The event will now begin with a networking lunch at 1pm.

Invitation to BME Organisations to attend Bristol Stakeholder Engagement Event on 28/03/18

Staff from the Inquiry visited Bristol in December 2017 to meet with organisations working with BME and Diverse communities and received very positive responses to the Truth Project. One theme that emerged from these was the suggestion we bring together all organisations supporting these communities to create a joined-up plan for bringing the Truth Project to these in Bristol - as well as potentially nationally. This is therefore what we are doing and will be our desired outcome for this event.

The Inquiry’s Truth Project is open to any victim or survivor who wishes to share their experience of child sexual abuse with us. The Inquiry therefore has a duty to make sure that anyone choosing to do so can access Truth in suitable ways.  We recognise that there are factors which may make Truth more accessible for some people than others, such as language, disability or ethnicity, and that is is our responsibility to create “equality of opportunity” so that any inequalities preventing access are removed. In doing this we will endeavour to meet the public sector duties explicit within the Equalities Act 2010.

The Inquiry has already developed Equalities and Diversity Objectives which set out our ambition to “provide equality of access and consistency of service for all external parties wishing to engage with it”. This aim is reinforced in its Truth Project Strategy which says “we will work to determine awareness routes and delivery methods for Truth that will meet the needs of those who find our existing offer difficult to access”. Additionally, the Inquiry has developed a Diverse Communities Strategy which outlines our plans and timescales for work with the wide range of communities that we believe may experience obstacles to participating in Truth. Our task now is to make this vision a reality for Victims and Survivors from these communities.

In order to progress this work we want to open a conversation with local organisations whom we believe can help us achieve our vision. As a first step we are holding an event in Bristol to discuss our approach to Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities specifically. We will host similar events in future that will open conversations regarding other groups - and organisations which support them - whom we wish to reach out to.

We believe your organisation has an important contribution to make to this discussion and we would therefore be pleased if you would join us for this event. Full details of the event date, venue, start time and an outline of the content is contained in the e-mail accompanying this invite. We hope you can join us and if so look forward to seeing you on the day.

Sophie Walia, Diversity and Inclusion Lead, IICSA

David Poole, Head of Inquiry Office - South West England, IICSA

More information regarding the Truth Project can be found at: https://www.truthproject.org.uk/i-will-be-heard