Access + Authority ⇒ Abuse in the HOME

Children abused in the home are often "unseen and unheard", despite making up two-thirds of sex abuse cases, a report from four official watchdogs says.

"There remains a disbelief and denial about familial sexual abuses," the inspectorates for police, health, probation and children's services say. It means abusers "too often evade justice", their joint report says.

The government says it is taking urgent action that will see serious sexual offenders spending longer behind bars. The inspectors examined how child abuse within families was handled in six areas of England between September 2018 and May 2019 - and found local agencies "woefully ill equipped" to deal with it.

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Too often professionals rely on children to verbally disclose abuse - but children are unlikely to tell someone they are being sexually abused, particularly when the abuser is close to them, the authors say.