The government is considering making changes to child abuse laws in the wake of scandals including the recent allegations of paedophile links to politicians and public officials, as well as details of alleged abuse by famous figures such as Jimmy Savile.
David Cameron has announced he would consider bringing in changes to the law which would make it an offence to not report suspicions of child abuse.
This follows the NSPCC announcing they would support so-called “mandatory reporting” in the aftermath of allegations of a cover-up of alleged child abuse in Westminster.
Traditionally, child protection organisations have suggested there was no need for a mandatory reporting law.
The charity now says it supports enforcing a duty on institutions like boarding schools, residential care homes and hospitals to pass information on to the police or the local authority rather than investigate allegations themselves.
Lawyers have welcomed the calls for change, labelling it as significant for the victims of abuse.
In 2013, Sir Keir Starmer, the former director of public prosecutions in England and Wales, became the first senior legal figure to call for a law to require all institutions to report allegations of abuse.
In many other countries, including France and the USA, it is already possible to be prosecuted for attempting to cover up allegations of abuse.
Home Secretary, Theresa May, has already announced an inquiry to examine how allegations of child abuse were handled at major public institutions in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s.