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Action for Children
UK News

Christian charity welcomes jail proposal for workers ignoring abuse

by Antony Bushfield

"This stops here," the Prime Minister said.

He's announced proposals that would mean some public workers who ignore abuse claims could face up to five years in jail.

If approved the new legislation would mean the crime of "wilful neglect" would also cover children's social care and education, meaning individuals and organisations that let children down will also face huge fines.

Mr Cameron also announced plans to establish a new helpline to let staff blow the whistle if they think children are being failed.

Simon Bass, CEO of the Churches Child Protection Advisory Service, told Premier's News Hour: "Surely those people who have acted in that way, wilfully neglecting the care needs of those children, ought to be held accountable.

"Because unfortunately for children who are abused it is a life sentence."

But he added there had to be clear guidelines of new laws: "If we're talking about, somebody knows a child is being abused and they wilfully ignore that, that quite clearly falls within any remit where criminal sanctions should apply.

"But that's different to, within an organisation, people not knowing what to do."

Announcing the plans the PM said: "What I'm determined to do as Prime Minister is that we end the 'walk on by' culture that too many police forces and social work departments have demonstrated.

"The aim of today is to just take the first step to make sure we take all the actions across the police, across social services, across local authorities, to make sure we deal with this far, far better to stop it happening again in other areas.

"I think it's very important we take a step back and just recognise the horrific nature of what has happened in our country.

"Young girls - and they are young girls - being abused over and over again on an industrial scale, being raped, being passed from one bunch of perpetrators to another bunch of perpetrators.

"And all the while this has happened with too many organisations and too many people walking on by.

"And we have got to really resolve that this stops here, it doesn't happen again and we recognise abuse for what it is."

The Children's Society, a Christian charity which speaks out for children who are sexually exploited, said it was a "long-awaited watershed that shows we are finally starting to take this seriously as a nation".

Chief Executive Matthew Reed said: "The Children's Society has been working with child victims for over a decade and demanding that the true scale of this horrific abuse is exposed and stopped.

"The Prime Minister is right to recognise that sexual exploitation is a national threat - and the culture of denial must end now.

"For survivors of sexual exploitation the consequences of abuse can last a lifetime. It's therefore right that anybody who has deliberately covered-up abuse, or wilfully turned a blind eye should face a tough sentence.

"Child protection workers in the police, social services, health and schools must tackle this issue head-on. But protecting children costs money: it takes time, training and resources. If we are serious about stopping abuse, we must invest.

"But legislation is not enough on its own. Time and again we have seen shocking cases of vulnerable young people being dismissed, or blamed for their own suffering - even when they have been brave enough to ask for help. A wholesale change in attitudes and culture is crucial if things are really going to change".

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