Despite the next steps set out by the inquiry into child sexual abuse, the government response has been, for many, all talk & little action: Maryam Syed discusses the path forward for those who feel failed
- The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse set out a comprehensive set of recommendations to tackle institutional child abuse.
- However, the response of the government drew criticism for asserting that existing systems, albeit improved, were capable of dealing with the issues raised.
- This showed for many that it had simply not understood how those systems had historically failed, and why urgent change was thus necessary.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) was a statutory inquiry beginning in 2015 and was set up in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal. Its terms of reference were:
‘To consider the extent to which state and non-state institutions have failed in their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation; to consider the extent to which those failings have since been addressed; to identify further action needed
