During the period of 1970 and 2015, 931 allegations of
child sexual abuse in the church were made by 1,753 individuals. This involved
more than 3,000 instances of alleged abuse made against 931 perpetrators, the
ongoing Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) has
found.
IICSA condemned the ongoing failings
within the church and stated its “moral purpose has been betrayed by those who
sexually abused children”. It further criticised “those who turned a blind eye”
and failed to take action against perpetrators.
The report stated that the head of of
the church in England and Wales appeared to put the reputation of the church
first, before those who had suffered sexual abuse within the institution.
It is estimated that on average, the
church still receives over 100 allegations every year.
The report concludes by stating that
the church “needs to be more compassionate and more understanding of the
lifelong damage that child sexual abuse can cause”.
If you have suffered any abuse, our
experienced abuse team headed by Natalie Marrison are here to help. For a
confidential discussion, please contact the Ramsdens Abuse team on 0113 887 1834 or email [email protected].