Child sexual abuse inquiry to hear from Telford victims

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) will send a team of specialists to Telford to talk to grooming victims and survivors.

The Truth Project will allow victims to share their experiences in a trusted and supportive environment without being questioned or challenged.

The announcement comes amid allegations that hundreds of vulnerable children were targeted in the Shropshire town since the 1980s.

The sessions have no legal consequences and the participants will be able to give as little or as much detail as they choose and also make recommendations for change.

IICSA chairwoman, Alexis Jay, said: “It’s vital that everyone who wants to participate in the Truth Project has the opportunity to do so.

“I would encourage victims and survivors of child sexual abuse in Telford to get in touch with us. We can promise you that you will be heard, recognised and respected.

“Child sexual abuse can take many different forms and we want to hear from as many victims and survivors as possible.

“We can offer support before, during and after your confidential Truth Project session and you can also make recommendations for change that will feed into the inquiry’s recommendations.”

Academics and the Sunday Mirror newspaper have claimed up to 1,000 young people may have been abused in Telford.

There are intense arguments in the town over what kind of inquiry should now take place into the alleged grooming.

The Conservative opposition group on the local council have argued for a Rotherham-style inquiry that should be commissioned locally, rather than the national IICSA – which was set up in 2015 to investigate organisations that have failed to protect children.

Dru Sharpling, one of the senior figures on the IICSA, said: “The Truth Project is a really important part of the inquiry because it allows victims and survivors to come forward and give their accounts to the Truth Project facilitators, or indeed a chair or the panel so they can describe what happened to them.

“That’s really important to them, they’re supported through that process before and afterwards and, if they do decide to participate, then of course what they say to us – and if they agree – we can use to inform our recommendations going forward.

“It’s clearly very important for all victims and survivors in Telford to get the opportunity to come and give their accounts. And, of course, all child sexual abuse must be taken extremely seriously.

“This inquiry is determined to get to the bottom of institutional failure, no matter where child abuse occurs throughout the country.”

(c) Sky News 2018: Child sexual abuse inquiry to hear from Telford victims