1,000s of disabled people in UK sexually abused: Charity
A UK charity has revealed that nearly 5,000 disabled British adults have been sexually abused across England in the past two years.
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) said Monday that data collected from 106 councils showed 4,748 reports of sex abuse against disabled adults in the financial years 2013-14 and 2014-15, up to February 16, 2015.
Almost two-thirds, or 63%, of the cases were against victims with learning difficulties and 37% were against those with physical disabilities.
The charity said the reported cases are the “visible peak” of what could be a much larger problem.
“We know with sexual abuse that many victims find it difficult to speak out,” said Jon Brown, with the NSPCC.
According to Brown, research has shown that “disabled children and young people are three or four times more likely to be abused and neglected than children and young people who are not disabled.”
In response to the released data, the Local Government Association told British media that one of the most important tasks councils do is “keeping people safe, including people with learning disabilities,” adding that councils strive to ensure support is available when abuse cases are reported.
The released data follows recent comments by Home Secretary Theresa May saying that sexual exploitation runs through every level of the British society.
May warned on March 14 that an ongoing child abuse inquiry targeting British politicians and public figures will implicate many public services, including schools, hospitals and youth clubs as well as “many other institutions that should have been places of safety, but instead became the setting for the most appalling abuse.”
The inquiry was set up following revelations about crimes committed by Jimmy Savile, a disgraced former TV host with the state-funded British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Savile died in 2011, but, following his death, hundreds of allegations of sex abuse and rape of minors became public.
Several high-profile figures have so far been arrested in connection with the multiple investigations into the abuse scandal surrounding Savile.
CAH/HJL/HRB
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