Jimmy Savile hosting Top of The Pops in 1964. Still courtesy of the BBC
Teachers, doctors, and other professionals who fail to report suspected cases of child abuse should face criminal prosecution according to one of Britain’s most senior barristers.
Keir Starmer, former director of public prosecutions, told the BBC’s Panorama programme that schools and hospitals have repeatedly failed to safeguard children, and “mandatory reporting” could push them to act. Under his plans, the failure to act could result in a short jail sentence or a fine, continuing:
“There are just too many examples of cases where those who have suspected abuse have not really done anything about it and the perpetrator has either got away with it or, worse still, been able to perpetuate the offending.”
The Church of England and the Catholic Church have both come out in support of plans for mandatory reporting for the first time, with recent scandals likely to have forced them to accept that current rules were not adequate to protect children.
However, the government disagrees with the idea of a mandatory reporting law, saying that current guidance urging professionals to report child abuse should be sufficient, with a constant threat of criminal prosecution unlikely to help the situation.
Panorama uncovered recently declassified evidence on the failure of schools and hospitals to adequately protect children from sex offenders for an episode entitled After Savile: No More Secrets? to be broadcast tonight.