At present, the law allows only for adults in certain jobs to be prosecuted, such as teachers and social workers. Roles that fall outside this definition of “position of trust” include private tutors, driving instructors and coaches in after-school clubs, as well as vicars, imams and other religious leaders. A report published by a cross-party group of MPs called for this “legal loophole” to be closed. Of the 495 cases where the adult’s role was recorded, the majority (31%) were in sport and 14% were in religious settings. However, campaigners argue that this ignores the power imbalance present in religious settings, sports clubs and other youth activities.

Source: The Guardian January 28, 2020 13:30 UTC