Richard Foord

Richard Foord

Liberal Democrat — Honiton and Sidmouth

Speaking in the House of Commons on 2 September 2025

Debate

Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

Contribution

I am wholly supportive of this Government-commissioned report into group-based child sexual exploitation, but the Government must not be distracted from the places where child sexual abuse occurs most frequently. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children reports that 90% of young people who have been sexually abused said that the perpetrator was someone they knew. Around a third of child sexual abuse is perpetrated by young people under the age of 18, and the NSPCC says that in relation to sibling sexual abuse: “The number of children affected by this hidden harm is far greater than is acknowledged by…policymakers”. Is the Minister certain that the Government will not be distracted from abuse within schools and within families?

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