VO is violence against women and girls.
If you take child sexual abuse out of
it, where are the girls?
>> That was Poppy's reaction after Sky News
revealed that child sexual abuse may not
be a prominent part of the government's
upcoming strategy to tackle violence
against women and girls. Poppy was
sexually abused and raped by her
grandfather when she was just 4 years
old. He was convicted and died in
prison. Now age 20, she campaigns for
better protections for children, but she
has concerns.
>> Children are once again being left in
the air with with no one advocating for
them at the moment. Poppy's fears have
been echoed by 10 child protection
groups who've written to the home
secretary to raise their concerns about
child sexual abuse being emitted from
the strategy, saying the government
cannot truly tackle violence against
women and girls without tackling the
sexual abuse of children. Without a
focus on child sexual abuse and
exploitation, it's the strategy will
really miss a golden opportunity. If the
government doesn't seize this
opportunity, then yet again the needs
and best interests of those girls will
be overlooked. The government told us
its violence against women and girls
strategy will include action to tackle
child sexual abuse, that they recognize
the issues overlap, but they also say
they'll set out a distinct program to
address it specific crimes. It's this
internal home office document that we
obtained. It's titled draft definition
of vorg, that's violence against women
and girls. It then goes on to say the
strategy recognizes the links between
child sexual exploitation and abuse and
violence against women and girls, but
says it's not explicitly within the
scope of the strategy.
>> My message to the government is that if
you're going to make child sexual abuse
a separate thing, we need it now. In a
statement, the government said they're
working tirelessly to tackle the
appalling crimes of violence against
women and girls and child sexual
exploitation and abuse. We're already
investing in new programs and
introducing landmark laws to overhaul
the policing and criminal justice
response to these crimes. It's estimated
there are half a million children like
Poppy in England and Wales who are
sexually abused every year. Campaigners
and charities that support them are
clear. They need to be at the center of
any plan to tackle violence against
women and girls. Molly Malone, Sky News.