Studay: 85% of child abuse in UK goes unreported

A new study says a majority of child sex abuse in the UK is carried out by family or friends and up to 85% goes unreported.

According to the study conducted by the Office of the Children’s commissioner (OCC)  about 50,000 cases of sexual abuse were recorded by police and local authorities in the two years to March 2014 but the findings indicate that official figures vastly underestimate the true scale of child sexual abuse.

OCC said the actual number of children abused in that period is thought to be as many as 450,000.

Meanwhile, two-thirds of cases, both known and unknown to the authorities, are believed to be victims of abuse in the family.

OCC also called for an urgent action to identify and prevent child abuse.

About 50,000 cases of sexual abuse were recorded by police and local authorities in the two years to March 2014 but the findings indicate that official figures vastly underestimate the true scale of child sexual abuse. The actual number of children abused in that period is thought to be as many as 450,000.

Most of the victims remain unidentified as the services that should protect them, including police and social services, rely on children to speak out.

The national police lead for child protection and abuse, Simon Baily singled out as problematic children’s ease of access to technology.

“I have had cases whereby 12, 13-year-old boys are abusing four, five-year-old girls because what they have seen online they just thought was normal behavior,” he said.

The children’s commissioner for England, Anne Longfiel said: “In recent years the terrible experiences of sexual abuse that some children have suffered in institutions or at the hands of groups of perpetrators have come to light and preventing and tackling these been made a priority.”

A London-based analyst says there is a lack of sexual abuse victims in the UK particularly when it comes to children and this is deeply rooted in the cultural history of this country,”

Arzu Merali from Researcher and Human Rights Campaigner says the constitutional structures in the UK are not well-prepared to cope with such a tragic trend.