Millions of children involved in religious organisations, including Sunday schools and madrasas, are vulnerable to sexual abuse in cultures where victim blaming, abuse of power and mistrust of external authorities are common, a report says.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) said there was “no doubt that the sexual abuse of children takes place in a broad range of religious settings”.
It found evidence of “egregious failings” and highlighted the hypocrisy of religions that purport to teach right from wrong yet fail to protect children.
IICSA’s investigation examined child protection in 38 religious organisations and settings in England and Wales, including Jehovah’s Witnesses, Baptists, Methodists, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism and non-conformist Christian denominations.
The organisations had “significant or even dominant influence on the lives of millions of children”, the inquiry’s report said. “What marks religious organisations out from other institutions is the explicit purpose they have in teaching right from wrong; the moral turpitude of any failing by them in the prevention of, or response to, child sexual abuse is therefore heightened.”
It added: “Freedom of religion and belief can never justify or excuse the ill‐treatment of a child, or a failure to take adequate steps to protect them from harm.”
The report, published on Thursday, followed earlier investigations into the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches that detailed widespread abuse and cover-ups.
Among the cases cited in the report were those of three children abused by a prominent member of the Haredi Jewish community in Manchester, who was eventually convicted and jailed; a girl who was abused and raped at a madrasa between the ages of eight and 11; a girl who was abused by a volunteer at a Methodist church who later pleaded guilty to sexual assault; and a girl who was abused between the ages of four and nine by a “ministerial servant” with the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Organisational and cultural barriers to reporting child sexual abuse within religious organisations and settings were common, said the report. They include blaming victims rather than perpetrators, reluctance to discuss issues around sex and sexuality, excessive deference and respect shown to religious leaders, and a mistrust of government and external bodies.
The report recommends that all religious organisations have a child protection policy. It also calls for legislation to amend the definition of full-time education to include any setting that is a pupil’s primary place of education.
Alexis Jay, the chair of the inquiry, said: “Religious organisations are defined by their moral purpose of teaching right from wrong and protection of the innocent and the vulnerable. However, when we heard about shocking failures to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse across almost all major religions, it became clear many are operating in direct conflict with this mission.
“Blaming the victims, fears of reputational damage and discouraging external reporting are some of the barriers victims and survivors face, as well as clear indicators of religious organisations prioritising their own reputations above all else. For many, these barriers have been too difficult to overcome.”