Professor Alexis Jay, former chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), has cautioned that a critical opportunity to protect children from abuse risks being squandered by the UK government.
Jay has continued to urge Labour ministers to act on her recommendations, made following the seven-year inquiry, to introduce mandatory reporting laws in England and Wales.
The proposed law would make it a criminal offence for those in trusted positions to fail to report suspected child sexual abuse.
Jay’s inquiry, which concluded in 2022, heard of numerous cases where abuse disclosures were ignored, allowing systemic mistreatment to persist in institutions like children’s homes, boarding schools, and religious organisations.
Despite these findings, mandatory reporting has yet to be enacted, which Jay warns could also hinder progress in Scotland, where a separate child abuse inquiry has been ongoing for nine years.
Addressing the Scottish Parliament’s cross-party group on adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, Jay emphasised that mandatory reporting was her “most important” recommendation, noting that the UK remains an “outlier” internationally for lacking such measures.
She revealed that a previous proposal from the Conservative government for a less comprehensive reporting law was shelved ahead of the last general election.
Since then, Jay has been actively lobbying new Labour ministers, including Jess Phillips, as Labour has endorsed mandatory reporting since 2014.
Expressing disappointment, Jay said, “It’s been very, very disappointing to be in the position that we are. We have high expectations, but it remains to be seen if they’ll be realised.” She warned that without legislative action, the inquiry’s efforts – which cost £180 million – could amount to a “waste of time and money.”
Jay also expressed concerns that Scotland could be dissuaded from pursuing mandatory reporting without England and Wales setting a precedent. “Scotland could be a leader in this, but they would need to be bold,” she said.
SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor, who chaired the session, acknowledged the strong case for mandatory reporting, though noted that the Scottish government had yet to make a formal commitment. Many adult survivors in attendance shared frustration over the lack of action across the UK on this pressing issue.
