After the completion of the previous Child Sexual Abuse Action Plan, I welcome Welsh Government’s continued commitment to protect children from Child Sexual Abuse, its prevention, and support for survivors of Child Sexual Abuse.
It is also welcome to see some of the recommendations from the Independent Inquiry on Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) included in the strategy – specifically, the development of a core data set, and proposals to raise awareness of Child Sexual Abuse and the importance of raising awareness in helping to identify and prevent Child Sexual Abuse.
I also welcome the inclusion in the strategy of a children and young people’s advisory group. Embedding their views throughout the implementation process will strengthen a rights-based approach, in line with Article 12 of the UNCRC, by ensuring their voices are meaningfully heard in decision-making. Given the nature of this group, it will be essential to adopt a sensitive, trauma-informed approach that prioritises the safety and wellbeing of participants and protects them from further harm.
However, this strategy stands the best chance of succeeding if safeguarding structures and governance are improved, and Welsh Government’s current review of the safeguarding governance presents an opportunity to do so by recommending that a Child Protection Authority be introduced, a call that I have made for a while and that is recommended by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. A Child Protection Authority would simplify safeguarding governance, ensure that children’s safeguarding receives the attention that it needs, and support the implementation of policies to safeguard children, such as the Child Sexual Abuse Strategy.