NSPCC praises Welsh Government intention to develop a Child Sexual Abuse Action Plan

NSPCC Cymru / Wales has commended the Welsh Government’s intention to develop a Child Sexual Abuse Action Plan.

Children’s Minister Huw Irranca-Davies made the pledge today (Tuesday May 15^th) at an NSPCC conference at Cardiff’s City Hall.

The charity first called for an action plan ahead of the National Assembly election in 2016 and helped to establish a Cross Party Group in the Assembly – the first of its kind – calling on the Welsh Government to expand its current focus on child sexual exploitation.

Today’s announcement comes after research from the NSPCC showed there were 2,694 sexual offences against children under 16 recorded by Welsh police forces in 2016/17; a 16 per cent rise from the previous year.

Over 90 per cent of sexually abused children were abused by someone they knew, while research compiled by Public Health Wales has previously found 10 per cent of adults in Wales were exposed to sexual abuse as a child.

The NSPCC is now calling for a focus on prevention through age-appropriate education, including the likes of the NSPCC’s PANTS campaign, which teaches children about sexual abuse with the ‘Underwear Rule’, and provides lessons in school about how to stay safe online.

More than 270 children and young people from Wales contacted Childline to discuss worries and concerns over sexual abuse in 2016/17.

Speaking to ChildLine, one 13 year old girl said:

“I have never told anyone about this until now.  My dad touches me and it’s been happening for a while now.  I can’t tell anybody else about what’s happening because he will hurt me and make sure that people don’t believe me.  I don’t have many friends so I have no-one to turn to.”

Head of NSPCC Cymru / Wales, Des Mannion, said:

“The Welsh government’s recent focus on tackling child sexual exploitation continues to be extremely beneficial but addressing child sexual abuse within the family is also hugely important.

“With the worrying number of child sexual offences recorded by police and the number of contacts to Childline showing the scale of the issue, a concerted effort must be made to keep children safe and prevent abuse from happening in the first place.

“Nine out of ten victims of sexual abuse were targeted by someone they knew and early intervention, along with education about the dangers of sexual abuse, is key to keeping children safe from harm.

“We now look forward to working with Welsh Government to ensure the right steps are taken to protect children from all forms of sexual abuse.”