over 600 childhood victims of sex abuse Sexual Abuser

January 2009 Over 600 childhood victims of sex abuse MORE than 600 children in Devon and Cornwall were victims of sexual abuse in 2007/8, research by children’s charity the NSPCC has revealed.

Out of 620 cases, 123 children were aged 10 or under.

Five victims were aged three and one was just two years old.

The charity says children were the victims of sex offences on more than 20,000 occasions recorded by police in England and Wales last year.

Police statistics show there were 20,758 under-18s who were victims of sex crimes, including rape, gross indecency and incest.

The number of offences recorded against girls was six times higher than the number against boys.

The NSPCC is now calling on the Government to collect and publish annual data from police forces showing the number and ages of victims, and to clearly link this with the number of convictions and other penalties resulting from the recorded offences.

The charity wants the Government to use this data as the basis of an improved national strategy to prevent abuse and develop local services.

NSPCC head of policy and public affairs Phillip Noyes said: “If we are able to get these details every year it will start to build a more accurate picture of what is happening and we can make more concerted efforts to protect children.” In Devon and Cornwall, the NSPCC’s Young Witness Support Services provides preparation and support to youngsters who are required to give evidence in criminal proceedings relating to child abuse, primarily sexual abuse.