Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Child sexual abuse in major UK religions, new report finds

Child sexual abuse in major UK religions, new report finds

CHILD sexual abuse has been found in most major UK religions with some having no child protection policies, a new report by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has found.

The thematic report is based on 16 days of public hearings held over three months from March to August last year.


The ‘Child protection in religious organisations and settings report’ examined evidence received from 38 religious organisations with a presence in England and Wales, as the figures provided to the Inquiry about known prevalence of child sexual abuse will unlikely reflect the full picture.

Religious organisations play a central and even dominant role in the lives of millions of children in England and Wales. The report highlights the blatant hypocrisy and moral failing of religions purporting to teach right from wrong and yet failing to prevent or respond to child sexual abuse.

Throughout the investigation, the inquiry heard of shocking failings across a number of religious organisations, and cases of child sexual abuse perpetrated by their followers.

PR-A10 was sexually assaulted by a church volunteer when she was 12 years old. PR-A10 disclosed the abuse to her mother, who reported it to the police. After being made aware of the allegations, a church minister told her mother that the abuser was “valued” and must be considered “innocent until proven guilty”.

PR-A22, PR-A23, PR-A24 and PR-A25 were all sexually abused when they were approximately nine years old whilst they were being taught the Quran by a teacher in a mosque. In 2017, the perpetrator was convicted and sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment.

Then there was a victim who had been abused by a baba – a Sikh holy man – who was engaged by a family when the teenage girl became unwell.

Comprehensive child protection policies and procedures are essential to ensuring that children are protected against sexual abuse. While the inquiry also found that some organisations do have effective policies implemented, in some settings not even basic child protection procedures are in place.

The report highlights that an estimated 250,000 children in England and Wales receive ‘supplementary schooling’ or ‘out-of-school provision’ from a faith organisation. However, there is no reliable information on how many settings are there, how many children attend them and for how many hours, what activities are provided and who runs them?

Moreover, there is no requirement for such schools to be registered with any state body, and they have no supervision or oversight in respect of child protection.

The report makes two recommendations:

(i) that all religious organisations should have a child protection policy and supporting procedures; and

(ii) that the government should legislate to amend the definition of full-time education to bring any setting that is the pupil’s primary place of education within the scope of a registered school, and provide Ofsted with sufficient powers to examine the quality of child protection when undertaking inspection of suspected unregistered schools.

Professor Alexis Jay, chair of the inquiry said: “Religious organisations are defined by their moral purpose of teaching right from wrong and protection of the innocent and the vulnerable. However when we heard about shocking failures to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse across almost all major religions, it became clear many are operating in direct conflict with this mission.

“Blaming the victims, fears of reputational damage and discouraging external reporting are some of the barriers victims and survivors face, as well as clear indicators of religious organisations prioritising their own reputations above all else. For many, these barriers have been too difficult to overcome.”

He added: “We have seen some examples of good practice, and it is our hope that with the recommendations from this report, all religious organisations across England and Wales will improve what they do to fulfil their moral responsibility to protect children from sexual abuse.”

More For You

Liz Kendall

Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall will outline welfare reforms in a green paper next week, followed by chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement on 26 March.

Ministers may drop plan to freeze disability benefits: Report

MINISTERS are considering dropping plans to freeze Personal Independence Payments (PIP) for a year, according to a report.

Initial proposals suggested PIP would not rise in line with inflation, but strong opposition from Labour MPs has prompted a review.

Keep ReadingShow less
BBC settles age and sex discrimination case
BBC headquarters in Central London.
Getty Images

BBC settles age and sex discrimination case

THE BBC on Friday (14) said it had settled a case with four female journalists who claimed they lost their jobs because of their sex and age.

Martine Croxall, Annita McVeigh, Karin Giannone and Kasia Madera, who have all presented on the BBC's television channels, claimed they lost their jobs following a "rigged" recruitment exercise.

Keep ReadingShow less
Indian student in US self-deports after visa revocation

In this screenshot from a video posted by @Sec_Noem via X on March 14, 2025, Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen who participated in pro-Palestinian protests at United State’s Columbia University, leaves the country after her visa was revoked by the Department of State. (@Sec_Noem via PTI Photo)

Indian student in US self-deports after visa revocation

AN INDIAN student at Columbia University, whose visa was revoked for allegedly supporting Hamas, has self-deported, says the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen, came to the US on an F-1 student visa as a doctoral student in Urban Planning at Columbia University, and her visa was revoked on March 5.

Keep ReadingShow less
'Companies with diverse leadership are better positioned for growth'

From LtoR- Lord Karan Bilimoria, Sir Trevor Phillips, Seema Malhotra MP, David Tyler and Nathan Coe

'Companies with diverse leadership are better positioned for growth'

COMPANIES with diverse leadership are better positioned for sustainable growth, improved decision-making, and will connect better with multicultural markets, equalities minister Seema Malhotra has said.

She added that the government will soon launch a public consultation on their approach to mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting.

Keep ReadingShow less
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar with  Wang Yi (right)

Subrahmanyam Jaishankar with Wang Yi (right)

S Jaishankar: ‘Delhi’s global interests shape its regional ties'

INDIA today sees itself as a global power or, at least, a country with global interests, which is why Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has spoken of its equation with Russia, China and notably the Middle East.

India’s external affairs minister was in conversation last Wednesday (5) in London with Bronwen Maddox, director of the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House.

Keep ReadingShow less