4. When approaching the issue of prevalence, it is important to note barriers to the disclosure of sexual abuse may mean that abuse is not reported for many years, or at all. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) told us that a high number of incidents of sexual abuse might go unreported, undetected, unprosecuted and untreated.[1] There is also research indicating that up to two-thirds of children are not able to disclose abuse during childhood.[2]
5. The Australian Royal Commission identified general barriers to disclosure:
6. Of these, the Commission considered the following were of particular application to contemporary detention environments:
7. Many witnesses reflected these themes. We heard that children in custody may withhold information about abuse because they:
8. A key theme Dr Laura Janes (Legal Director of the Howard League for Penal Reform) took from speaking to children in custody was their feeling that they will not be believed. When they are offered help to make a complaint, they say “There’s no point. It’s not going to make any difference”. Against the overarching power imbalance, Dr Janes said it was not surprising that children think their word stands for little, especially when many children in custody have low self-esteem to start with. In her view, if children are in a fearful state, the chances of them disclosing something as sensitive as being sexually abused are very low.[22]
9. Alan Wood, the Inquiry’s independent expert, said the creation of a safe environment for disclosure starts with the child’s cultural experience. While confidentiality is hard to achieve in custodial settings, a child’s experience of disclosures will be passed on to other children and a cultural view will emerge about what happens if children talk about abuse. Carolyne Willow, a children’s rights campaigner and founder of Article 39, agreed children ‘test’ how staff respond to general complaints they make; if they see a poor response, they are unlikely to be confident to disclose abuse.[23]
10. Disclosing abuse is likely to be very complex and difficult for children, especially those in custody, as they may feel isolated and may not have a complete understanding of why they are being detained. Mr Wood told us it requires a “leap of faith” for children to disclose abuse and trust is an essential element to this. He also noted further barriers to reporting abuse for children in custody, including that 33 percent of children in custodial institutions have mental health disorders, 11 percent have attempted suicide, 60 percent have communication difficulties and 25 percent have a learning disability. While there are a multitude of reasons why a child may not disclose abuse, these are “enhanced to a greater extent if the child … is in the custodial arena”.[24]
11. Many institutional and other witnesses told us they had received very few reports of sexual abuse. Having analysed more than 800 enquiries and case files within the Howard League over the last 10 years, Dr Janes identified only a “small handful” of instances where children have reported any form of sexual abuse. She listed six such cases, and in only three of those instances had the child reported the sexual abuse themselves. She was clear that a range of cultural factors explained the reluctance of children to report sexual abuse and was likely to provide the context for these figures.[25][26] The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) received two complaints of sexual abuse of a child detained in a YOI or STC between 2006 and 31 December 2017.[27][28][29][30][31] The Independent Monitoring Board[32][33][34] and Children’s Commissioner[35][36][37] received respectively eight and no disclosures of sexual abuse between 2009 and 2017. Rosamond Roughton said that, since 2013, NHS England has not received any formal notification of child sexual assault in the youth justice secure estate involving healthcare provider staff or occurring while under the care of such staff.[38]
12. As historical examples show, the sexual abuse of children in custody may be hidden for many years.