It is easy to assume that when a child is experiencing harm, someone will notice, speak up, and act. Yet for many children who experience sexual abuse in their family environment, this does not happen. 

Despite the efforts of dedicated professionals, too many children remain unheard, unseen, and unprotected.

Research in Practice have published a blog post on practitioner identification and response to child sexual abuse (CSA) in the family environment, highlighting practice challenges, and recommendations for change and further action.

In the national review of 193 children conducted by the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, the perpetrator was already known to pose a risk of sexual harm in over a third of cases. However, fragmented systems, missed warning signs, and a lack of robust risk assessments meant that many children were left unprotected.

The report, I wanted them all to notice, by The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel explores how multi-agency safeguarding systems respond to child sexual abuse (CSA).  It brings into sharp focus some of the challenges that make it difficult for professionals to identify and respond to this abuse that include:

• Practitioners without the knowledge, skills and confidence to identify and talk to children and families about abuse.
• Uncertainty about appropriate information sharing or multi-agency working.
• Relying on criminal justice thresholds of evidence for action.