CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE LET’S START THE CONVERSATION
1 in 10 children have experienced sexual abuse before the age of 16.
Shockingly,
A new campaign across Birmingham urges local communities to ‘start the conversation’ about child sexual abuse, encouraging us to bring the facts out into the open.
Birmingham-based organisation Kikit is leading the campaign, which is running across social media, local radio and press. In the experience of Mohammed Ashfaq, Kikit’s Managing Director, people prefer not to talk about child sexual abuse. Changing the community’s outlook on this is a top priority for the campaign:
“Child sexual abuse happens in every community, and unfortunately our community is no different. It’s time we started understanding what child sexual abuse means, rather than thinking it isn’t happening. We need to bring it out into the open so that we can protect our children.”
Around 500,000 children are sexually abused every year.
It can happen anywhere by people we may trust and in places where we usually feel secure. Child sexual abuse can happen in person or online.
Angela Clarke is a Psychologist and Psychotherapist, and has a great deal of experience working in Safeguarding, among other areas.
“People are shocked when they hear that 1 in 10 children have experienced sexual abuse before the age of 16. Child sexual abuse is a huge concern, and we all want to protect our children to keep them safe from harm. The first step is to help
individuals and communities understand what child sexual abuse means and to encourage open conversation about it.”
When a child or young person (anyone under the age of 18) is sexually abused, they could be forced, tricked, or manipulated into sexual activities. This can include things like forcing a child to view sexual content, touching a child inappropriately or exposing yourself to a child. The child might not understand that what’s happening is abuse or that it’s wrong.
Angela points out that a child may be afraid to tell anyone about what has happened to them:
‘Children need support in order to speak up, and we can only give them that support by changing the way we deal with the issue, talking about it more openly and admitting that it exists. Child sexual abuse is happening where we live and we need to acknowledge it to change things.”
The campaign includes more detailed information and guidance on Kikit’s website, including where you can go for support if you need it.
Rohit Sagoo is a paediatric nurse and Founder of British Sikh Nurses. He is supporting the campaign and agrees with the importance of opening up discussions about child sexual abuse:
“It can be hard to admit that something like this is happening on our doorstep, but the more we talk about child sexual abuse and the more we know about it, the safer we can keep our children.”
To find out more search kikitproject.org/ conversation
If you feel you need to talk to someone at KIKIT, please call 0121 448 3883 and someone will be there to listen.