First 'Child House' for child sexual abuse victims launches
Joe Lepper
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
The UK's first "Child House" for child victims of sexual abuse has been opened as part of efforts to improve support and speed up prosecutions.
The initiative aims to provide a comfortable, safe environment for young people where they will receive medical, social care and therapeutic support in one place.
Police will also use the house to carry out interviews with victims and gather evidence in a more child-friendly environment, which has been designed in consultation with young people.
Currently young victims of sexual abuse face multiple interviews across a number of different, sometimes unfriendly, locations and can also struggle to access support, the NSPCC, which is involved in providing support at the house, said.
It added that co-locating support and evidence gathering also reduces the trauma children face having to repeat their story several times to different agencies.
Called "The Lighthouse", the project will be piloted for the next two years in North London, and will provide support to young victims from Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey and Islington.
Already 90 referrals have been made and it is anticipated that the house will support around 540 young people each year.
The Child House concept is based on an Icelandic model of support called Barnahus, which was praised by the Office of the Children's Commissioner for England Anne Longfield's 2017 into child sexual abuse services.
Benefits of the model highlighted in Longfield's report include better information sharing among professionals and improved co-ordination of support. Giving evidence to a number of professionals across locations was also damaging the reliability of victims' testimony in court, her report found.
Another influence is the American Child Advocacy Centre model, which also uses a multi-agency approach that focuses on the health and wellbeing of young people.
The establishment of a safe house for young victims of sexual assault was recommended in a 2015 NHS England review.
Health support at the house will be provided by University College London Hospitals Foundation Trust, Tavistock and Portman Foundation Hospital and the NSPCC, which is providing therapeutic services.
Children at the house, which is open 10am to 8pm Monday to Saturday, can also choose to be interviewed by clinical psychologists and have access to therapy and care after the judicial process has finished.
It is backed with £8m in funding from the London Mayor Sadiq Khan's office for policing and crime, the Home Office, NHS England and the Department for Education.
The pilot is also part funded through a charity partnership between the NSPCC and investment bank Morgan Stanley, with employees at the firm raising more than £1m for the children's charity, as well as giving their time through volunteering and pro bono strategic support.
"Children who have experienced sexual abuse have already undergone a horrific ordeal - so it's essential that we do everything we can to make their path to recovery and justice as simple as possible," said Khan.
"This ground-breaking centre, The Lighthouse, brings together the NHS, social workers and the police in one place to make sure young people who have experienced sexual abuse get the support they need."
Supporters of the initiative include actor David Schwimmer, who is also director of Rape Foundation Board in the US, which runs a similar facility called Stuart House.
NSPCC chief executive Peter Wanless said he hopes the Child House model will be expanded across the UK.
"The eyes of the nation will be on this project which is organised around the needs of young people that have suffered from the physical and emotional trauma of sexual abuse. It is an enlightened approach which we hope will flourish," he said.
Crime, safeguarding and vulnerability minister Victoria Atkins said: "This government is committed to doing all it can to tackling child sexual abuse and supporting and young people who have to live with the scars of these horrific crimes for the rest of their lives.
"I am proud we can support The Lighthouse, which will ensure victims and their families have access to services in a safe and welcoming environment."
