Inquiry recommendations already made in the original IICSA trial
After a week of flip-flopping and “will they, won’t they” debate, the government has now announced a new national level “rapid audit” of grooming gangs, and five new local inquiries. Despite just days earlier rejecting calls for a national inquiry.
At great pains to call this an “audit” rather than an “inquiry” the home secretary says the focus will be on examining cultural and societal drivers of child sexual exploitation.
But don’t we already know the answer to this question? And more importantly is this all really in the best interests of victims and survivors?
Prof Alexis Jay, the former chairwoman of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse says valuable time is being lost. She was very specific in her report about who the perpetrators of these heinous crimes are, and their cultural and societal drivers.
Unlike successive governments she has remained steadfast in her conviction that the IICSA report recommendations be implemented as speedily as possible to prevent causing even more trauma to victims and survivors.
Public inquiries play a crucial role in understanding the causes of tragic events and preventing them from happening again. But their role is undermined by governmental inaction. Not only does this undermine the huge expenditure of public funds but it damages public confidence and prolongs the trauma.
Stop can-kicking!
Kick-start the action that will ensure we never see these crimes perpetrated in the UK again.Â
