Inquiry letter to the Times

Dear Sir,

Your article (Child sex abuse inquiry in £1m advertising campaign) infers that the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse is not getting on with business or listening to victims and survivors.

By the end of the year we’ll have held 10 weeks of public hearing, hosted six public seminars and published five reports.  We’ve received around 1.5 million pages of evidence.

We have engaged widely with victims and survivors, 700 through the Truth Project alone.  We have a 200-strong Victims and Survivors Forum which meets regularly and actively participates in our work - any victim and survivor can join.  Our Victims and Survivors Consultative Panel provides feedback on a range of issues.  We have received communications from over 5,500 people, predominantly victims and survivors.

The Inquiry will always face criticism from people who would prefer us not to exist. But we will continue to expose the suffering of children over generations and the institutions that have failed them.    

Professor Alexis Jay OBE

Chair of Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.