Mandatory Reporting

The final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) contained several recommendations for the government to implement into law. One of these was that the government should legislate to introduce “Mandatory Reporting”. At present in England and Wales, there is no statutory obligation for reporting abuse whilst most European countries together with parts of the US, Canada and Australia have this law. IICSA’s recommendation would require individuals in certain employments (paid or voluntary) and professions to report allegations of child sexual abuse to the relevant authorities. Failure to do so could lead to the commission of a new criminal offence of “failure to report an allegation of child sexual abuse when required to do so.”

• Mandatory Reporting – what is it and how does it work in other jurisdictions?
• What are the common pitfalls of Mandatory Reporting?
• To whom will Mandatory Reporting apply? The police? Social workers? People in the voluntary sector?
• What are the offences, and what are the consequences of “failure to report”.
• What did IICSA recommend in their report?
• What is the government doing about implementing Mandatory Reporting?

When are we likely to see Mandatory Reporting introduced?