I will be heard: Victims and survivors’ experiences of child sexual abuse in institutional contexts in England and Wales

By The Truth Project

The Truth Project was a core part of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (‘the Inquiry’) alongside public hearings and research. It was set up to hear and learn from the experiences of victims and survivors of child sexual abuse in England and Wales. With the consent of participants, the Inquiry used Truth Project information in a variety of ways, including for research and data analysis. By doing so, Truth Project participants chose what they wished to share and made an important contribution to the work of the Inquiry. The aim of this research was to examine victims and survivors’ experiences of child sexual abuse across different time periods, victims and survivors’ characteristics and the institutional contexts in which they were sexually abused. We have used the term ‘institutional context’ in this report to refer to child sexual abuse that occurred in the physical location of an institution (for example a school) and/or was perpetrated by an individual affiliated with that institution (for example a teacher). This is the Inquiry’s seventh and final research report drawing on Truth Project information, following previous publications on child sexual abuse in religious institutions, children’s homes and residential care, custodial institutions, sports, healthcare and schools. The report draws together the accounts of more than 5,800 victims and survivors, one of the world’s largest samples of people who have suffered child sexual abuse. It is the Inquiry’s first research report to identify similarities and differences across institutional contexts.

London: Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, 2022. 193p.