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Victims of child sexual abuse are facing “excruciatingly long waits” for justice, with nearly 7,000 cases stuck in the court system, according to a new study.
The NSPCC said the number of cases awaiting trial, trial or sentencing for child sexual abuse and exploitation offenses has increased by 9 per cent in a year.
The charity found that there were 6,989 cases in the system across England and Wales as of March, up from 6,399 in the 12 months to March 2024.
Data shared by the Ministry of Justice with the NSPCC also revealed that victims of such abuse have to wait on average 10 months from the time the accused is charged until the case is concluded.
The NSPCC said the wait for cases of rape of a child aged 13 to 15 increased to almost 18 months.
The charity said such long waits “can cause significant anxiety and worry for children who have already experienced severe trauma” and could lead to delays in getting the help they need, as it called on the government to invest in therapeutic support for children.
Maria Neophyto of the NSPCC said: “Nobody should have to wait long for their case to go to court and reach a resolution, but this is especially true for child victims of sexual abuse and exploitation.
“Not only do these waits cause significant anxiety and worry for children who have already experienced severe trauma, but they can also delay young victims from getting the help they need to recover from abuse.
“We want the Government to help ensure that more youth witness cases are going to the courts by using its upcoming response to the Leveson inquiry to take urgent action to tackle the remaining backlog and reduce delays for child victims.
“Too many children still cannot access the support they need to rebuild their lives after sexual abuse, so we are also calling on the Government to invest in therapeutic support for children and place the responsibility for specialist support on local agencies through the Victims and Courts Bill.
The Center for Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse (CSA Centre) described the increase in such cases being taken to court as “encouraging”, but said that “system-wide change is desperately needed to ensure that victims and survivors receive the timely outcomes and ongoing support they need”.
Iain Dean, director of the centre, said: “The year-on-year increase in open child sexual abuse cases is a worrying trend, which matches previous reports and reviews, which have consistently highlighted these increasing delays in recent years.
“Our own analysis found that there is a wait of approximately two years between a case of child sexual abuse being registered by the police and the conclusion of the case in court, which becomes significantly longer in relation to rape offences.
“Furthermore, we found that the support services available to those affected by child sexual abuse are stretched thin, with thousands of children and adults still waiting months or years to receive help.
“We estimate that one in 10 will experience abuse before the age of 16, such a delay can increase the suffering and long-term effects of that abuse.”