Offences against Children

(asked on 11th January 2021) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the response by different faith groups in England and Wales to historic cases of child abuse.


Answered by
Baroness Williams of Trafford Portrait
Baroness Williams of Trafford
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
This question was answered on 25th January 2021

In 2015, the Government set up the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) 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 operates independently of Government and decides for itself what it investigates and how. As part of its work programme, the Inquiry held three investigations into child sexual abuse in religious institutions:

The Inquiry held an investigation into the extent of any institutional failures to protect children from sexual abuse within the Anglican Church in England and the Church in Wales. The investigation considered the adequacy of the Past Cases Review of the Church of England and the Historic Cases Review of the Church in Wales. It considered two case studies: The Diocese of Chichester, where there have been multiple allegations of sexual abuse, and numerous investigations and reviews; and the case of Peter Ball, formerly Bishop of Lewes and subsequently Bishop of Gloucester. This investigation is now complete and a report setting out the Inquiry’s findings was published in October 2020, and can be found here: https://www.iicsa.org.uk/publications/investigation/anglican-church

Separately, the Inquiry investigated the extent of any institutional failures to protect children from sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. The Inquiry examined the English Benedictine Congregation and the Archdiocese of Birmingham, which have been the subject of numerous allegations of child sexual abuse. This investigation is now complete and a report with the Inquiry’s findings and recommendations was published in November 2020, and can be found here: https://www.iicsa.org.uk/publications/investigation/roman-catholic-church

More recently, the Inquiry investigated the current child protection policies, practices and procedures in religious institutions that have a significant presence in England and Wales, including non-conformist Christian denominations, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Baptists, Methodists, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Hinduism and Buddhism. The public hearing into this investigation concluded in August 2020. An investigation report will be published in summer 2021, and more details can be found here: https://www.iicsa.org.uk/investigation/child-protection-religious-organisations-and-settings

Reticulating Splines