Commenting on the Office for National Statistics (ONS) release Abuse during childhood: Findings from the Crime Survey for England and Wales, year ending March 2016, Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England said:
“The figures released today by ONS reflect the estimates from my own research published last autumn – that many hundreds of thousands of children in England are abused. The data shows that many children who have been sexually abused do not tell a professional about it and so are unlikely to receive any help; this also reflects a finding from my research.
“Efforts must focus on preventing abuse from happening, improving the response from professionals when it does, and ensuring therapeutic support for victims. That’s why I am supporting the introduction of Icelandic Barnahus ‘children’s houses’ which collect the forensic evidence from child victims and quickly provide therapeutic support. Since being introduced in Iceland the Barnahus has doubled the number of convictions for child sexual abuse and minimised the trauma experienced by victims during evidence gathering. Pilots are planned in London and the North East.”
