Telford CSE survivors call for more victims to come forward
Campaigners fighting for justice for victims of child sex abuse in Telford have launched an appeal for more survivors to come forward to tell their story.
Telford's Survivors' Committee, formerly the Reference Panel, is compiling a dossier of evidence that will be presented at an independent inquiry due to be held in the near future.
The group is calling for more people who suffered child sex exploitation in the past or those who are being abused now to come forward.
A new email address has been set up for people to send in information to the team that has lobbied Telford & Wrekin Council and other agencies for three years to get the inquiry set up.
The address is talktous@survivorscommittee.co.uk and contributors can request to remain anonymous.
In a statement the committee said: "We need the help of people out there who have been abused in the past. It doesn't matter how long ago that the abuse took place and it could even be that the person is being abused now.
"We have set up a secure email address that will only be seen by the Survivors' Committee and we would like people with that kind of information to write to us about what happened to them so that we can take it to the inquiry.
"Anybody can address the inquiry, but we know from general experience that abused people are not going to talk to anybody, but they can write to us instead. They can do it anonymously if they prefer.
"We are going to use the information to create a dossier so that people can tell their story and if they need help now, we have a team who can signpost them to the appropriate agency."
The committee is in the process of appointing a chairman, has taken on a solicitor to help with its inquiry preparations and is negotiating with the borough council over what recommendations will go to the inquiry.
Confident
The council has tendering for bids for a commissioning body to oversee the £350,000 independent CSE inquiry which could end up costing taxpayers £2 million.
Its finance chief Councillor Lee Carter told a recent meeting of the full council: "I'm confident that we're moving in the right direction with the CSE inquiry because I know we've got the confidence of the survivors and victims who we've been engaging with on a formal and informal basis throughout this process.
"The survivors are involved in this to a degree that they have not been in Telford and Wrekin for many years.
"They're involved to a level that has never been experienced across the whole country in the various investigations that have gone on.
"We promised that Telford would lead on tackling this issue and I'm confident that this inquiry and the way it's set up in its double independent status will deliver a first for the country, and it's already encountered a good start.
"The other reason I'm confident is again to the survivors and victims. I believe we now have a good enough relationship and constructive dialogue with them to overcome issues as we pioneer our way through this.
"Finally I'd also say that the survivors are happy that we're progressing along the right lines.
"Although we shouldn't take our good relationship with them for granted, we must keep engaging with them all the way through this.
"We can't take this for granted, we're on track and we're working very hard every day.
"I'd also add that just because we don't post all of our progress on Twitter or Facebook, there is day on day activity and progress with respect to this very important matter."
