Stop Press! Child Sexual Abuse Newsletter

Stop! Press
Issue 16 - July 2011
Together we can prevent child sexual abuse
The quarterly Stop it Now! UK and Ireland activity update
Taking prevention into Europe
St op i t N ow ! U K a n d I r e la n d is
w el l k n o w n f o r i t s b el i e f t h a t a l l
a d u l ts a r e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r
p r ot e c t in g c h i l d re n f r o m s e x u a l
a b u s e – a b el i e f w h i c h i s
i n c r e a s i n g l y b ei n g e m b r a c e d
a c r o s s E u r o p e.
Director of Stop it Now! UK
and Ireland said: “The aim of
the campaign and the Helpline
is to equip adults to protect
children from sexual abuse
and we are delighted that
other countries are looking to
adopt a similar ethos and
incorporate some of our work
in their own nations.
“In Holland, De Waag is
looking at starting a Helpline
and in Poland the Nobody’s
Children Foundation is aiming
to incorporate prevention
messages in its campaigning
and marketing work. This
prevention agenda is essential
if we are to effectively tackle
child sexual abuse.”
Marina Yannakoudakis,
MEP for London, is hosting a
briefing in September, in
Brussels, called ‘Information
Helplines as part of Child
Protection Services‘ in which
the Stop it Now! UK and
Ireland campaign and
Helpline will be showcased to
members of the European
Parliament and other
European organisations.
Editor’s Note
W e l c o m e t o t h e J u l y e d i t i o n o f S t o p ! P r e s s . A s y o u’ l l
r e a d w e’ r e s ti l l w o r k i n g h a r d a c r o s s t h e U K a n d
E u r o p e! I w a s d e l i g h t ed to r ec e n t l y v i s i t D e W a a g i n
A m s t e r d a m t o h el p t h e m p l a n a S t o p i t N o w !
H el p l i n e a n d c a m p a i g n f o r H o l l a n d a n d I a m
eq u a l l y ex c i t e d a b o u t t h e f o r t h c o m i n g E u ro p e a n
P a r l i a m e n t b r i ef i n g o n h o w H el p l i n es f o rm p a r t t h e
c h i l d p ro t ec t i o n a g en d a ( o p p o s i t e) .
T h e S t o p i t N o w ! H e l p li n e
Over the last few months
representatives from a number
Our Helpline has been assisting people prevent
of European countries have
child sexual abuse since June 2002 and call volume
visited Stop it Now! – including
continues to rise despite limited publicity due to
Holland, Finland, Poland and
funding constraints. To date, we have helped
Switzerland – all of whom are
10,600 people each protect at least one child.
keen to take the prevention
Callers include adults worried about their own
agenda forward in their own
thoughts
and behaviour, adults concerned about
countries.
the behaviour of another adult, and adults
The Stop it Now! campaign
concerned about a child or young person. Each
acts on the principle that
caller is given information and support by trained
children can be protected from
operators who explore the options available,
abuse if adults are aware of how
including referral to our own follow-up service or
abusers operate and are
another agency. One or more protective actions
confident about what to do if
that the caller will take are also agreed. In many
they are worried that abuse may
cases callers are not in contact with child
be occurring.
protection or criminal justice agencies, mostly for
There is a growing
fear of repercussions. Our Helpline demonstrates
understanding that children are
that people can and do take action to prevent child
more likely to be abused by
sexual abuse when they have a safe place to talk
people they know, and that
and when given sound information. We would be
abusers are not the ‘monsters’
thrilled to see this model adopted across Europe.
portrayed by the media, but
Look out for in-depth features on our caller groups
familiar and trusted adults,
in the next edition of Stop! Press.
which can make disclosure more
Fu n d i n g
difficult. For some children
On pages 4 and 5 you will read about
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Donald Findlater,
M O R E O N T H E HE L P L I N E A N D C A MP A I G N
ww w.s top itno w. org. uk
working to protect children
Commit to Prevent! wraps up – but the
work continues in Wales
St op i t N ow ! W a le s i s
s e n d i n g h u g e t h a n ks t o
ev e r yo n e w h o s u p p o r t ed
i t s A s s e m b l y E l ec t i o n 2 0 1 1
c a m p a i g n , C o m m i t to
P r ev e n t ! . L a u n c h e d i n J u l y
2 0 1 0 , t h e c a m p a ig n a im e d
to p u t p r e v e n ti n g c h i l d
s e xu a l a bu s e o n t h e
po li t ic a l a g e n d a a n d
en s u re a c o n t i n u e d
c o m m i t m en t f r o m th e
F o u r t h A s s em b l y b ey o n d
Ma y 2 0 1 1 .
Gr e at s up p o r t
The campaign
encouraged members of
the public to get involved
and over 1500 public
signatures were collected.
In addition, 43 Assembly
Candidates signed up
online, including Gwenda
Thomas AM, Deputy
Minister for Children and
Social Services.
National Manager,
Rebecca Morgan said: “I
was overwhelmed by the
support of the Welsh
public and delighted that
43 Assembly Candidates
signed our online petition;
18 of whom are now
elected Assembly
Members.
1500 Public Signatures
43 Assembly Candidate Signatures
“Through our presence
at the National Eisteddfod
in August 2010, and
through our direct
engagement with the
public, we saw clear
evidence of how passionate
and powerful the public’s
commitment to this issue
is. A large volume of
people are affected by
child sexual abuse, and
there is such relief when
people feel able to talk
openly about this.”
M o v i n g f o rw a r d - A c t t o
Pr e v e n t !
Stop it Now! Wales has
vowed that this work will
continue and is preparing
to embark on a new
campaign – Act to P rev ent!.
This drive will aim to build
on the work done so far to
ensure that the prevention
of child sexual abuse is,
and remains, a strategic
priority for the Welsh
Government and the
National Assembly for
Wales.
Check out
www.stopitnow.org.uk over
the coming weeks to find
out more.
Reaching out to prisoners in Scotland
A n e w p r o g ra m m e d es i g n e d t o g i v e p ri s o n e rs i n S c o t l a n d i n f o rm a t i o n a b o u t c h i l d
s e x u a l a b u s e, i t ’s p r ev e n t i o n a n d w h e re h e l p c a n b e f o u n d i s b ei n g p i l o t e d i n
A d d ie w e ll P r is on b y S t op it N o w ! Sc o t la n d .
Ta lk ab OUT it !
The ‘Talk abOUT it!’
project involves making
information about sexual
abuse available to
prisoners preparing for
release through a targeted
booklet; hosting
information on the internal
prison information kiosk
and within the Visitor
Centre; and placing posters
throughout the prison.
Information includes
details on the possible
effects of sexual abuse,
obstacles that can deter
people from talking about
it, the importance of
support for families and
T h e d e l i v e r y o f a c c u r a t e, p r o p o r t i o n a t e a n d t a r g e te d
i n f o r m a t i o n o n c h i l d s e x u a l a b u s e to S c o t t i s h p r i s o n e r s
h a s t h e f o l l o w i n g a d v a n ta g e s : • Providing general awareness and educational
information leads to better general prevention and
reporting from the community (since most prisoners
will, eventually, rejoin the general public).
• Providing targeted information better enables
(some) prisoners to disclose their childhood
experiences and receive requisite services.
• Providing targeted information better enables
(some) prisoners to identify potentially harmful
behaviour and therefore to seek early help for
themselves or for others who may already be (or
become) likely to abuse.
• Providing public health information reinforces the
prison environment as an opportunity for learning,
rehabilitation and responsible citizenship.
children, how abuse can
be prevented and an
extensive list of sources
of help available.
Ge t t i n g h e l p
National Manager,
Martin Henry said:
“There are agencies
which provide support
and advice to those
affected by child sexual
abuse, including men who
have been in the criminal
justice system who may
have suffered child sexual
abuse or have current
issues of concern.
“It is vital to ensure that
those who need these
resources know about
them and are helped to
access them.”
It is hoped the
programme will increase
the pro-social behaviour
and quality of life for
prisoners and ex-prisoners
who have experienced
child sexual abuse,
resulting in communities
0808 1000 900 | [email protected] | www.stopitnow.org.uk
and families becoming
more stable.
“We’ve been working on
this project for some time
and are really pleased to
see it coming together,”
added Martin.
“We are also looking at
strengthening this
relationship with Addiewell
Prison and are considering
providing short
presentations to prisoners
during their induction.”
The pilot will be
evaluated by the end of the
year and reported on in
future editions of Stop!
Press.
Stop Press! | Issue 16
2
Parents Protect! prevention messages spanning England, Wales and
The Parents
soon to be Scotland!
Protect! prog
ramm
minu
te public edu
e is a 90cation sessio
carers and o
n
fo
r parents,
ther adults to
After receiving Department for Education funding, Parents
raise awaren
child sexual
ess of
abuse and pro
Protect! sessions are being rolled out across the country by Stop it
vide positive
messages ab
out what they
Now! England. In the last three months 96 parents have received
can do to pro
children.
tect
the session. Stop! staff are working with Children’s Centres and
The session
fo cuses on d
other organisations to train their staff as well as the parents they
ispelling com
myths about
mon
child sex off
work with. Feedback has been extremely positive and Stop!
enders while
same time ar
at the
ming parents
England is keen to hear from others who would like to see this
and carers w
sound inform
ith
at ion that w
programme offered in their area.
ill help them
their youngst
k
eep
ers safe. It al
A d u l t L e a r n e r s w e e k in W a l e s
so offers a b
understandin
et
ter
g of how con
victed sex off
are managed
Preventing child sexual abuse was high on the agenda during
enders
by the police
, probat ion an
other statuto
Adult Learners Week in Wales (16th-20th May). National
d
ry and volun
tary bo dies o
release into
Manager, Rebecca Morgan joined forces with the organiser,
n
the commun
ity.
Cardiff County Council, to deliver 5 Parents Protect! sessions to
The presenta
tions are sup
parents, carers and professionals. Those in the audience
ported by a
website; ww
w.parentspro
included a number of primary school staff who will take the
tect.co.uk an
minute e-lear
d a 30
ning prog ram
learning back into their workplace.
me (hosted o
site) which p
n the
arents and ca
rers can work
A n d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . e x p a n d i ng i n t o S c o t l a n d !
through in th
eir own time.
Parents Protect! is set to expand into Scotland in the coming
T o fi n d o u t m
o r e , o r a rr a n
yo u , c o nt a c t
g e a se s si o n
months as Stop it Now! Scotland takes the programme
o u r C e n t ra l A
n ea r
d m i n i st r a t o r
o f fi c e @ s t o p i t
forward. Parents Protect! resources will be combined with
on
no w. org. uk o
r 0 1 52 7 59 8
existing Keeping Children Safe material (National Community
18 4 .
Disclosure Scheme) and police officers will be trained to deliver
the programme in communities across the country. It is hoped
that following this initial delivery continued funding will be
secured so that the programme can be rolled out to others including; social housing
providers, nursery staff, child and family centre staff, faith communities, youth workers and others. We welcome
Willie Manson to the Stop it Now! Scotland team, where he has taken up the post of Project Officer. He’ll be leading
on the roll-out of Parents Protect! and can be reached on [email protected] or 0131 556 3535.
R o ll i n g o u t a c r o s s E n g l a n d
“
www.parents
pr
Frontline practitioner training
Stop it Now! England is organising 30 local, low-cost, multi-agency
training days during 2011-2013, as part of the Department for
Education’s drive to improve frontline practice with regard to
safeguarding. These events can accommodate up to 110 multi-agency
representatives and typically cost around £60 per head, depending on
location and venue costs.
Four specialist topics are covered during the day, which increase the
delegate’s understanding of child sexual abuse and its prevention.
Training content can be tailored to suit the needs of the particular
audience and is delivered by experienced Lucy Faithfull Foundation
practitioners. Topics covered recently include females who sexually
abuse; internet offending and recognising harmful sexual behaviour in
young people.
In the past we have partnered with a range of oganisations to deliver
these events, including Police, LSCBs and Early Years Services.
If you would like to see an event in your area, whether or not you
would like to help organise or host it, we would like to hear from you.
Ti m e t a b l e of e v e n t s
December 8 - East of England
September 19 - West Midlands
December 14 - South East
September 23 - North West
January 11 - South West
October 13 - East of England
January 13 - London
October 20 - Hampshire
February 2 - Yorkshire & Humber
November 10 - East Midlands
February 9 - North West
November 18- Yorkshire & Humber
March 1 - North East
0808 1000 900 | [email protected] | www.stopitnow.org.uk
otect.co.uk
”
P r e v i o us at t e n d e es s ai d :
• Informative and relevant to my role
• Will use new knowledge in future
work
• Should be compulsory for all who
work with children
• Valuable and educational, well
presented
• An eye opener to the facts and
myths of sexual abuse
F IN D O U T M OR E :
www.stopitnow.org.uk
[email protected]
01527 598184
Stop Press! | Issue 16
3
Linking with domestic abuse
agencies
S t o p i t N o w ! W a l es h a s t e a m e d u p w i t h o r g a n i s a ti o n s
w o r k i n g w i t h d o m e s t i c a b u s e t o s p r ea d c h i l d s e x u a l
a b u s e p re v e n t io n m e s s a g e s .
National Manager,
Rebecca Morgan is working
with the charity Hafan
Cymru, in Brecon, and
Amman Valley Women’s
Aid to deliver the sexual
abuse prevention course,
Parents Protect Plus!. The
course looks at various
aspects of prevention
including abuser behaviour,
the barriers to identifying
abuse and the positive
preventative actions we can
all take to help keep
children safe. Spanning 5weeks, it is a longer course
than the 90-minute Parents
Protect! session.
Po s i t i v e o u t c o m e s
Rachel Munday, Project
Co-ordinator for Brecon, at
Hafan Cymru said: “I
believe that the Service
Users with Hafan Cymru in
Brecon benefited greatly
from having the
programme. For some it
was the trigger to decide to
deal with their own historic
issues. The whole group
found it a powerful
experience and felt that
they had gained from it.”
Amman Valley Women’s
Aid spotted details of the
Parents Protect! resources
on Stop it Now! Wales’
twitter feed. Following a
90-minute session they
asked for the longer 5week course. Rebecca says
it helps to have more time
when working with
particular groups: “This
group of mothers were
extremely engaged with
issues that the original
Our research tells us that a large proportion of the
public don’t have the confidence to act on concerns or
know where to go for advice and information when it
comes to child sexual abuse. Using expertise and
knowledge from the Lucy Faithfull Foundation and NOMS
Cymru, Stop it Now! Wales developed Parents Protect
Plus! to address that gap and help develop the awareness
and understanding of parents and carers.
The course is made up of one two-hour session per
week, for five weeks and is suitable for parents, carers,
grandparents and guardians of children and young
people under the age of 18.
Parents Protect! session
raised and wanted the
opportunity to discuss in
greater depth some of the
key questions and
information around how to
keep their children safe.
This longer course allows
those taking part to go
away and think about what
we have discussed before
coming back a week later,
giving them the
opportunity to ask
questions or clarify things.”
As a result of this work
with Amman Valley,
Rebecca is delighted to
have already received
interest for Parents
Protect! and Parents
Protect Plus! from Womens
Aid groups in Cardiff,
Llanelli, Abergavenny,
Aberystwyth and Port
Talbot.
R eb ec ca is s t i ll loo kin g
t o d e l i ve r Pa r e n t s Pr o t e c t !
s e s s i o ns a n d c a n t r a i n
o t h e r s t o d e l i v e r t he
s e s s i o ns a l s o . F o r m o r e
i n f o r m a t i o n , p l e a se c o n t a c t
r m o r g a n @ s t o p i t n o w .o r g . u k
o r 0 7 98 9 3 78 2 2 0.
Running for Circles (as opposed to in
them!)
T h r e e d ed i c a te d C i r c l es o f
S u p p o rt a n d
A c c o u n t a b i l i t y v o l un t e e r s
re c e n t l y t oo k p a r t in a 5 K
ra c e t o ra is e m o n e y f or t h e
L u c y F a i t h f u l l F o un d a t i o n
w h ic h m a n a g e s ‘ C i rc l e s ’
a c r os s t h e U K .
‘Circles’ involve groups
of volunteers working
with an ex-offender
(known as the Core
Member), to help him or
her to re-settle into the
community, and
in doing so, reduce the risk
of reoffending.
Clare Parsons, Simon
Quinn and Rachel Cowe
have been Circles
volunteers in London for
some time and collectively
decided they wanted to
raise money for the
Foundation.
Clare said: “We wanted
this run to promote and
support the work of the
Foundation, especially its
work running Circles of
Support and
Accountability. We think
it’s a fantastic charity
doing some very
innovative work to protect
children and we are proud
to have been involved with
Circles over the past year.”
She added that the idea
for the run itself came
about over coffee: “While
chatting we realised that a
couple of the members of
our Circle were keen
runners while the
rest of us had never ever
run before. Somehow we
agreed to challenge
ourselves to
a 5k run! So,
we started
training
with our
Core
Member in
L-R; Clare Parsons, Simon Quinn, Rachel Cowe
preparation.”
Ten weeks
So far the team has
later they all took part in
raised over £800 – and
the Battersea Park 5K run
donations can still be made
– and all four made it
by visiting
across the finish line.
http://uk.virginmoneygivin
“We weren’t the fastest
g.com/fundraiserof teams on the day but we web/fundraiser/showFund
all managed to make it to
raiserPage.action?userUrl=
the end! It was July the 4th circle5k&faId=114919&is
so we celebrated with a
Team=true.
well deserved American
The Lucy Faithfull
themed meal afterwards,”
Foundation and Stop it
said Clare. “Now, we’re
Now! UK and Ireland sends
trying to figure out what
great thanks to the
our next Circle challenge
runners for their efforts
will be...!”
and their donation!!
0808 1000 900 | [email protected] | www.stopitnow.org.uk
Stop Press! | Issue 16
4
‘THE INDOOR BUSK’ – A Charity Gig for LFF and Stop it Now!
S h a ri n g g r e a t m u s i c a n d r a i s i n g m o n e y f o r a g o o d c a u s e . T h a t w a s t h e d r i v i n g f o r c e b e h i n d t h e re c e n t
ch arity g ig , ‘Th e I ndoo r Bu sk’ . Org a ni sed by th ree Lo ndon ba sed studen ts wh o h a ve a n un dyi ng pa ssion f or
m u s i c , t h e e v e n t s a w a v a r i e t y o f m u si c a l a c t s p e r f o r m f o r a c a p t i v e a u d i e n c e a t t h e B r a d y A r t s C e n t r e ,
W h i te c h a p e l – w i t h a l l p r o c e e d s b e i n g d o n a t e d t o t h e L u c y F a i t h f u l l F o u n d a t i o n a n d S t o p i t N o w ! U K a n d
I r e l a nd .
Jannat Rob, one of three organisers, said there
were many reasons why they decided that their event
should contribute towards a charitable cause:
“Although we all live in stable environments, we are
not hidden from the many dangers that surround us
today. The concept of combining our passion for
music with an
attempt to help
others, felt
incredibly
appealing and
satisfying for us.
We searched
through numerous
charities and
finally, collectively
knuckled
down to
‘The Lucy
Faithfull
Foundation’
as the
charity we
wanted to
donate to,
simply
because we believe that their work is
utterly remarkable.”
Despite Jannat and her team (Soomaiya
Syeda and Shenade Reid) saying there
were ‘a few hiccups’ on the night, the
audience would never have known; the
team’s obvious good communication
coupled with their ability to think on their feet
allowed them to resolve difficulties quickly, resulting
in their first gig being hailed a success!
“Organising this event has allowed us to build our
skills for the future, and has sharpened our
knowledge of what is
required of us to make an
event a success,” said
Soomaiya. “The organising,
performances and general
experience has been
unforgettable.”
Shenade added that
they couldn’t
have done it
alone: “We
never would
have been
successful in our
endeavours if it
wasn’t for
Community Music
and The Brady
Centre. We are
incredibly grateful
that they gave us
this opportunity and
cannot thank them
enough for all the help
they provided
throughout this journey.
We would most definitely
love to hold another charity concert in
the future, as this was such a
pleasurable and satisfying experience.”
Acts who performed on the night were: ‘Jan’, ‘Ben Bezzina’, ‘Rebecca Need-Menear’, ‘Mammoth Sound’,
‘Sleepless Beauty’ and ‘Weisen’. Check out www.facebook.com/stopitnowukandireland for additional pictures
from the event.
Get Connected
Check us out on Facebook and Twitter by using the
links below or searching for us!
T w i t t e r:
Donald Findlater: http://twitter.com/#!/StopItNowUK
Stop Scotland!: http://twitter.com/#!/StopItNowScot
Stop Wales!: http://twitter.com/#!/StopItNowWales
F ac e b o o k :
https://www.facebook.com/stopitnowukandireland
To fi nd o ut why a he dg eho g has made a
s t a r r i n g a p p e a r a n c e i n th i s e d i t i o n . .. . . . .c h e c k
ou t ou r O c t ob e r i s s u e ! !!
Fundraising
As you will see from the couple of stories featured in this
edition of Stop! Press, we have recently received some
inspiring and welcome support from those wishing to raise
funds for us.
With the current economic climate as challenging as it
is, and an expected reduction in government funding - we
are more in need of public donations now than ever before.
If you have an idea on how you could help, whether it be to
organise a fundraising event or donate a one-off payment,
please do get in touch with Deborah Denis!
[email protected]
01372 847169
0808 1000 900 | [email protected] | www.stopitnow.org.uk
Stop Press! | Issue 16
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