A legal expert said today that the issue of childhood sexual abuse in the Scout Association is “not a historical one”, as an investigation revealed the charity settled 166 cases in the past 10 years.
The investigation by BBC File on 4 found the Scouts had paid out more than £6m in compensation during the same period.
It follows a campaign launched on Monday by child abuse survivors in the Scouts, which pledges to hold the organisation “to account for its past failings”.
BBC File on 4 received the latest data from eight law firms specialising in child abuse claims, all of which are in the Association of Child Abuse Lawyers.
Bolt Burdon Kemp was among the law firms to provide data to the BBC.
Abbie Hickson, an associate at Bolt Burdon Kemp, told Third Sector her firm had settled more than 100 abuse claims against the Scout Association in the past decade, recovering nearly £5m in compensation for survivors.
“The issue of childhood sexual abuse within the Scout Association is not a historical one,” said Hickson.
“Sadly, we continue to see scout leaders from all over the UK being convicted of sexual offences against children.”
The data revealed that, in the past 10 years, at least 260 claims had been lodged against the Scouts, of which 166 were settled and 50 were not successful.
A spokesperson for the Scouts said: “Any form of abuse is abhorrent and we are deeply sorry for anyone who has suffered because of the actions of abusers.
“We have robust safeguarding policies, training and procedures in place. These are now reviewed every other year by the NSPCC, following three in-depth, independent reviews since 2007.”
The spokesperson said the Scouts’ “procedures and training change as a result of these reviews”, adding: “We exclude anyone who is proven to not follow our processes.”
Hickson has created an interactive map detailing the scale of sexual abuse within the Scouts, which she described as “truly staggering”.
“We must continue to shine a light on this issue to force the Scout Association to recognise its failures of the past and to ensure it improves its safeguarding procedures so that scouts of today and the future are kept safe from sexual abusers,” she added.
Previous analysis released in 2021 revealed that more than 250 people in the UK and Ireland had been convicted of child sexual abuse offences committed when they were in positions of responsibility in the Scouts movement.