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Earlier this week (16 June 2025), the Home Secretary made an oral statement in the House about the National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse ('grooming gangs') carried out by Baroness Casey.
The audit highlights the devastating scale of organised child sexual abuse and the long-standing failures of systems meant to protect children.
The audit contains 12 recommendations for change, including:
➡️ Changes to the law in England and Wales so that any cases that involve penetration of children under 16 are always treated as rape.
➡️ The launch of a national inquiry, coordinating a series of targeted investigations into child sexual exploitation in England and Wales.
➡️ Reviewing criminal convictions of victims of child sexual exploitation and abuse, disregarding any convictions where victims were criminalised instead of protected.
➡️ Mandatory collection of ethnicity and nationality data for all suspects in child sexual abuse and criminal exploitation cases.Mandatory sharing of information between all statutory safeguarding partners in cases of child sexual abuse and exploitation.
In her oral statement, the Home Secretary confirmed that the government will accept all twelve recommendations, declaring, “We will take action on all of them immediately.”
A commitment to change
Rape Crisis England & Wales welcomes the publication of the audit and recognises the important contribution of the survivors who spoke out to inform this work.
We are encouraged to see the commitment to implement all recommendations, particularly the proposed change in law and the review of wrongful convictions of victims.
The Home Secretary also confirmed the government will fund additional training for mental health staff in schools on identifying and supporting children and young people who have experienced trauma, exploitation and abuse. Although this is an important step, it should not replace access to the expertise provided by independent, specialist sexual violence services like Rape Crisis centres.
This is why we have called for an established and fully funded pathway into specialist support services for victims and survivors of child rape and sexual abuse who access mental health support in schools.
Ciara Bergman, CEO of Rape Crisis England & Wales comments:
“Baroness Casey’s audit is a difficult read. It lays bare the horrific experiences of victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation, and how they have been further traumatised by a system that was meant to protect them.
It also marks an important step forward for victims and survivors getting the justice they deserve. The recommendations in the audit could be transformative, but it is essential that they are properly resourced.
Any national inquiry should be backed by funding for specialist sexual violence support services, so that victims and survivors who tell their stories can do so with support and safeguarding in place.”