Child abuse inquiry calls for tougher laws and compensation scheme for victims

Laws compelling people in positions of trust to report child sexual abuse and a national compensation scheme for victims should be introduced, a seven-year inquiry into institutional failings in England and Wales concluded.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) described the sexual abuse of children as an “epidemic that leaves tens of thousands of victims in its poisonous wake”, as its final report was published on Thursday.

Among a raft of wide-ranging recommendations, the IICSA called for a “national redress scheme” to get compensation for victims “let down by the state and non-state institutions in the past” to be launched.

It said the UK government should create a post for a minister for children at cabinet level and the Welsh government should make sure there is cabinet level responsibility for children.

Meanwhile, a Child Protection Authority (CPA) should also be established to “secure a much stronger focus on the complex work of child protection in the relevant institutions and statutory agencies”, the report said.