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Nearly 7,000 child sexual abuse cases stuck in courts

We’re calling on the government to take urgent action to clear the backlog

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  • Child sexual abuse cases stuck in the court system hit nearly 7,000 — a 9% rise on the previous year.
  • On average, victims of child sexual abuse and exploitation in England and Wales are waiting ten months for their chance to see justice in the courts. The delay jumps to around 18 months for cases of rape of a child aged 13 to 15.
  • We’re calling on criminal justice agencies to fast-track all open cases of child sexual abuse and exploitation, particularly for under-16s.
  • We’re also calling for the government to provide victims with therapeutic support.
  • This comes as Victims Minister Alex Davies-Jones MP visited our Letting the Future In (LTFI) specialist therapeutic service in Leeds.

Open child sexual abuse cases have risen to nearly 7,000 in the past year — a 9% rise on the previous year — leaving thousands of young victims in limbo and struggling to move forward with their lives.

The Ministry of Justice shared new data with us that shows that in 2024/25 there were 6,989 child sexual abuse and exploitation offence cases awaiting trial at the Crown Court, being tried, or awaiting sentencing across the UK.

These figures show that long waits for justice continue, with child sexual abuse cases taking an average of 295 days, or ten months, to progress from charge to completion.

Alarmingly the average timeframe extends to around 18 months for cases of rape of a child aged 13 to 15.1

Childline has heard from young victims who are experiencing court delays, with many sharing that these waiting times have a devasting impact on their mental health and wellbeing, such as causing or worsening depression, leading to suicidal thoughts, or struggles with post-traumatic stress.

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One girl aged 17 told Childline:

“We’re still waiting on the case to go to court. I can’t move on with my life in the meantime. I want to focus on school and my friends but find myself talking about what happened instead. I didn’t realise how dragged out the process would be.”

Another girl aged 14 told Childline:

“The other person is getting on with their life while I’m stuck feeling anger, frustration, feeling numb, just waiting. I need the court case over with.”

Tackling the problem

We’re calling on the government to fast-track court proceedings and take urgent action to clear the backlog of open cases of child sexual abuse and exploitation offences in the Crown Court.

Newly available figures show that tackling this problem is possible.

In 2024/25 there was a 14% increase in cases of child sexual abuse and exploitation going through the courts — 7,621 cases compared to 6,705 in 2023/2024.

We think these early, positive developments suggest children are becoming more confident in coming forward and they want to see more action taken to ensure these improvements continue.

We’re also urging the government to work with criminal justice agencies to review the Young Witness Initiative Protocol, which enables court proceedings to be expedited for witnesses under the age of ten, to ensure it is being used appropriately and consistently.

We’re keen to see the protocol extended, in cases of sexual abuse and exploitation, to all those under the age of 16.

The new data on court delays comes as Victims Minister Alex Davies-Jones MP paid a visit to our LTFI service in Leeds, a specialist therapeutic support service for child victims of sexual abuse.2 3

During the visit, Davies-Jones heard from practitioners and survivors about the devasting impact court delays can have on young victims of child sexual abuse and the vital role that specialist support can play in helping them begin to rebuild their lives.

We’re concerned that not only are victims of child sexual abuse facing a drawn-out justice process, but many are unable to access services like LTFI. This is due to the lack of availability of specialist support, with 55,000 people on waiting lists for support services.4

Leaving a child unable to access specialist support when and where they need it impacts every area of their life, affecting their health and mental health, education, and relationships with family and friends.

We’re also calling for essential investment in specialist support for all young victims of abuse and exploitation.5

Maria Neophytou, Director of Strategy and Knowledge at NSPCC, said:

“No one should have to face agonisingly long waits for their case to go to court and reach a resolution, but this is especially true for child victims of sexual abuse and exploitation.

“Not only do these waits cause significant anxiety and worry for children who have already experienced serious trauma, but they can also delay young victims from being able to access the support they need to start to recover from abuse.

“We want the government to help ensure more young witnesses’ cases are going through the courts by using their upcoming response to the Leveson Inquiry to set out urgent action to tackle the remaining backlog and reduce delays for child victims.

“Too many children still can’t access the support they need to rebuild their lives following sexual abuse, so we are also urging the government to invest in therapeutic support for children and place a duty on local agencies to commission specialist support on local agencies through the Victims and Courts Bill.”

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References

  1. 1) This 562-day average wait refers specifically to the offence of rape of a male aged 13 to 15, which had 51 defendants (47 of those were valid). The next highest average wait for rape cases, 542 days, was for the offence of rape of a female aged 13 to 15, which had 648 defendants (571 of those were valid). 

  2. 2) LTFI is a NICE-endorsed service for survivors aged between 4 and 17, with a trained practitioner supporting them in activities such as writing, messy play, storytelling and art.

  3. 3) It is important to note that the court delays data does not show us who is still currently under the age of 18 but is broken down by offence type.

    The Ministry of Justice revealed via a Freedom of Information request that, for Crown Court cases about sexual abuse offences involving victims under the age of 18, the mean number of days from charge to completion in England and Wales were: 296 for 2023/2024, and 295 for 2024/2025.

  4. 4) After seven years of hearing evidence from thousands of survivors and other experts, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) called for a national guarantee of specialist therapeutic support for child victims of sexual abuse. Two years on, progress towards implementing that recommendation has stalled, and urgent action from government is now needed.

  5. 5) A 2024 report by the Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse (CSA Centre) highlighted that there are more than 55,000 children and adults affected by childhood sexual abuse in England and Wales estimated to be held on waiting lists for support.