Mandate Now Mandate Now is a pressure group that seeks the introduction of law requiring staff who work in 'Regulated Activities’ to report concerns about the welfare of children and vulnerable adults to the Local Authority. The Survivors Trust and it's members supports this work and is actively campaigning with Mandate Now. Expand Mandate Now is a pressure group that seeks the introduction of law requiring staff who work in 'Regulated Activities’ to report concerns about the welfare of children and vulnerable adults to the Local Authority. Mandatory reporting of suspected or known child abuse is a vital component of a functioning child protection system in institutional settings. If you work with children, and see one of your charges being abused or even raped, you might think you and your employer had a legal obligation to report it to the authorities. Not so. There is no legal requirement on anyone working with minors in England (Wales or Scotland) to report such incidents and concerns to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO), children’s services or in the event of a ‘known’ crime, the police. It’s been like this for 60 years, nothing has changed despite the counterfeit ‘initiatives’ from Governments throughout his period. On 2 December 2015 Mandate Now handed in their petition signed by more than 200,000 individuals to Downing Street. Pictured are Mandate Now representatives, the cross party delegation of politicians and our CEO Fay Maxted outside of Downing Street. Mandate Now are still campaigning for mandatory reporting. Support them here: http://mandatenow.org.uk/
National Sexual Abuse & Sexual Violence Awareness Week This is a yearly event spaced out over a week in February where organisations up and down the UK organise activities raising awareness of and campaigning against sexual violence Expand This is a yearly event spaced out over a week in February where organisations up and down the UK organise activities raising awareness and campaigning against sexual violence. The week aims to generate discussion among the general public, statutory bodies and third sector organisations about how sexual abuse and sexual violence is not ok. It aims to empower victims and send out a clear message that the UK collectively will be saying ‘It’s Not Ok’. In 2020, we attended the Light up the Night Survivors March in London and held free consent training at local high schools as part of our week of action. We also pushed the #itsnotok campaign across all of our social media. This year we will be attending the Light up the Night Survivors March, this time across Millennium Bridge, and we are again holding free consent training at local high schools. Keep track of the #itsnotok hashtag on social media to take part in Sexual Abuse & Sexual Violence Awareness Week 2021!
Campus Consent In September 2018, The Survivors Trust ran a campaign across 13 university campus' in the UK about consent. The aim was to get new students informed and aware during freshers week. Expand In September 2018, The Survivors Trust ran a campaign across 13 university campus' in the UK about consent. The aim was to get new students informed and aware during freshers week. We also did a social media campaign called #notaskingforit where we asked students to send in their examples of behaviour that does not constitute consent. You can download the resources for your own campus here: Poster Leaflet Have Your Say
12 Tips for Surviving Christmas This time of year and particularly Christmas can be such a challenging time for many survivors, that’s why this year we’re reaching out to survivors with some hints, ideas and tips for surviving the next few weeks. Expand Our message is that you can survive. Stay strong, create your own new traditions if you need to, and believe in yourself. Our 12 Tips for Surviving Christmas
#ActOnIICSA We are calling on your support to help us raise awareness of the recommendations of Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and the voices of the thousands of survivors involved. Find out how to get involved by writing to your local MP and visiting an IICSA legacy bench. Expand 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 group is comprised of members of the IICSA Victims and Survivors Consultative Panel (VSCP), and representatives from The Survivors Trust and their member agencies. Background The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse for England and Wales published its final report in October 2022 following a 7-year statutory inquiry. The inquiry’s final report outlined the main findings about the extent to which state and non-state institutions failed in their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation. The report called the nature and scale of abuse in England and Wales "horrific and deeply disturbing" and explained that institutions too often "prioritised their personal and institutional reputations above the welfare of those they were duty bound to protect”. It concluded that "child protection must be given a much greater priority in public life". The IICSA final report detailed a package of 20 recommendations needed to reform child protection. These recommendations were based on the culmination of 2.5 million pages of evidence and thousands of hours of evidence sessions, collectively involving more than 7,300 victims and survivors. Where are we now? On 10th January 2024, the Home Secretary provided a written statement to update the House of Commons (read the statement here) on the implementation of recommendations made by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in its final report published in October 2022. The Home Secretary told the house that the government was taking “concerted action” on “several of the Inquiry’s recommendations”. Most notably, the government has committed to introducing a mandatory reporting duty, under the Criminal Justice Bill, for people engaging with children to report incidents of child sexual abuse. Other updates include: a commitment to work across government to deliver the redress scheme announced in May 2023 following extensive engagement by the Home Office with experts in the field (recommendation 19). a commitment to publish a single response “as soon as possible” to its consultations on time limits to Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme applications, on CICS as a whole and on unspent convictions liability ( recommendation 19). Act on IICSA welcomes the progress made so far. We look forward to engaging with the government moving forward to ensure the inquiry's recommendations are implemented as an entire package to reform child protection in England and Wales. We must ensure a commitment to the recommendations of IICSA to create the lasting and transformational change which is needed to protect children from sexual abuse. How can you get involved? 1) Write a letter to your local MP urging them to support #ActOnIICSA and the crucial changes we need to protect children from sexual abuse. You can find the email address for the MP in your area here > 2) Visit and take a photo of your local IICSA legacy bench. We would like you to upload your images to social media using the hashtag #ActOnIICSA. Whether you choose to be in the photo or not, you could simply capture an image of the bench and plaque. These images will serve as a reminder and expression of support for everyone who has experienced child sexual abuse. You can find the benches' locations here - https://www.iicsa.org.uk/our-legacy.html#find-a-bench We would love to get the message #ActOnIICSA shared across social media to remind people that the findings of the inquiry cannot be ignored, and our government needs to take action to better protect children from sexual abuse. Click here to read more about the IICSA legacy benches >> Follow the hashtag #ActOnIICSA to see the latest posts.