Welcome to our spring newsletter, keeping you up to date with our recent achievements and the upcoming initiatives helping to keep children safe across Scotland.
Specialist support for autistic adults
In January, we welcomed Kirsten Shield, our new Senior Practitioner, to deliver a specialist prevention service for autistic people aged 16+ living in Scotland. Funded by the Autistic Adult Support Fund until March 2028, this project aims to strengthen early prevention, improve access to support, and reduce the risk of child sexual abuse by providing safe, inclusive and evidence-informed services for autistic adults.
The project will provide:
One-to-one and group support for autistic adults who are concerned about their own thoughts and behaviour, or who have been arrested for child sexual offences, helping them to better understand risk, make positive changes, and to prevent harm.
Group-based workshops focusing on healthy sex and relationships, including consent, boundaries and online safety.
Consultation, training and support for professionals to increase skills, confidence and understanding when working with autistic adults to prevent child sexual abuse.
While autism does not cause child sexual offending, some autistic people may experience specific vulnerabilities that can increase risk without the right support. We will work directly with autistic adults to gain a better understanding of their needs and experiences, and develop tailored support and interventions. We will promote accessibility and inclusion across the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, ensuring our approach and services are neuro-affirming.
This project will be informed by the views and experiences of autistic adults themselves. If you are an autistic adult living in Scotland, and would be interested in contributing, please contact Kirsten Shield at kshield@lucyfaithfull.org.uk.
Keeping children safe online: supporting parents
In January, our Young People’s Manager, Nick Roberts, delivered an online session for parents in Edinburgh, sharing the latest information and practical tools to help keep their children safe online.
With more than 200 parents joining live, it’s clear that families value the support and insight into their children’s digital lives.
This session formed part of our three-year Edinburgh school project, co-funded by the City of Edinburgh Council and The RS MacDonald Trust. As we move towards completing the project, we’ll start exploring how we can take our learnings into schools across Scotland.
Would you like to know more about reducing harmful sexual behaviour in schools? Get in touch at scotland@lucyfaithfull.org.uk.
Specialist assessments and interventions
We offer independent risk assessment services for adults and adolescents who may present a risk of harm to children, as well as protective parenting assessments.
Delivered by our forensic psychologist and specialist practitioners, these assessments can help councils and bodies, including sporting, education or religious organisations, in their decision-making. This can include family safety planning, child contact arrangements, family reunification, safeguarding, and aiding children’s hearings.
For costs and referral requests, email lffreferrals@lucyfaithfull.org.uk.
To discuss suitability for an independent assessment, contact our Clinical Lead, Fiona Moran, at fmoran@lucyfaithfull.org.uk.
Highlights from our training roadshow
We’ve been last quarter, delivering a wide range of training across Scotland, both online and in-person. Sessions can be taken from our existing packages or tailored to meet the needs of individual organisations, such as:
- Understanding and preventing online child sexual abuse
- Understanding and assessing the parents and carers in the context of child sexual abuse
- Working with children with additional support needs and sexual behaviour problems
- Abuse in sports coaching settings
- Supporting adults who have committed a sexual offence
- Child sexual abuse prevention in children and families social work
- Interventions for young people who have displayed technology-assisted harmful sexual behaviour
If any of these topics appeal, our team can provide bespoke, in-person, online, or existing training for your organisation.
To get in touch about training, email scotland@lucyfaithfull.org.uk, or find out more on our website.
CSA Prevention Network: recent events and what’s next
In February, the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Network met online to review new research showing reductions in sexual harm across large youth-serving organisations in the US, and to discuss practical tools that can be applied in our own settings across Scotland.
In March, we hosted a webinar where Prof. Parveen Ali shared research on the overlap between child sexual abuse and domestic violence.
We’re now shaping our plans for the year ahead. Interested in joining the network and attending? Contact our Prevention Manager, Stewart Stobie, at sstobie@lucyfaithfull.org.uk.
New research article on risk and deterrence factors in intra‑familial abuse
Our Director, Stuart Allardyce, has co‑authored a new article, ‘Identifying risk and deterrence factors among fathers and stepfathers who report sexual thoughts or feelings about their children’, alongside Carissa Augustyn and colleagues.
At a time when child sexual abuse prevention is receiving increasing attention, it’s vital to recognise that a significant proportion of abuse happens within families. Intra‑familial cases involve distinct family‑based risk factors that professionals need to understand.
Read the full article in the Journal of Sexual Aggression.
Read our latest Year in Review to find out more about our work.
Stay connected on social media by following us on X and Facebook.
Our Scotland office helpline (0131 5563 535) is open 10am–12pm (Mon–Fri) and 1pm–3pm (Mon–Thur), and supports anyone with concerns about child sexual abuse, including individuals worried about their own behaviour, or someone else’s, or professionals seeking advice.
Learn more about our work across the UK by following us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Protecting children. Preventing child sexual abuse.
Support us
As a charity, we rely on the kindness and generosity of people like you to support our vital work to prevent child sexual abuse. And right now, we need your help more than ever. By donating, fundraising, or simply spreading the word about our work, your support will have a huge impact.
Together we can create a safer world for children.