UK Report On Child Sexual Abuse Released

The UK's report on child sexual abuse in a number of religious institution has been released. Like most such reports, it's tough reading. There are a number of lessons in the report for youth-serving organizations:

• Survivors and the commission believe that the institutions did not take the claims seriously. To quote the report, “The protection of personal and institutional reputations above the protection of children was a frequent institutional reaction.”
• Institutions not only need to investigate claims thoroughly, but offer some sort of assistance to victims. As the report noted, “The institutional responses often involved insincere apologies and the inadequate provision of support and counselling, thereby compounding the harm.”