Sexual Abuse and Therapeutic Services for Children and Young People: The Gap Between Provision and Need

By Debra Allnock with Lisa Bunting, Avril Price, Natalie Morgan-Klein, Jane Ellis, Lorraine Radford and Anne Stafford

Worldwide it has been estimated that 160 million girls and 73 million boys under 18 years of age have experienced forced sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual violence involving physical contact (Pinheiro, 2006, p12). In the UK the true prevalence of sexual violence against children and young people is not known, but a recent review published in The Lancet estimated that between 5 and 10 per cent of girls and 5 per cent of boys have experienced penetrative sexual abuse and up to three times this number have been exposed to other forms of sexual violence (Gilbert et al, 2008). …This research, generously funded by the Private Equity Foundation and the Children’s Charity, aimed to address a gap in our knowledge by mapping the availability of therapeutic services to support children and young people who have experienced sexual abuse across the United Kingdom.

London: NSPCC, 2009. 171p.