Imagine being at work when you receive a phone call from your child's school to say that they have made a disclosure of sexual assault or putting your kid to bed one night when they tell you someone has hurt them. What can you do with that information, how can it be possible to process this whilst keeping yourself upright and being there for your vulnerable precious child? How can you stop the flashbacks of assaults that didn't even happen to you? How can you control the anger and fear? Who do you speak to when the most sensitive private information is not even yours to share? 1 in 10 parents/carers are experiencing this right now.

In March 2021, the NSPCC estimated that "1 in 20 children in the UK have been sexually abused. Over a third of all police recorded sexual offences are against children."

In 2022, the National Crime Agency, estimated that "1 in 10 children experienced sexual abuse before the age of 16 and that this occurs to 1 in 6 girls and 1 in 20 boys."

On October 2022, a Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) highlighted that "evidence shows that CSA does not just impact on the lives of victims and survivors, but can also have adverse effects on their families. The impacts experienced by non-offending parents – and, in particular, mothers – as a result of their children’s CSA victimisation can mirror those outcomes experienced by victims and survivors. CSA can affect all aspects of parents’ lives, including areas like physical health, personal relationships, employment and financial stability, over the medium to long term. Rates of trauma (in this case in the form of ‘secondary’ or ‘vicarious’ trauma) and emotional distress were found to be high among non-offending parents

Parents can find it challenging to support a child who has been victimised at a time when they themselves might be struggling to cope with the emotional and practical strain following CSA. This can create a vicious circle in which the support that parents are able to provide to their child is compromised, thereby reducing the child’s chances of experiencing resilience or recovery."

ACTS FAST is a charity with a goal to "support secondary victims through trauma and lessening the impact of CSA on wider society". They help families who have been impacted by these traumatic experiences and help them grow again. The impact of CSA is devastating, and disclosures often come like an exploding bomb, out of the blue. It can significantly affect every corner of a family’s life. The good news though is that through their support services, which include psycho-education, one to one counselling and group work, they can develop strategies with a family to enable them to regain their strength and look towards the future. https://www.actsfast.org.uk/