Following on from our recent attendance at ACAL’s (Association for Child Abuse Lawyers) AGM on 15 October 2025 we are helping to raise awareness of the #ActOnIICSA campaign currently being run by the Survivor’s Trust.
Act on IICSA is a campaign group working to raise awareness of the recommendations outlined by the Independent Inquiry into Childhood Sexual Abuse (IICSA) to help better protect children from sexual abuse. The IICSA’s final report, which was published three years ago after a seven year inquiry, proposed twenty essential recommendations for a comprehensive reform of the UK’s child protection system. If you would like to read the report in full it can be downloaded at: https://www.iicsa.org.uk/reports-recommendations/publications/inquiry/final-report.html
The concluding recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse were:
- A single set of core data relating to child sexual abuse and child sexual exploitation.
- Child Protection Authorities for England and for Wales.
- A cabinet-level Minister for Children.
- A public awareness campaign.
- Prohibiting the use of pain compliance techniques.
- The amendment of the Children Act 1989.
- Registration of care staff in children’s homes.
- Registration of staff in care roles in young offender institutions and secure training centres.
- Greater use of the Disclosure and Barring Service barred list.
- Improvements to compliance with statutory duties to refer concerns to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
- Extending the disclosure regime to those working with children overseas.
- Pre-screening for illegal images of children.
- Mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse in certain circumstances.
- Compliance with the Victims’ Code.
- The removal of the three-year limitation period for personal injury claims brought by victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.
- A national guarantee of specialist therapeutic support for child victims.
- A code of practice on access to records about child sexual abuse.
- Further changes to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
- A tiered redress scheme.
- Age verification in relation to online services and social media platforms.
The Act on IICSA group is currently focusing on just one of these recommendations, the establishment of a Child Protection Agency to provide a single organisation to support, inform and monitor frontline professionals responsible for the protection of children. Once a CPA is established it will then work alongside relevant stakeholders to implement the other 19 recommendations.
The Survivor’s Trust are still fighting to turn IICA’s recommendations into real change and to make sure survivors are no longer met with silence and delay. They currently are crowdfunding for donations to help them ensure this issue stays in the public eye and on the political agenda.
If you are able to help with a donation, their gofundme link is https://gofund.me/4c33b8c18
