I understand why many people believe the past should be left, and focus of police and other agencies on current sexual abuse. I don't agree, because there is so much to learn from what went wrong. If Simon Danczuk had taken this approach to Cyril Smith, the majority of the population would have assumed the allegations against CS were just that. As with JS, we now know that they were serial abusers.
It is horrible to have these trials and investigations dominating the news as they are right now. On a more positive note, I hope it'll help society understand that the sexual abuse of children is much more frequent than any of us would wish it to be.
Anniebach, working in the north west meant the rumours about nw were persistent. My last involvement with it was just before I retired, when I listed to a father describe the abuse he experienced at one of the nw homes, as he wept. Truly awful to listen to, but he really needed to talk and it was the least I could do. He, like other parents I worked with, had been approached by the recent investigation, but felt unable to help the police with their enquiries because he couldn't face formal interviews, or the ridicule he/she would have faced in court.