The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) One Year On: Victim Care and Mandatory Reporting on the Frontline

This On Demand resource is for practitioners who recognise the necessity of the IICSA and its recommendations, but have questions around how they might work practically and how they can support these changes.

Description

In 2022, after eight years of dedicated work, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) published its final report. It made a series of recommendations to the UK government, three of which formed the centrepiece of the work the Inquiry undertook. These were:

• The introduction of a statutory requirement of mandatory reporting
• The establishment of a national redress scheme for England and Wales
• The creation of a Child Protection Authority (CPA) in England and Wales

Since then, the UK government has responded to the IICSA final report and its recommendations, acknowledging the necessity of some by launching public consultations, while dismissing others. Behind the scenes, a new force has been driving change and campaigning for the IICSA recommendations to be heeded: The IICSA Changemakers - a group of 64 organisations including charities and support services working on the frontline with victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.

In this replay, you will hear first from Clare Kelly, Associate Head of Policy and Public Affairs at NSPCC and IICSA Changemakers member, on their origins as a coalition. You will then hear from Gabrielle Shaw from NAPAC, and Richard Fewkes from the Hydrant Programme on the new Child Sexual Exploitation Taskforce and how they are prioritising victim and survivor care. Finally, you will hear again from Clare Kelly, and from Victoria Green, Chief Executive of the Marie Collins Foundation, on the mandatory reporting legislation and its implications for practice and policy.

The IICSA final report was a watershed moment for the awareness of the national and global crisis of child sexual abuse. Work to ensure the recommendations of the IICSA final report are honoured in policy and practice is all our responsibility, yet some of them, particularly mandatory reporting, are undoubtedly leading to questions around its implications for practice among those working in social care, healthcare, education, mental health and criminal justice.

If you recognise the necessity of the IICSA and its recommendations but have questions around how they might work practically, how the IICSA is already leading to important changes in work with victims and survivors and how you can support these changes; this On Demand resource is for you.

These resources will help you:

• Gain insight into who the IICSA Changemakers are and how they have been continuing the fight for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse since the Inquiry ended
• Explore the impact that the IICSA is already having on specialised taskforces aiming to target child sexual exploitation
• Critically reflect on your worries and assumptions around mandatory reporting
• Develop clarity and confidence around how mandatory reporting might impact your practice with victims and survivors in the near future
• Gain an understanding of how the IICSA is paving the way for better prevention of child sexual abuse and exploitation
• Develop confidence in your understanding of how the IICSA is already creating change, allowing for you to advocate for its recommendations in your own work and practice.

Further reading