improve the
UK’s response to tackling this abhorrent crime.
It will set out how we will work across all agencies –
including government, law enforcement, safeguarding and
industry – to stop offenders in their tracks, and to help
victims and survivors rebuild their lives.
