Child sex abuse at highest level for 10 years

CHILD victims of abuse are facing fresh trauma because of the court system, according to a leading charity that claims sexual offences against youngsters are at their highest level for 10 years.

NSPCC Scotland says there were 3,742 sexual offences including rape, sexual assault and grooming last year.

Meanwhile, the charity’s helpline has seen a 19 per cent increase in calls from adults worried that a child is being sexually abused.

The NSPCC’s helpline for adults took 407 such calls in 2014/15. Half of these calls were so serious they were referred on to the police or children’s services.

A UK-wide report, How Safe Are Our Children?, is calling for a review of the Scottish legal system, and the adoption of the Scandinavian model of ‘Barnehus’ or children’s houses, where experts can interview youngsters about incidents of alleged abuse as soon as possible after allegations are made, while victims can benefit from immediate therapeutic help.

NSPCC says the current procedures for investigating sexual abuse in the UK can cause further trauma because-multiple interviews by different professionals in settings such as police stations and hospitals risk ‘revictimising’ the child and triggering stressful memories of abuse.

Matt Forde, head of NSPCC Scotland, said greater awareness of sexual abuse may be encouraging more victims to report incidents.

Mr Forde said: “The nation has been horrified by the revelations of decades of horrendous child abuse. But while the Scottish Government’s inquiry is historical, child abuse is not.

“By borrowing f rom Scandinavian models, we can free children from further suffering and allow the therapeutic support they need to begin more quickly.”