Sadly, an estimated 1 in 10 children are sexually abused by the age of 16 in England & Wales. To identify, respond to and prevent this abuse, we need to have a good understanding of it. We cover what you need to know about child sexual abuse in 10 points

Download Support Matters 2025: Update on child sexual abuse support services in England and Wales from the CSA Centre website: 13/13.

@CSACentre is calling on the Government to act at pace to ensure that provision is expanded and, crucially, that existing services can continue providing the support that children, adults and families need. 12/13

While compassionate, consistent support can be crucial in mitigating the impacts of child sexual abuse, lack of access to support can have a profound impact on many victims, survivors and families seeking to heal and move forward. 11/13.

An estimated 500,000 children are sexually abused each year in England and Wales, meaning that the likely need for support overwhelmingly surpasses the amount of support available. 10/13.

There is a great need to address the lack of service provision for adult victims and survivors of childhood sexual abuse in England and Wales. All regions except Wales had at least 17,500 adult victims and survivors for every service. 9/13.

Troublingly, there continued to be significant gaps in support focused on underserved groups, with a very small proportion of services including those for women and girls, boys and men, people from minority ethnic backgrounds, disabled people and LGBTQ+ people. 8/13.

Most children on waiting lists were waiting longer than three months to access support, and some had to wait over a year – a huge amount of time in a child’s life. Adult victims and survivors of child sexual abuse regularly waited even longer, 1 in 4 waited more than a year.7/13.

The potential impact on service users facing long waits for support concerned providers. Nearly half felt that people were waiting longer for support than 2 years ago, and many emphasised the significant negative impact on service users’ mental health and overall wellbeing. 6/13.

Out of the 363 services, we surveyed 124 providers, providing important insights into the challenges of today’s support landscape. Worryingly, a fifth of respondents said they were facing closure or might have to reduce the support they offer children, adults and families. 5/13.

This leaves just 363 services across the whole of England and Wales providing support to those affected by child sexual abuse, meaning there are an estimated 16,500 victims and survivors for each service. 4/13.

We have found that support provision, which was already scarce, is decreasing. In the 18 months since the last national survey of services was carried out in late 2023, 23 services have been forced to close their doors. 3/13.

Support Matters 2025 explores the provision and availability of support for children and adults affected by child sexual abuse. 3 in 4 services face funding uncertainty – impacting their ability to retain and recruit staff, and to maintain the vital support they can offer. 2/13.

NEW: Today we have published our latest Support Matters report. Our new research shows that almost 2 in 3 of services supporting those affected by child sexual abuse are struggling to maintain their capacity. 1/13

Child sexual abuse can feel difficult and complex, but with support and guidance professionals working with children do have the skills to communicate about it. Download the Communicating with children guide here: 3/3.

All children can communicate. The updated guide now shows professionals how to support children with a variety of different communication needs. It helps professionals enable more children to communicate about what has happened, in a way that works best for them. 2/3.

PUBLISHED TODAY: We have updated our popular Communicating with children guide. This essential guide is designed to help professionals listen to, speak to, and understand all the children they work with when concerned about sexual abuse. 1/3

Read Trends in official data on the CSA Centre website . 13/13.

As the Government prepares to respond to @CSPR_Panel and #IICSA’s recommendations, we ask them to acknowledge that responding to child sexual abuse is a challenge for professionals in all agencies, and to ensure children’s needs are better identified and responded to. 12/13

Recently, the @CSPR_Panel review of child sexual abuse in the family environment called on the Government to ensure that all child protection professionals have the necessary skills, knowledge and capabilities to identify and respond to concerns of child sexual abuse. 11/13.