‘Faith groups unable to tackle child abuse’
INQUIRY FINDS ORGANISATIONS DISCOURAGE EXTERNAL REPORTING TO MAINTAIN REPUTATION
CHILD sexual abuse is prevalent across most major religions in the UK, a report last week found, with experts partly blaming men dominating leadership in faith settings.
According to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), organisational and cultural barriers to reporting child sexual abuse within religious organisations and settings are “numerous, varied and difficult to overcome”.
Many religious groups were also putting children at risk by victim blaming, not openly discussing matters of sexuality and a mistrust of non-religious agencies, the inquiry found.
It said victims were let down by “blatant hypocrisy and moral failing of religions”.
Professor Alexis Jay, who chaired the inquiry, described the failures to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse across almost all major religions as “shocking”.
“Blaming the victims, fears of reputational damage and discouraging external reporting are some of the barriers victims and survivors face, as well as clear indicators of religious organisations prioritising their own reputations above all else,” Jay said.
“For many, these barriers have been too difficult to overcome.”
Among some difficulties for children to report abuse were males dominating religious leadership with evidence showing many faith organisations and positions of spiritual governance are occupied only by men.
For instance, all the individuals who appeared in Leicester’s Shree Hindu Temple and Community Centre’s organisational structure were male.
While the inquiry found some organisations do have effective policies implemented, others do not have basic child protection procedures in place.
Throughout the investigation, the inquiry heard of failings across a number of religious organisations, and cases of child sexual abuse perpetrated by their followers. One such case included a young female victim who was abused while attending a madrasah (an education setting for Islamic instruction).
Classes were held at the home of family friends and taught by the family, including their teenage son. The son began to abuse the victim when she was eight years old. When the victim was 14, she told her family about the abuse. Her mother tried to speak to the parents of other children – but no one wanted to support the allegations because of the cultural shame it would bring on the family of the boy.
The victim also suffered harassment from others in the community who learnt of the allegations. The perpetrator was later convicted of two offences, though acquitted of others, and sentenced to one year in prison. During the trial, some members of the Muslim community who were influential within it supported the perpetrator.
The IICSA highlighted an estimated 250,000 children in England and Wales receive ‘supplementary schooling’ from a faith organisation. However, as there is no requirement for such schools to be registered with any state body, they have no supervision or oversight in respect of child protection.
The report made two recommendations – that all religious organisations should have a child protection policy and supporting procedures; and the government should legislate to amend the definition of full-time education to bring any setting that is the pupil’s primary place of education within the scope of a registered school. This would provide Ofsted with sufficient powers to examine the quality of child protection when undertaking an inspection of suspected unregistered schools.
Prof Jay said she hoped the recommendations would help to improve what religious organisations “do to fulfil their moral responsibility to protect children from sexual abuse.”
Zara Mohammed, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), said the report made for “difficult reading”.
“(The report) underlines the importance of education centred around the wellbeing of children,” Mohammed said. “The MCB is committed to providing resources and support for our affiliated organisations, and to sharing good practice already out there, to foster safe and nurturing environments for children in religious settings”
The IICSA inquiry examined evidence received from 38 religious organisations with a presence in England and Wales.