Moral confusion, public panic and flawed science are undermining social policy and putting children at risk. Last year, 55,000 adult-on-child sexual abuse and exploitation offences were reported in the UK - a record high - yet we are no closer to effective prevention than decades ago. Approaches to managing and rehabilitating offenders remain contested, and few politicians are willing to advance bold solutions.

Drawing on a decade investigating abuse in institutions, Alex Renton shows how often those in authority knew and failed to act. Time and again, complacency and reputation management have enabled abusers - from boarding schools to the Church of England - revealing a pattern of otherwise decent figures who look the other way.

Through survivor testimonies and exposed cases, Renton identifies deep systemic failures that persist across institutions, from schools and care homes to the BBC and NHS. With around 200,000 children in residential care, the urgent question remains: can those in charge protect them - and how? This book sets out to answer it.