MPs welcome new strategy to protect children from sexual abuse

Local MPs Tony Lloyd and Chris Clarkson have both welcomed the publication of a new national strategy to protect children from all forms of child sexual abuse.

The “Tackling Child Abuse Strategy” sets out how the government will use new legislation and enhanced technology to stop offenders, including investing in the UK’s world-leading Child Abuse Image Database to identify and catch more offenders quicker – such as using new tools to speed up police investigations and protecting officers’ wellbeing by avoiding them being repeatedly exposed to indecent images.

It will also be easier for parents and carers to ask the police if someone has a criminal record for child sexual offences (the child sex offender disclosure scheme, which is also known as Sarah’s Law).

These measures are on top of civil orders, which were introduced by the government to stop reoffending and enforce tougher sentencing so that serious violent and sexual offenders remain in prison for longer.

Praising the approach, both Mr Lloyd, MP for Rochdale, and Mr Clarkson, MP for Heywood and Middleton, welcomed the first-of-its-kind national strategy, also lauding the announcement that it will be easier for parents and carers to ask police if someone with access to their children has a criminal record for child sexual offences.

Mr Clarkson said: “These crimes have a devasting impact on the lives of victims and the public rightly expect the government to rid our communities of these most heinous of crimes, which have been a stain on them. 

“I welcome the introduction of this strategy as I believe that we must stop at nothing to prevent these crimes and pursue offenders to give our children and young people the childhood they so rightly deserve.”

Mr Lloyd said: “Everyone in Rochdale will welcome this government announcement. Anything which helps keep this issue at the forefront of public understanding and agencies’ actions [who can combat this] has got to be welcome.

“Online grooming has become a major part of child abuse tactics, using technology to combat this is an important step forward. Updating the law to allow parents and carers to check criminal records for child sexual abuse is a sensible use of the law, on top of increased sentencing for abusers.”

Mr Lloyd also reiterated calls for the Home Secretary to reverse cuts to budgets – in particular, children’s services and policing – and for the paedophiles of the Rochdale grooming gang to be deported.

 

 

In August 2018, three members of the Rochdale grooming gang – Abdul Aziz, Adil Khan and Qari Abdul Rauf – lost an appeal to avoid being deported, and it was announced they would be stripped of their British citizenship.

Rochdale Online first reported the trio were facing deportation in February 2017 with ringleader Shabir Ahmed having appealed even earlier in February 2016.

Ahmed, also lost his appeal against deportation but is still in prison, serving a 22-year term for rape.
 

Read more: Grooming gang trio to lose British citizenshipPublished: 08 August 2018

Both MPs have called for their deportation as a matter of urgency, which has since been echoed by leader of the council, Allen Brett.
 

Read more: Council leader urges Home Secretary to set out plans for deporting grooming gang membersPublished: 02 June 2020

 

Read more: Chris Clarkson MP urges Home Secretary to deport members of Rochdale grooming gang as "matter of urgency"Published: 21 May 2020

 

Read more: Home Office responds to Rochdale MP calls to deport grooming gang membersPublished: 15 July 2019

Announcing the strategy, Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “Victims and survivors of child sexual abuse have told me how they feel let down by the state. I am determined to put this right.

“This first-of-its-kind national strategy will tackle and respond to all forms of child sexual abuse, relentlessly going after abusers, whilst better protecting victims and survivors.

“Crucially, it contains a commitment to collect higher quality data on the characteristics of offenders, so that the government can build a fuller picture of perpetrators, and tackle the abuse that has blighted many towns and cities across our country.”

Areas including Rochdale will be supported in improving response to exploitation through the Home Office-funded Prevention Programme.

The Online Safety Bill, previously named ‘Online Harms Bill’, will also be introduced to ensure that technology companies are held to account for harmful content on their sites, and develop robust strategies to identity online child sexual abuse.
 

Read more: Landmark moment for child safety online as government takes major step towards delivery of an Online Harms BillPublished: 23 December 2020

The publication comes as new Home Office research estimates that the social and economic cost of the crime over the victims’ lifetimes was at least a staggering £10 billion for the victims who experienced child sexual abuse in the year ending March 2019, with the full emotional cost being “immeasurable.”

The strategy also aims to improve the data that is available on offenders by working with local authorities to understand and respond to threats within their communities to help tackle the abuse that has blighted many areas of the country.

A recent paper published by government on the characteristics of grooming gangs found it was “difficult to draw conclusions about ethnicity” due to ‘limited existing research and poor data collection’.
 

Read more: Grooming gangs from “diverse backgrounds” says Home Office after long-awaited reviewPublished: 15 December 2020

The NSPCC has been pushing for years to make the online world a safer place for children, as part of its Wild West Web campaign, including measures for a legal Duty of Care to keep children safe.

It has previously said the Online Safety Bill proposals ‘fall short’ of ensuring criminal sanctions against named directors whose companies fail to uphold their Duty of Care.

Responding to the announcement, NSPCC Chief Executive Sir Peter Wanless said: “The NSPCC Helpline and Childline have received more than 40 contacts a day about child sexual abuse throughout the pandemic, but victims have to contend with a disjointed system and often have to fight to get the support they need.

“This strategy rightly puts the emphasis on early intervention and action across government. It must be backed up with serious investment in support for victims, including Child House models that prioritise the best interests of children by joining services up under one roof.

“It’s crucial that no young person is left unprotected, which is why it’s disappointing the government has not committed to closing the legal loophole that enables some adults to abuse their position of power to have sexual contact with 16 and 17-year-olds in their care.”