Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis has issued a strong statement in support of the call by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse for mandatory reporting of suspected abuse.
On Thursday, the IICSA published its final report after a seven year investigation, recommending that people who work with children in positions of responsibility should face prosecution if they do not report incidents of abuse.
The inquiry, said Rabbi Mirvis, "has issued a clarion call, urging us to do more to protect our children from the scourge of sexual abuse. Its recommendation for a new law, creating a duty to report abuse provides a next vital step forward in this regard and is to be welcomed.”
Its final report, he said, “describes how shame, honour and victim blaming, create barriers to reporting, particularly in faith communities. Tragically, we have seen evidence of such barriers in a Jewish context and it is essential that we work together to rid the Jewish community of them.
