United Kingdom Child Sex Abuse People's Tribunal

Last updated

The United Kingdom Child Sex Abuse People's Tribunal (UKCSAPT) [1] was created by survivors of Child Sexual Abuse and their supporters, looking to erase the human rights problem of institutional child sexual abuse in the United Kingdom. The initial information meeting was held in London on 4 August 2014. The Report was published in March 2016, having been launched in the Houses of Parliament. Sarah Champion MP said at the meeting that "it was a shame you had to draft this Report rather than the State".

Contents

In November 2014, it was announced that Professor Payam Akhavan had agreed to take a role on the Main Panel. The full Panel also included Basia Spalek, Catherine McCall, Professor Basia Spalek and Heather Bacon, a mixture of international and UK experts.

Background and aims

Statistics on child sex abuse show that this particular human rights issue has become a major concern in the United Kingdom. [2] The UKCSAPT was formed to allow survivors, victims, and witnesses of child sex abuse an opportunity to address this national issue. Currently, the UKCSAPT focuses on institutional child sex abuse which has occurred in the UK. The UKCSAPT is entirely survivor-initiated, being independent from and receiving no funds from the government. It also addresses an ongoing issue within the UK, as opposed to other People's Tribunals which have addressed historical human rights abuses.

According to its Terms of Reference, [3] the UKCSAPT seeks to raise awareness and discussion on the issue of institutional child sex abuse and create a record of where institutional child sex abuse has taken place. In March 2016, the UKCSAPT produced a final report regarding the evidence presented and made recommendations on how the UK can approach this issue. The UKCSAPT had an independent judicial panel utilise the submissions by survivors and witnesses. The UKCSAPT states that its findings will complement the current initiative by the United Kingdom's Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. [4]

On 1 March 2016, the UKCSAPT presented and published the report at the House of Parliament. The meeting was sponsored by Sarah Champion MP. The meeting was also attended by Simon Bailey who leads Operation Hydrant on historic Child Sex Abuse. A copy of the report was delivered to the Home Office and to the IICSA, both of which have acknowledged receipt. The report is also now with the UN and IICSA (the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse).

Related Research Articles

Ecclesiastical Insurance is an insurance company in the United Kingdom founded in 1887. The head office is located in Gloucester.

Various individuals, courts and the media around the world have raised concerns about the manner in which cases of child sexual abuse are handled when they occur in congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses. An independent 2009 study in Norway was critical of how Jehovah's Witnesses dealt with cases of child sexual abuse but stated there is no indication that the rate of sexual abuse among Jehovah's Witnesses is higher than found in general society. The organization officially "abhors" child sexual abuse, and states "the incidence of this crime among Jehovah's Witnesses is rare."

Downside School is a co-educational Catholic independent boarding and day school for children aged 11 to 18. It is located in south-west England, in Stratton-on-the-Fosse, between Bath, Frome, Wells and Bruton, and is attached to Downside Abbey.

The Childrens Society

The Children's Society, formally the Church of England Children's Society, is a United Kingdom national children's charity allied to the Church of England.

Peter Morrison British politician

Sir Peter Hugh Morrison was a British Conservative politician, MP for Chester from 1974 to 1992, and Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Christopher Jamison

Christopher Jamison O.S.B. is a Benedictine monk and former Abbot of Worth Abbey in West Sussex, England. He currently serves as the Abbot President of the English Benedictine Congregation.

The sexual abuse scandal in the English Benedictine Congregation was a significant episode in the series of Catholic sex abuse cases in the United Kingdom. The dates of the events covered here range from the 1960s to the 2010s.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was a royal commission announced in November 2012 and established in 2013 by the Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 to inquire into and report upon responses by institutions to instances and allegations of child sexual abuse in Australia. The establishment of the commission followed revelations of child abusers being moved from place to place instead of their abuse and crimes being reported. There were also revelations that adults failed to try to stop further acts of child abuse. The commission examined the history of abuse in educational institutions, religious groups, sporting organisations, state institutions and youth organisations. The final report of the commission was made public on 15 December 2017.

The Elm Guest House was a hotel in Rocks Lane, near Barnes Common in southwest London. In a list produced by convicted fraudster Chris Fay, several prominent British men were alleged to have engaged in sexual abuse and child grooming at the Guest House in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Labour MP Tom Watson, having heard testimony from Carl Beech, suggested in an October 2012 statement to the House of Commons that a paedophile network which had existed at this time may have brought children to parties at the private residence.

Child sexual abuse in the United Kingdom Overview about child sexual abuse in the United Kingdom

Child sexual abuse in the United Kingdom has been reported in the country throughout its history. In about 90% of cases the abuser is a person known to the child. However, cases during the second half of the twentieth century, involving religious institutions, schools, popular entertainers, politicians, military personnel, and other officials, have been revealed and widely publicised since the beginning of the twenty-first century. Child sexual abuse rings in numerous towns and cities across the UK have also drawn considerable attention.

A dossier on paedophiles allegedly associated with the British government was assembled by the British Member of Parliament Geoffrey Dickens, who handed it to the then-Home Secretary, Leon Brittan, in 1984. The whereabouts of the dossier is unknown, along with other files on organised child abuse that had been held by the Home Office.

Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse Official inquiry in England and Wales

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in England and Wales is on-going inquiry examining how the country's institutions handled their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse. It was announced by the British Home Secretary, Theresa May, on 7 July 2014.

The 2014–2016 Northern Ireland Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry, often referred to as the HIA Inquiry, is the largest inquiry into historical institutional sexual and physical abuse of children in UK legal history. Its remit covers institutions in Northern Ireland that provided residential care for children from 1922 to 1995, but excludes most church-run schools.

Lowell Goddard

Dame Lowell Patria Goddard, is a former New Zealand High Court judge, from 1995 to 2015. She is thought to be the first person of Māori ancestry to have been appointed to the High Court. In 1988, she was one of the first two women to be appointed Queen's Counsel in New Zealand and in 1989 became the first woman to hold a Crown warrant. In 1992, she became Deputy Solicitor-General for New Zealand. Between 2007 and 2012 she chaired New Zealand’s Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA). In 2010 she was elected as an independent expert to the United Nations Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture (SPT) and served in that capacity until 2016. From February 2015 until August 2016, she chaired the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in England and Wales.

Operation Hydrant is a British police investigation into allegations of "non-recent" child sexual abuse. It co-ordinates a number of other investigations by police forces throughout the United Kingdom. It is headed by Simon Bailey, the Chief Constable of Norfolk Constabulary. It began after the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal prompted more complainants to come forward.

The Anglican Communion sexual abuse cases are a series of allegations, investigations, trials, and convictions of child sexual abuse crimes committed by clergy, nuns, and lay members of the Anglican Communion.

Anders Kompass

Per Anders Gunnar Kompass is a Swedish diplomat and former UN official. He worked as the field operations director at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) between 2009 and 2016.

Graham Tilby is the National Advisor on Safeguarding for the Church of England. He was appointed by Paul Butler, Bishop of Durham, in November 2014.

Nottinghamshire sex abuse allegations are centred on claims made by children in care homes and foster care. Since 2010 Nottinghamshire Police have started three operations to study historic child abuse in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, England. The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse will look into any institutional failures to protect children in council care.

Beechwood children's home was a care home for children in Mapperley in Nottinghamshire, England where staff committed serious sexual and "sadistic" abuse against children spanning several decades before it closed in 2006. Some abusive staff received lengthy prison sentences.

References

  1. "United Kingdom Child Sex Abuse People's Tribunal" . Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  2. Chalabi, Mona (12 June 2013). "Child Sexual Abuse: What the Statistics Tell Us". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  3. "UKCSAPT Terms of Reference" . Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  4. "Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse" . Retrieved 11 January 2015.