The report highlights flaws in data collection, which it says means it is not possible to assess the scale of the issue. It cites the Complex and Organised Child Abuse Dataset which identified around 700 recorded offences of group-based child sexual exploitation in 2023. The report says this is highly unlikely to reflect the true scale of the issue, given this crime is under-reported and suffers from confusing and inconsistently applied definitions.
One key data gap highlighted by the report is on ethnicity, which is described as “appalling” and a “major failing”. The ethnicity of perpetrators is “shied away from” and still not recorded in two-thirds of cases, meaning it is not possible to draw conclusions at a national level. However, the report says there is enough evidence from police data in three areas to show “disproportionate numbers of men from Asian ethnic backgrounds amongst suspects for group-based child sexual exploitation”.
The report recommends tightening the law in England and Wales so adults who have sex with a child under 16 are always charged with rape, calling on society to “see children as children”. It also recommends closing a loophole in taxi licensing, where drivers can apply for a license in one area but operate in another, and introducing more rigorous licensing standards.
The government has said it will make it a formal requirement to collect both ethnicity and nationality data for all cases of child sexual abuse and exploitation, and commission new research into the cultural and social drivers of the issue. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has pledged to change the law as the report recommends, as well as work with the Crown Prosecution Service and police to ensure there are safeguards for consensual teenage relationships.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has accepted the report’s recommendation that there should be a full national inquiry into child sexual exploitation in England and Wales. The report recommends both a national police operation to review cases of child exploitation not acted on, as well as a national inquiry, which would be overseen by an Independent Commission, with full powers to compel witnesses to provide evidence.
Source link
