There are “extensive failures” in the way child sexual exploitation is tackled, with police and local authorities downplaying the scale of abuse over concerns about negative publicity, according to a damning new report.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), featured harrowing testimony from more than 30 young witnesses across six case study areas – including Durham.
It found there is “a flawed assumption” that child sexual exploitation was “on the wane” in those areas, with councils and police forces denying the scale of the problem, despite evidence to the contrary.
