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IICSA published its final Report in October 2022. This website was last updated in January 2023.

IICSA Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

The Roman Catholic Church Investigation Report

Contents

I.2: Reporting statistics

4. As discussed in Part B, the 2018 Bullivant review identified 931 separate complaints (ie allegations or concerns of child sexual abuse) against clergy, members of religious institutes and lay workers (paid and voluntary) reported to the Church between 1970 and 2015.[1] Of the 931 complaints:

  • 753 complaints (81 percent) were reported to the statutory authorities, which related to 768 individuals and resulted in 177 prosecutions (from which there were 133 convictions);[2]
  • 158 complaints (17 percent) were not reported; and
  • in 20 cases (2 percent), it was unclear whether the complaint was reported.[3]

The data returns from the dioceses and religious institutes identified 10 reports (1 percent) that should have been referred to the statutory agencies but were not.[4]

5. The figure below shows the year-by-year breakdown of whether the complaints were reported.

Reporting of complaints to statutory authorities by year of complaint. 1970 - 2015. The graph trends upwards from 1991
Reporting of complaints to statutory authorities by year of complaint
Source: Based on CHC001938_021

6. During the 1970s and 1980s, there were no or few reports to the statutory authorities.[5] Victims and complainants repeatedly told us that they reported their allegations to the Church but that external agencies were not involved.[6] Complaints to statutory authorities increased steadily throughout the 1990s and 2000s, peaking in 2010 when 84 referrals were made.

7. In his report, Professor Stephen Bullivant analysed the reasons for non-reporting.

Reasons for complaints not being reported to statutory authorities at the time of the report
Long Description
Reasons for complaints not being reported to statutory authorities at the time of the report
Number of complaints Numbers of complaints as a percentage
Alleged subject(s) deceased 36 23%
Victim(s) unwilling to proceed 50 32%
Informed of complaint by third party 15 9%
Insufficient details to identity alleged subject(s) 11 7%
Statutory authorities' involvement not felt necessary 26 16%
Alleged subject(s) already in prison 3 2%
Case referred to another diocese 4 3%
Reason unclear/insufficient records 50 32%
Reasons for complaints not being reported to statutory authorities at the time of the report
Source: Based on CHC001938_022

In the 11 cases where there was no reporting, the dioceses and religious institutes recorded that there were “insufficient details” for a referral to be made. This included, for example, complaints where the alleged perpetrator could not be identified.[7]

References

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