January 27 / 2025 / Reading Time: 3 minutes
Make failure to report sexual abuse a crime, says Scottish-based global child safety institute
Responding to the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Paul Stanfield, chief executive of the Edinburgh-based Childlight Global Child Safety Institute, said that failure to report evidence of sexual abuse of children should become a criminal offence.
Stanfield, a former director of INTERPOL and former regional director of the UK National Crime Agency, said that legislative change supported by stringent law enforcement is necessary after a spate of cases in which sexual abuse within institutions is alleged to have been covered up.
He said: “People in positions of power cannot be permitted to turn a blind eye to abuse. When victims and survivors have the courage to come forward that courage must be repaid with action to ensure justice is done.
“The world is facing a pandemic of child abuse and the only way we will be able to protect our young people is if those in charge of our organisations and institutions take their duty of care seriously and act with integrity. Those who fail to report evidence of abuse should step aside and face the consequences of their failures – including criminal charges where appropriate.”
In many parts of the world, including in the United States, people can be prosecuted for failing to report child abuse under legislation often called “mandatory reporting laws”. These can apply to certain professionals, such as teachers, doctors, social workers and sometimes the general public.
In jurisdictions with mandatory reporting laws, professionals who work with children or families are required to report any reasonable suspicion of child abuse to authorities. Failure to report can lead to legal consequences, such as fines, loss of professional licenses, or even criminal charges in severe cases.
Some areas have broadened mandatory reporting to include all adults, not just professionals, making it a legal duty for any adult to report suspected child abuse. In most places, people who report child abuse in good faith are protected from civil or criminal liability, even if their suspicions turn out to be unfounded.
The previous UK government proposed mandatory reporting laws through an amendment to criminal justice legislation that would make it a criminal offence for certain individuals to fail to report known or suspected abuse.
Stanfield said rigorous mandatory reporting legislation should be urgently enacted by the new government to protect vulnerable children.
Earlier this year Childlight produced the world's first global estimate of the scale of online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Contact Information
Jason Allardyce
jason.allardyce@ed.ac.uk
Notes to editors
Free to use photographs of Paul Stanfield are attached (please credit Martin Shields)
For further information contact Jason Allardyce, Childlight interim head of communications jason.allardyce@ed.ac.uk
As of November 2024, the United Kingdom does not have a universal legal requirement for all individuals to report suspected child abuse. However, certain professionals, such as teachers, healthcare workers, and social workers, are expected to report concerns as part of their professional duties. This expectation is guided by statutory frameworks like the Children Act 1989 and 2004, which outline responsibilities for safeguarding children.
In October 2022, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) recommended introducing a statutory duty for specific individuals to report child sexual abuse in prescribed circumstances. In response, the UK government conducted consultations to explore the implementation of mandatory reporting. In May 2024, the government proposed amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill 2023-24 to introduce a mandatory reporting duty for those working or volunteering with children. This duty would require reporting to local authorities or the police in specific situations, such as witnessing child sexual abuse or receiving a direct disclosure. However, as of now, these proposals have not been enacted into law.
It's important to note that while there isn't a universal legal mandate, professionals working with children are expected to follow established safeguarding procedures. Failure to adhere to these procedures can result in professional disciplinary actions.
Childlight is a global child safety data institute, hosted by the University of Edinburgh and established by the Human Dignity Foundation. Its vision is to utilise academic research expertise to better understand the nature and prevalence of child sexual exploitation and abuse to help inform policy responses to tackling it. Childlight also draws on decades of law enforcement experience at a senior level. Its multi-disciplinary approach ensures not only the production of high-quality data insights but enables Childlight to help authorities around the world turn data into action to pinpoint and arrest perpetrators and safeguard children. Childlight also offers the world’s first Masters of Science Degree in Child Protection Data Futures.