On Thursday 7 August 2025, the ‘I’ newspaper published Kemi Badenoch’s comments on the case of Elizabeth Fritzl. The leader of the opposition stated that the Fritzl case was a key factor in the loss of her Christian belief. But instead of showing due concern for what the Fritzl family – and other survivors of childhood abuse – continue to endure, Badenoch concluded by refocusing attention on herself, stating the retention of her Christian identity before progressing to a dig at Reform UK Ltd as “pretenders” to the political definition of Centre-Right.
Political narcissism running wild
Via this heartlessly selfish and narcissistic display, Badenoch exploited the suffering of child abuse survivors in general – and Fritzl in particular – in an equally heartless (and trivialising) display of political opportunism.
She, however, is not alone. On Radio Four’s Any Questions programme on Friday 2 May 2025, the political columnist Tim Montgomerie attempted to discuss the grooming gangs scandal with the MP for Manchester Central and Lord President of the Council, Lucy Powell. Her response was even more trivialising and offensive; referring to the issue as a “little trumpet” and a “dog whistle”.
Abuse survivors are not political pawns
Even though Powell subsequently apologised for her flippant and insensitive response, her comments – and those of Badenoch – nevertheless represent a fundamental tendency to exploit the experiences of abuse survivors for political ends; while no thought at all is given to what it actually feels like to live with the consequences of abuse or the fact that abuse survivors are not simply rhetorical pawns but vulnerable human beings who remain in desperate need of help, recognition and support.
In fact, survivors of childhood abuse are exploited right across the societal, economic and institutional board and their reduction to political soundbites by people in positions of power is not the end of the matter.
Rebranding survivors of childhood abuse as a ‘growth industry’
As my own efforts to secure justice have taught me, solicitors gobble Legal Aid funding like a horde of suited Gargantuas while persistently failing to achieve outcomes for their clients so that survivors are left with no option but to represent themselves in court. Media reporting of child sexual abuse has been criticised as being “sensationalist” and harmful to the victim, with research from across the world showing a pattern of media coverage that could be harmful to survivors of abuse.
Victims are rarely given the opportunity to tell their own stories. Private healthcare companies such as the notorious Priory Group routinely fail our most vulnerable citizens through the provision of dangerously substandard mental health services and the Department for Work and Pensions awards lucrative contracts for disability benefit assessment to companies like Capita, SERCO , Maximus and Ingeus UK, despite the well-publicised harm to vulnerable claimants that is the result of such profiteering.
Victims and survivors of childhood abuse have thus been rebranded as a political and economic growth industry but Cui Bono?
Certainly not us. We are simply left to struggle on alone, beset on all sides by continued denials of the help and support that we so desperately need while others profit from our distress.
A blueprint for change
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, chaired by Professor Alexis Jay, produced its final report and 20 recommendations in 2022, at a cost to the public purse of £188mn.
To date, not one of these recommendations has been implemented, so that survivors – and especially those (including myself) who testified their experiences of childhood abuse – are once again left feeling that they are completely on their own.
Change in this case needs to start at the very top; beginning with a designated government department for the benefit of, run by and regularly consulting with adult survivors of childhood abuse so that they are no longer forced into silence by governments who just do not want to listen.
The purpose of this department would be to identify and work to remove the barriers to justice, health care and socio-economic inclusion that abuse survivors face in their daily lives; working closely with the Law Society, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Police, the NHS, local authorities and the relevant Secretaries of State to ensure that survivors’ voices can directly influence government policy rather than simply being ignored.
And if £188mn can be wasted on an Inquiry that the government continues to ignore, then they can find the money to ensure that survivors’ voices can finally be meaningfully heard.
Without this, survivors will continue to live out their lives on the societal and economic margins; rejected, failed, ignored, blamed and stigmatised by a government and society that refuses to include them.
We could contribute so much. All we need is a chance.
