Victims of child sex abuse are facing “agonisingly long waits” to get justice with almost 7,000 cases stuck in the court system, according to a new study.
The NSPCC said the number of child sexual abuse and exploitation offence cases awaiting trial, being tried, or awaiting sentencing has risen by 9 per cent in a year.
The charity found there were 6,989 cases in the system across England and Wales in the year to March, up from 6,399 in the 12 months to March 2024.
Data shared with the NSPCC by the Ministry of Justice also showed that victims of such abuse were waiting an average of 10 months from the accused being charged to a case being completed.
The wait rose to around 18 months for cases of rape of a child aged between 13 and 15, the NSPCC said.
The charity said such lengthy waits can cause “significant anxiety and worry for children who have already experienced serious trauma” and delay them getting access to support, as it called on the Government to invest in therapeutic support for children.
Maria Neophytou, from the NSPCC, said: “No-one should have to face agonisingly long waits for their case to go to court and reach a resolution, but this is especially true for child victims of sexual abuse and exploitation.
“Not only do these waits cause significant anxiety and worry for children who have already experienced serious trauma, but they can also delay young victims from being able to access the support they need to start to recover from abuse.
“We want the Government to help ensure more young witnesses’ cases are going through the courts by using their upcoming response to the Leveson Inquiry to set out urgent action to tackle the remaining backlog and reduce delays for child victims.
“Too many children still can’t access the support they need to rebuild their lives following sexual abuse, so we are also urging Government to invest in therapeutic support for children and place a duty on local agencies to commission specialist support on local agencies through the Victims and Courts Bill.
The Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse (CSA Centre) described the rise in such cases getting to court as “encouraging”, but said “system-wide change is desperately required to ensure that victims and survivors get the timely outcome and ongoing support they need”.
Ian Dean, director of the centre, said: “The year-on-year increase in open child sexual abuses cases is a worrying trend, echoing previous reports and reviews which have consistently highlighted these growing delays over recent years.
“Our own analysis found there is a wait time of almost two years between child sexual abuse being recorded by the police and the case concluding in court, which becomes significantly longer in relation to rape offences.
“Moreover, we found support services available to those affected by child sexual abuse are at breaking point, with thousands of children and adults still left waiting months or even years to access support.
“For the one-in-10 we estimate will suffer abuse before the age of 16, such delays can exacerbate the suffering and long-term impacts of that abuse.”
