Child sexual abuse services ‘on the verge of breaking point’, experts say
22 May 2025, 07:46
Many support centres for child sexual abuse say they are on the verge of "breaking point", following a survey by the centre of expertise on child abuse (CSA Centre).
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The CSA Centre has said three-quarters of 124 surveyed support providers are facing critical uncertainty about their future and funding.
They have also said one fifth of respondents are considering closure or cuts to their services.
The revelations follow a report in 2022 from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), which detailed the scale of support needed for victims in the UK.
As well as recommending a guarantee of specialist therapeutic support to victims, the report also said “thousands” had been left waiting for years or months to access support.
The CSA Centre said, out of 363 services across England and Wales, 23 had closed their doors since their last survey in 2023.
They say this means each remaining service may have an average of 16,500 victims and survivors to support.
“This report starkly illustrates the huge shortfall in support for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse,” Centre director Ian Dean has said.
“Thousands of children and adults are still left waiting months, or even years, to access support, with services struggling to meet rising demand on increasingly overstretched budgets”.
He has said it’s “essential” the Government “honours its commitment” to victims and survivors of abuse.
The Centre estimates that one in 10 children in the UK faces sexual abuse before the age of 16, totalling around 500,000 children every year.
