MPs back Close the Loop drive
ROTHERHAM’S MP Sarah Champion has backed an NSPCC campaign to change a law that allows adults in positions of trust to have sex with teenagers aged 16 and 17 in their care, writes Danielle Andrews.
The Close the Loop campaign, started by the NSPCC children’s charity, is backed by a cross-party group of MPs.
Currently, it is a crime for teachers, social workers and other professionals legally in a position of trust to engage in sexual activity with 16 and 17-year-olds in their care.
The charity wants the law to be extended to also cover adults who could abuse their role, such as sports coaches, faith leaders and driving instructors, to protect teenagers from being preyed upon as soon as they turn 16.
A survivor who was manipulated into having sex with her swimming coach when she turned 16 has written a letter to the Lord chancellor, as a review into the position of trust law is due to be released.
In the letter, Hannah* explained how her coach, Jeff*, who was close to her parents’ age, abused his position of power over her. She said she began to confide in Jeff during her eight training sessions a week about difficulties she was having aged 15. He waited until she was 16 to push the limits of their relationship, before legally having sex with her.
When things ended with Jeff, she told someone she trusted who made a referral and she was questioned by police, but he couldn’t be charged because of the loophole.
“Jeff was always pushing the boundaries but staying on the right side of the line. Initially he would just give me a hug. Then one day he gave me a hug and put his hand on my bottom. Jeff spent a long time making me feel comfortable.
“This was my first sexual experience but when this relationship came tumbling down, I changed with it. I was left feeling really angry, I was a difficult person to be around. It took me a long time to trust friends and family.”
The review into the positions of trust law is due to be released by the Ministry of Justice in the coming weeks. It was launched following pressure from the NSPCC after the government backtracked on plans to close this legal loophole in 2018.
Champion said: “The law is there to protect our children and ensure those who groom or abuse them are brought to justice. However, currently – and some might say, unbelievably – there are hundreds of adults in positions of power and influence over teenagers to whom the law does not apply.”
The CEO of NSPCC, Peter Wanless, said: “Young people should never be expected to fend off the sexual advances of adults, and yet the loophole means that 16 and 17-year-olds have to do just that, while their abusers are let off the hook.
“This is a significant moment for the Ministry of Justice to... make it clear that sexual abuse is never tolerable.” (Local Democracy Reporting Service) * Names have been changed to protect identities