This article has been brought to you by Slough Borough Council's Education Safeguarding Professional, Zarine Power for the attention of all schools.
The Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse (CSA Centre) has published a study on the provision of support services in England and Wales for children who have experienced sexual abuse; families of children who have been sexually abused; and adults sexually abused in childhood. As well as a mapping exercise, 124 sexual abuse support services completed an online questionnaire which asked about changes to service provision and experiences of providing support. The report highlights a shortage of provision across England and Wales, including significant geographical variation with the North West, West Midlands and South East having particularly low levels of service provision. More than two-thirds of survey respondents said their services had waiting lists. The report discusses implications for policymakers, funders and commissioners.
Read the report: Support Matters: a comprehensive study of the landscape of service provision in response to child sexual abuse in England & Wales