Background

1. In July 2014, the then Home Secretary Theresa May MP announced the establishment of this Inquiry, initially in non-statutory form. In February 2015, it was reconstituted as a statutory inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005, enabling it to compel witnesses and request any material necessary to investigate where institutions failed to protect children in their care.

2. Since the 1940s, there has been a myriad of investigations and inquiries related to the sexual abuse of children. Many dealt with issues at a regional or local level, rather than considering the wider application of themes and lessons that should be learned. This Inquiry has provided an opportunity to consider many complex issues of potential relevance to institutions in England and Wales and beyond in order to protect children from such abuse in future.

Scope

3. The scope of the Inquiry, as set out in its Terms of Reference, was to:

“consider the extent to which State and non-State institutions have failed in their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation; to consider the extent to which those failings have since been addressed; to identify further action needed to address any failings identified; to consider the steps which it is necessary for State and non-State institutions to take in order to protect children from such abuse in future; and to publish a report with recommendations.”

4. Consequently, the Inquiry focussed on the conduct of institutions and their response or failure to respond to allegations of child sexual abuse. Its purpose has not been to examine the truth of allegations against individuals, but to investigate what institutions knew about them and how – if at all – they responded. The Inquiry’s scope did not include sexual abuse of children which occurred within a family setting, as opposed to within an institution. It did, however, include circumstances in which a child disclosed familial abuse to a person in an institution, such as a school or a church, and that person or persons failed to act upon this information or otherwise failed to identify child sexual abuse.

5. In addition to evidence it received, the Inquiry has considered information available from various published and unpublished reviews and investigations, together with the experience of victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.

Overview of the Inquiry’s methodology

6. In order to approach these issues in a comprehensive manner, the Inquiry established several strands of work, which are summarised below and in relation to which regular reports were published and laid in Parliament. The themes, evidence and material from all these strands have informed this report and its recommendations to protect children in the future.

Interim report

7. As required under its Terms of Reference, the Inquiry published its Interim Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in April 2018. At the time, the Inquiry had held five public hearings, published a number of reports about specific parts of its work ‒ including the findings of two public hearings ‒ and held a series of seminars to discuss issues relevant to child sexual abuse. More than 1,000 victims and survivors of child sexual abuse had shared their experience with the Inquiry’s Truth Project. The Interim Report provided an update on the Inquiry’s work and what had been learned to date.

Investigations

8. Through its investigations, the Inquiry examined the extent to which institutions took sufficient care to protect children from sexual abuse, and the extent to which the institutions involved knew or should have known about the abuse, and how they responded. A number of the public hearings were conducted virtually given restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

9. As set out in the Inquiry’s Criteria for Selection of Investigations, investigations were either:

• institution-specific, involving inquiries into particular institutions or types of institution; or
• thematic, concerning a series of broad areas where multiple institutions may play a role in protecting children from abuse.

The Inquiry also considered whether situations appeared: (a) to be typical of a pattern of child sexual abuse occurring in the sector or context involved; (b) to be practically capable of detailed examination through oral and written evidence; (c) to involve no significant risk to the fairness and effectiveness of any ongoing police investigation or prosecution; and (d) likely to result in currently relevant conclusions and/or recommendations.

10. On this basis, the Inquiry selected and completed the following 15 investigations.

10.1. The extent to which institutions failed in their duty to protect children abroad by, for example, employing individuals who should not work with children, was considered in two phases. The first phase, Child Migration Programmes, dealt with the experiences of children removed from their families, care homes and foster care in England and Wales who were sent to institutions or families abroad, primarily during the post-Second World War period. In the Children Outside the United Kingdom Phase 2 investigation, the Inquiry focussed on the response by institutions in England and Wales to the sexual abuse of children outside the UK.

10.2. One of three local authority investigations, Cambridge House, Knowl View and Rochdale, examined allegations made about the sexual abuse and exploitation of children including by former Liberal Party MP, Cyril Smith.

10.3. The Sexual Abuse of Children in Custodial Institutions investigation considered the sexual abuse of children detained within the criminal justice system.

10.4. The second local authority investigations considered the experiences of Children in the Care of the Nottinghamshire Councils from the 1960s onwards, when sexual abuse was widespread in both residential and foster care.

10.5. Through five case studies, spanning from the 1960s to the present day, the Accountability and Reparations investigation considered the ways in which perpetrators can be held to account under criminal and civil law and the potential reparations available.

10.6. Similarly, the Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse Linked to Westminster investigation examined institutional responses to allegations involving persons of public prominence associated with Westminster.

10.7. The growing problem of online-facilitated child sexual abuse – ranging from sharing indecent images of children, viewing or directing the abuse of children via online streaming or video conferencing, to grooming or otherwise coordinating contact offences against children – was considered in The Internet investigation.

10.8. The Anglican Church overarching investigation assessed the extent to which the Church of England and the Church in Wales protected children from sexual abuse in the past and the adequacy of its safeguarding policies and practices. As part of this investigation, The Anglican Church Case Studies: 1. The Diocese of Chichester 2. The Response to Allegations Against Peter Ball considered two examples where perpetrators were allowed unrestricted access to children and young people.

10.9. The Roman Catholic Church investigation examined the extent of institutional failings by the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales to protect children from sexual abuse as well as the Church’s current safeguarding regime. As part of its wider investigation into the Roman Catholic Church, the Inquiry also considered more than 130 allegations of child sexual abuse made against 78 individuals in The Roman Catholic Church Case Study: Archdiocese of Birmingham since the 1930s. It also reviewed the abbeys and related schools of Ampleforth and Downside (English Benedictine Congregation Case Study), where appalling sexual abuse was inflicted over decades on children aged as young as seven at Ampleforth School, and aged 11 at Downside School. The Roman Catholic Church Case Study: English Benedictine Congregation: 1. Ealing Abbey and St Benedict’s School 2. Ampleforth and Downside: update second investigation concerned the only Benedictine day school in England, adjacent to Ealing Abbey, where there was extensive child sexual abuse resulting in a number of convictions.

10.10. In its third local authority report, the Inquiry examined the scale and nature of the sexual abuse experienced by Children in the Care of Lambeth Council over several decades since the 1960s, for which a succession of elected members and senior professionals ought to have been held accountable.

10.11. The thematic Child Protection in Religious Organisations and Settings investigation augmented the dedicated investigations into the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches, and considered 38 various religious organisations with a presence in England and Wales.

10.12. In the Institutional Responses to Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse Involving the Late Lord Janner of Braunstone QC investigation, the Inquiry considered the response of Leicestershire Police, the Crown Prosecution Service, Leicestershire County Council, the Labour Party and other institutions to allegations of child sexual abuse involving Lord Janner. This investigation provided the Inquiry with the opportunity to consider the institutional response in circumstances where there has been no criminal conviction or civil finding of fact that alleged sexual abuse occurred.

10.13. The Inquiry’s Child Sexual Exploitation by Organised Networks investigation examined individual cases in six geographical case study areas to seek to understand current practice in relation to the sexual exploitation of children at a strategic level. Accounts were also received from children who had been sexually exploited and abused in other geographical areas, as well as drawing on wider knowledge about child sexual exploitation in England and Wales.

10.14. Having considered the sexual abuse of children in educational settings in several of its previous investigations, The Residential Schools investigation examined residential specialist music schools and residential special schools as well as other types of schools in which staff had been convicted of the sexual abuse of pupils or in which serious safeguarding concerns had arisen. Counsel to the Inquiry also prepared a written account regarding allegations of child sexual abuse using the information gathered from a number of sources in relation to eight schools which no longer exist or are under new management (Non-Recent Sexual Abuse in Residential Schools: An account submitted by Counsel to the Inquiry concerning eight closed residential schools, first published in September 2019).

10.15. The Effective Leadership of Child Protection investigation focussed on practical experiences of leaders and management and examined how effective leadership can better protect children from sexual abuse. Due to its thematic nature, material from this investigation has not been published separately, but has been taken into account in this report.

Further details regarding each investigation are included in Annex 2, which summarises each of the Inquiry’s publications.

11. In each investigation, in accordance with rule 5 of The Inquiry Rules 2006 and the Inquiry’s protocol for considering applications, the Chair designated a number of core participants. These were individuals, organisations or institutions with a specific interest in a particular investigation. Core participants have rights in the Inquiry process including receiving disclosure of documentation, being represented, making legal submissions and suggesting lines of enquiry. They were also able to apply to the Inquiry for funding to cover legal and other costs.

12. Witnesses were invited by the Inquiry to provide a statement if they had evidence relevant to a particular investigation, for example, if they had been failed by or worked in an institution being examined. Most gave their evidence in person, although some did so anonymously (for example, to protect their identity while the police were investigating the sexual abuse they suffered) or via video link (for example, if they were infirm or abroad); some evidence was read aloud on their behalf. Witnesses and core participants were offered emotional support both before and after they gave evidence.

13. On 15 August 2016, the Chair issued a Restriction Order under section 19(2)(b) of the Inquiries Act 2005, granting general anonymity to all complainant core participants. It prohibited (i) the disclosure or publication of any information that identified, named or gave the address of a complainant core participant, and (ii) the disclosure or publication of any still or moving image of a complainant core participant. This Order reflected section 1 of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992, which applies to the Inquiry’s work; it provides victims and complainants of sexual offences with lifelong anonymity and prevents any matter being published about a complainant which might enable the public to identify them. As a result, all complainant core participants were granted anonymity, unless they did not wish to be anonymous. This Order was amended in March 2018 and March 2019 to vary the circumstances in which a complainant core participant could disclose their own status. More than 100 further restriction orders were issued in the course of the Inquiry’s investigations to prevent the disclosure or publication of sensitive information.

14. As set out in each investigation report, some material obtained was redacted and, where appropriate, ciphers applied in accordance with the Inquiry’s protocol on the redaction of documents. As a result, for example, absent specific consent to the contrary, the identities of complainants and victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and other children were redacted; and if the Inquiry considered that their identity appeared to be sufficiently relevant to the investigation, a cipher was applied. In this report, the Inquiry has used ciphers as applied in published investigation reports.

15. Warning letters were sent in accordance with rule 13 of the Inquiry Rules 2006, and responses were considered before finalising this report as well as each investigation report.

16. The Inquiry’s investigation reports made 87 recommendations to 33 specified State and non-State institutions – including the UK government and various departments, and the Welsh Government – as well as more generally (for example political parties and religious organisations). This report contains 20 further recommendations. Institutions were asked to act upon its recommendations promptly and, in the interest of transparency and openness, to publish details of the steps they would take in response to each recommendation within six months of its publication. The Inquiry monitored responses through a formal process, and a summary of recommendations together with progress achieved up to 30 June 2022 is included in Annex 3.

Truth Project

17. Victims and survivors provide a uniquely-informed contribution to the process of understanding and learning from past mistakes and improving child protection in the future. Most importantly, they are entitled to choose to give their accounts and opinions, be listened to respectfully and have their feelings of hurt, frustration and anger acknowledged. This underpinned the Inquiry’s determination to put victims and survivors at the centre of its work and give them a voice, most notably through the Truth Project.

18. The Inquiry’s Truth Project was a complex and extensive listening exercise, which offered 6,226 victims and survivors of child sexual abuse an unprecedented opportunity to share their experiences. Their accounts provided the Inquiry with a better understanding of the long-term impact of child sexual abuse on victims and survivors.

19. The Truth Project was piloted in November 2015 with private sessions commencing in June 2016. From then until March 2021, more than 6,000 people came forward to share an experience. Truth Project participants made an important contribution to the work of the Inquiry. Their experiences contributed to the Inquiry’s findings and helped inform its recommendations for improving child protection in institutions across England and Wales.

20. Most participants decided to attend private sessions in person, which were recorded with permission and some were transcribed for the purposes of analysis; others submitted a written account. Regardless of the approach, it was up to each individual to decide what they wanted to tell the Inquiry. The participants were not questioned or challenged and the information they provided was not verified or tested. Professionally trained support workers were available for those who wished to access this type of support.

21. Where victims and survivors agreed that their accounts could be used by the Inquiry for research purposes, they were analysed for themes and patterns, in order to shape its work and inform its conclusions and recommendations. In order to ensure that the Inquiry is able to keep victims and survivors’ information confidential, the Chair issued a Restriction Order to protect the anonymity of those who engaged with the Truth Project and the experiences they shared. While the Inquiry kept this information confidential, its Terms of Reference required it to refer all allegations of child abuse to the police.

22. The Inquiry has published a data compendium, which comprises all the data which support the analysis presented in this report. Tabs 3 to 12 include the final counts and percentage breakdowns from the 5,862 victims and survivors who shared their experiences of child sexual abuse with the Inquiry’s Truth Project, and consented for the information they provided to be included in the Inquiry’s research. Tabs 13 to 19 include figures, not already available in the public domain, that were provided by government departments and organisations at the request of the Inquiry. Tabs 20 to 22 provide summation tables for government department data already in the public domain. Information about how the data were analysed and presented is presented in the notes section of the compendium (tab 1).

23. Further information about the Truth Project can be found on the Truth Project website.

Research

24. The purpose of the Inquiry’s dedicated research function was to bring together existing knowledge about child sexual abuse, identify knowledge gaps, and to ensure the best use of high-quality data across all strands of the Inquiry’s work. The research and analysis programme improved the understanding and knowledge about child sexual abuse, by examining a significant number of published and unpublished reviews and investigations. It consolidated existing knowledge and generated new insights about child sexual abuse, and also monitored the Inquiry’s Truth Project.

25. The Inquiry also used research to generate new or additional information, ranging from issues concerning a specific investigation (such as residential schools) to those of cross-cutting relevance (such as child sexual abuse in ethnic minority communities). Research was also commissioned to pursue new lines of inquiry separate from the investigations (such as on support services for victims and survivors).

26. Research was undertaken by the in-house research team which, for example, analysed victim and survivor accounts of child sexual abuse shared with the Inquiry’s Truth Project. Other research projects, which required extra capacity or particular technical expertise, were externally commissioned. New research projects were considered by a Research Ethics Committee, comprised of external experts in the field of child sexual abuse, to ensure that each met the requirements of an ethical approval process.

27. Reports were also used for internal purposes – for example a literature review or research briefing note to inform the work of other Inquiry teams, but most reports were published. Publication followed an internal review and external peer-review process designed to maintain the integrity and quality of the research.

27.1. Rapid evidence assessments summarised the existing material and identified gaps which could be filled by further primary research. Nine rapid evidence assessments were completed (four carried out in-house and five commissioned externally).

27.2. Primary research explored a particular set of defined research questions on a given topic, in depth. Primary data were collected through different methods, such as interviews or focus groups with targeted stakeholder groups. The data were then analysed using qualitative and quantitative approaches. Seven pieces of primary research and corresponding reports (three in-house and four externally) were completed. Subjects included the youth secure estate, safeguarding in residential schools, support services, and child sexual abuse in ethnic minority communities, exploring 24 different research aims and resulting in 46 key research findings.

27.3. Truth Project thematic research and analysis involved the quantitative and qualitative analysis of accounts of child sexual abuse shared by Truth Project participants. Six thematic Truth Project reports – incorporating 45 key research findings – were published looking at child sexual abuse within different institutional contexts, including sports, healthcare, schools, religious institutions, residential care and custodial settings. Each report drew on the available participant accounts at the time of analysis, with the most recent reports’ analysis based on participants who took part in the Truth Project between June 2016 and July 2020.

27.4. A Truth Project dashboard, published twice a year, included the experiences of those who were abused within a family, an institution or in another context. The dashboard provided information from the Truth Project about:

• the victims and survivors of child sexual abuse who chose to share their experience with the Truth Project;
• the nature of the abuse that they experienced;
• where the sexual abuse took place and who the perpetrators were;
• the impacts of child sexual abuse; and
• whether those victims and survivors told anyone about the abuse.

The final Truth Project dashboard for the period from June 2016 to October 2021 is available in Annex 4.

28. The research portfolio explored a range of issues and themes relating to child sexual abuse:

• victims and survivors, including the nature of child sexual abuse victimisation, the impact of child sexual abuse and support for victims and survivors;
• perpetrators;
• institutions;
• society, including the relationship between societal and cultural discourses and child sexual abuse.

29. Quarterly statistics were produced to provide an update on the Inquiry’s three core projects – the Truth Project, investigations and public hearings, and research. They also contained correspondence data to provide a picture of how many people contacted the Inquiry.

Seminars

30. The Inquiry also conducted seminars to gather information and views about important topics, and to help to identify areas for further investigation and scrutiny. Each seminar had a structured discussion among the invited participants (including relevant stakeholders and victims and survivors’ groups), led by a member of the Inquiry Counsel team. Invitations were issued to relevant stakeholders and victims and survivors’ groups to actively participate in the structured discussion. The structured discussion would either follow a presentation of research work conducted for the Inquiry or an ‘expert presentation’.

31. After each seminar, the Inquiry published transcripts and a video recording of the event, as well as a report providing a summary of the seminar on its website, further details of which are included in Annex 2.

Victims and Survivors Forum, Victims and Survivors Consultative Panel and Ethnic Minority Ambassador

32. The Inquiry established the Victims and Survivors Forum, and the Victims and Survivors Consultative Panel, for victims and survivors to engage with its work. It was also assisted by an Ethnic Minority Ambassador.

33. The Victims and Survivors Forum provided an opportunity for more than 1,700 victims and survivors to engage with the Inquiry, and contribute to its work through consultations and events. Forum membership was open to any victim or survivor of child sexual abuse with many following on from their engagement with the Truth Project into the Forum.

34. The Forum provided a continuous link between victims and survivors and the ongoing work of the Inquiry. Forum members contributed directly to the Inquiry’s work detailing experiences of the criminal justice system, accessing records, redress schemes, protected characteristics and suggestions for creating a cultural change. Members were also regularly updated with the latest Inquiry news.

35. Members of the Inquiry’s Victims and Survivors Consultative Panel brought significant experience, and provided support and advocacy for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. The panel also acted as an important sounding board for the Inquiry’s research and were fundamental in the establishment of the Truth Project. The panel ensured that the victim and survivor voice ran through many of the key activities delivered by the Inquiry and also provided consultative advice and guidance to the Chair and Panel.

36. The Inquiry was also assisted in its work by an Ethnic Minority Ambassador. The Ethnic Minority Ambassador supported the Inquiry to be reflective and inclusive of the challenges faced by groups across England and Wales who are often marginalised and under-represented.

Referrals to the police

37. The Inquiry was required to refer all allegations of child abuse that it receives to the police so that they can be investigated. Referrals were passed to Operation Hydrant, a coordination body established by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, to disseminate allegations of non-recent child sexual abuse from a range of organisations to relevant police forces for investigation.

38. The high number of ‘no further action’ outcomes reported for allegations made to Operation Hydrant reflects the fact that many could not be acted upon. As per the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference, any allegation of child abuse (including sexual, physical and emotional abuse, as well as neglect) received by the Inquiry was referred to the police through Operation Hydrant. This included cases where the abuse occurred many years ago and so the perpetrators had since died, and cases where the participant gave no identifying information about the perpetrator.

The outcome of Inquiry referrals to Operation Hydrant in England and Wales

Source: See data compendium to this report