Heywood and Middleton MP, Chris Clarkson, has today welcomed the publication of the 'Tackling Child Abuse Strategy' which sets out how the government will use new legislation and enhanced technology to stop offenders in their tracks.
The MP welcomed the first-of-its-kind national strategy to protect children from all forms of sexual abuse and praised the fresh approach which will relentlessly pursue abusers, whilst offering better protection to victims and survivors.
These measures are on top of civil orders which were introduced by the government to stop reoffending and enforce tougher sentencing so that serious violent and sexual offenders remain in prison for longer.
Mr Clarkson has also praised the announcement that the Home Office will make it easier for parents and carers to ask police if someone with access to their children has a criminal record for child sexual offences.
The government will support local areas, including Rochdale, to improve their response to exploitation through the Home Office-funded Prevention Programme, and will introduce the Online Safety Bill to ensure that technology companies are held to account for harmful content on their sites, and develop robust strategies to identity online child sexual abuse.
The strategy also aims to improve the data that is available on offenders by working with local authorities to understand and respond to threats within their communities to help tackle the abuse that has blighted many areas of our country.
Commenting on the announcement, Mr Clarkson said: “These crimes have a devastating impact on the lives of victims and the public rightly expect the government to rid our communities of these most heinous of crimes, which have been a stain them. I welcome the introduction of this strategy as I believe that we must stop at nothing to prevent these crimes and pursue offenders to give our children and young people the childhood they so rightly deserve.”
