WIREDGOV

Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, responded to a report by the Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse (CSA Centre) which has found that around one in seven girls in England and Wales are sexually abused before they turn 16 

“Child sexual abuse is a horrific crime, and councils across the country are working closely with their partners to identify children at risk and keep them safe.

“However, as this report identifies, many more children are experiencing abuse than are known to agencies and we must do more as a nation to tackle this.

“This needs to include training for those working with children and young people to more swiftly identify abuse, support for victims, and work to prevent perpetrators committing these crimes in the first place.

“Councils also want to work with the Government to look closely at how we address those elements of our culture that impact on the safety of children, including through the Online Safety Bill, the forthcoming Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, and the Draft Victims Bill.

The Scale and Nature of Child Sexual Abuse: Review of Evidence