Call to amend 'legal loophole' leaving teens vulnerable to abuse from those in 'positions of trust'

The MP is leading a cross-party group of politicians in a call for the Government to change the law to prevent faith leaders, sports coaches or driving instructors from having sex with 16 and 17-year olds under their supervision.

Currently, only people such as teachers and social workers are legally in a ‘position of trust’ under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, and as a result it is against the law for them to have sex with 16 or 17-year-olds that they supervise.

However, adults working in other settings, such as faith organisations or sports clubs, do not commit a crime if they have sex with children aged 16 or 17 under their supervision, even if the adult has significant power and influence over the child. 

Ms Champion said: “It makes no sense that young people should be protected from grooming and sexual abuse at school but not at their church or football club.

“Children attending youth groups at their church, participating in a gymnastics team or having driving lessons are vulnerable because the current law does not prevent the adults supervising them from engaging in sexual activity.

“The risk is particularly high in faith settings because adults holding positions in faith organisations are automatically seen as having authority, power and influence and the opportunity for abuse of that power is significant.

“It is not appropriate for an adult who has responsibility for supervising a child to engage in sexual activity with them and the law must be changed to recognise this.” 

Ms Champion, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Safeguarding in Faith Settings, will today launch a report calling for Government to broaden the definition of "positions of trust" to include all adults working with children following the group’s recent inquiry into the effectiveness of the current legislation in safeguarding young people within faith settings.

The report will contain detailed contributions from survivors, churches and safeguarding organisations.

The call to change the law comes is backed by many of the major church groups represented in the UK, including: The Church of England, the Methodist Church, the Catholic Safeguarding Advisory Service, the United Reformed Church and others.

A change in law is also supported by the NSPCC and a number of professional safeguarding bodies and academics.

Ms Champion said amending the law would “bring clarity and help to prevent abusers from exploiting the system to groom and abuse children”.

She added: "There is no reason why the Government should continue to resist. We have faith, sports and safeguarding organisations all demanding this change in law — now is the time for action not further excuses or delay,” she added.

Justin Humphreys, CEO at the independent safeguarding charity Thirtyone:eight, who provide support services to the APPG, said: “We have been leading discussions on the topic of positions of trust with the Christian community and its various denominations for the past 18 months, with general support for timely exploration and a change in the current legal provision. 

“However, this is not an area of interest that is just confined to the church. Similar concerns exist across faith groups and this report brings the voice of the faith sector clearly into this discussion.”