Child prostitution convictions of abuse victims to be pardoned under law change

Victims of child sex abuse unjustly convicted of child prostitution instead of being protected will have their criminal record wiped under changes to the law.

New measures included in the Crime and Policing Bill will automatically pardon historic offences of loitering and soliciting prostitution as children, to recognise that victims were criminalised for actions taken under duress.

The move acts on one of 12 recommendations made by Baroness Louise Casey in her review of grooming gangs published in June.

In her call for changes, Baroness Casey said: “Unless Government and all the organisations involved are able to stand up and acknowledge the failures of the past, to apologise for them unreservedly, and to act now to put things right, including current cases, we will not move on as a society.”

The pardon scheme will apply to people convicted of on-street prostitution offences when they were under 18, before child prostitution was abolished in law in 2015.

The change to automatically disregard the historic convictions will mean victims and survivors will no longer need to request it.

It is expected the law change will benefit hundreds of people, according to the Home Office.

Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips said: “These amendments send a clear message: we will not allow failures of the past to define the futures of those who were let down by the system in so many ways.

“Victims and survivors of child sexual exploitation deserve nothing but compassion and support, not a criminal record. Today, we are taking decisive action to put that right.”

Gabrielle Shaw, chief executive of charity National Association of People Abused in Childhood, said the move was a step towards “restoring justice” for survivors of child abuse.

“Our own research, drawn from over 46,000 interactions with victims, tells us that both recognition of the abuse and being believed are integral to how survivors themselves define a positive justice outcome,” she said.

“The decision to disregard and pardon these convictions is a significant step towards building a justice system that can offer better, more survivor-centred outcomes.”

The reform comes as the Government has faced fallout over its national inquiry into child grooming gangs, after the loss of the two candidates to chair the probe and the resignations of five women from the victims liaison panel last month.

There has been mounting pressure on the Government to move forward with the inquiry, first announced by the Prime Minister in June following Baroness Casey’s review, including by setting out terms of reference and appointing a chairperson.

A Government source said it could take months for ministers to find the right chairperson, after the two candidates quit the recruitment process leaving no candidates left in the running.

Meanwhile, a new national policing operation recommended by Baroness Casey has been established under Operation Beaconport, to review closed cases of child sexual exploitation.