Ask any doctor, and they’ll tell you: fighting disease doesn’t start in operating theatres or intensive care wards. A healthy population can be protected long before diagnosis is ever needed – through public education, professional training, and strong safety standards.
This is public health in action. It’s the approach we apply to the issue of child sexual abuse. How can we prevent harm before it happens? How can we move from simply reacting after children are harmed, to stopping that harm from ever occurring?
Today, we’re proud to launch our latest Faithfull Paper, which celebrates 17 years of our work in Wales – championing a public health approach to child sexual abuse prevention. Since 2008 we’ve worked closely with the Welsh Government, as well as many other partners across Wales. This Faithfull Paper explores what we’ve learnt, what we’ve achieved for children in Wales, and what still needs to be done to embed prevention into our society – so that all children are protected.
A public health approach to child sexual abuse matters
Every year, an estimated 25,000 children in Wales experience child sexual abuse. The moral case for prevention is undeniable — and the economic case is strong too. Early intervention reduces costs in health, justice, and social care, while protecting children and families from lifelong harm.
The Welsh Government has shown pioneering commitment to prevention
We have long championed the Welsh Government’s leadership in taking a public health approach to preventing child sexual abuse.
In 2012, LFF Wales – then known as Stop It Now Wales – published the All Wales Review on Child Sexual Abuse Prevention. This was a ground-breaking review, and the first to explore prevention in Wales.
In 2016, we worked with NSPCC Cymru and Survivor’s Trust Cymru to found the Cross-Party Group (CPG) on Preventing Child Sexual Abuse, acting as joint secretariat. Since then, we’ve worked with NSPCC Cymru, Survivors’ Trust Cymru, Stepping Stones North Wales, RASASC NW, and We Stand, to drive forward a shared vision for prevention. Together, we called for a comprehensive national strategy rooted in public health principles.
That call was answered in 2019, when the Welsh Government launched the National Action Plan Preventing and Responding to Child Sexual Abuse – which was the first of its kind in the UK. The plan represented a real shift in tackling child sexual abuse – moving much closer to a public health approach to prevention.
Most recently, the Government has completed a consultation on a new 10-year plan to tackle child sexual abuse in Wales — due to be published in the coming months.
But our work is far from complete. This year, we’ve identified five new objectives that will drive our 2025-2030 strategy, as we aim to shape how the UK tackles child sexual abuse. Together, they will help us create lasting change – keeping more children safe from harm, before it happens.
We’ve delivered 17 years of prevention projects in Wales
Our work spans all three stages of the public health approach — primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention — giving us a robust evidence base and an understanding of what prevention looks like in practice.
Our new Faithfull Paper maps the impact of all our work in Wales, showing how we’ve contributed at each prevention stage. One project in particular offers powerful evidence of impact. Early Intervention is a secondary prevention initiative that we recently evaluated.
Among 131 families who took part in the evaluation, we saw a 70% increase in knowledge scores, showing that parents and carers felt more aware, more confident, and better able to talk to their children about keeping safe. Families told us that learning how to set household boundaries and rules, hold protective conversations, and create safety plans were the most valuable aspects.
Looking ahead
We’re pleased to see the Welsh Government taking decisive action to prevent child sexual abuse, with a strong commitment to early intervention and a public health approach. We’re aligned with this vision and ready to help build a Wales where child sexual abuse is prevented before it begins.
Our next priorities are:
- National campaigning to raise awareness and promote prevention.
- Supporting families and communities to identify, report, and prevent abuse.
- Providing help to those at risk of causing harm, both young people and adults.
- Strengthening frontline practice through training and consistent safeguarding pathways.
- Supporting policy development by collaborating with government and the Cross-Party Group.
- Building evidence to inform future policy and practice.
If you need support to protect children in Wales
- The services we offer in Wales include public education sessions, training, and assessments and interventions.
- Stop It Now provides anonymous and confidential support for any adult worried about a child or young person’s sexual behaviour, or about their own thoughts or actions.
- Shore offers anonymous advice and information to teenagers worried about their own or a friend’s sexual behaviour.
Spread the word
Share our mission, advocate for prevention, and challenge outdated narratives.
