Inquiry into abuse in religious groups to continue

A POSTPONED inquiry into how religious organisations protect children from abuse aims to restart its hearings through video technology.

In March, The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) had to put on hold its investigation into child protection in religious organisations and settings in England and Wales due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

In an update published on its website on Monday, the IICSA said it hopes to resume the hearing via video conference on May 11.

The chair of the inquiry, Prof Alexis Jay, said the decision to suspend the public hearing had been “difficult”, but the IICSA had been exploring how to resume “in a virtual setting”.

She added: “The inquiry is working hard to rearrange future public hearings in all our investigations, bearing in mind the difficulties that the current situation presents for all those involved.

“My thanks to inquiry staff, core participants and their legal teams for working flexibly with us to ensure that these vital hearings will continue.”

In an initial hearing held before the suspension on March 16, the inquiry was told that religious organisations are subject to “little to none external oversight” of how they ensure children are protected from sexual abuse.

The investigation will include Jehovah’s Witnesses, Baptists, Methodists, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism and non-conformist Christian denominations.

A hearing for another investigation into child exploitation in organised networks, due to be held on April 20, has been postponed, with the inquiry aiming to reschedule it for September.

The Government says it is committed to ensuring that all victims of crime have access to support throughout every stage of their recovery and whenever they choose to access it.

These commitments were set out in the Victims Strategy, published in 2018.