Sexual Abuse - Children

What is sexual abuse?

When a child or young person is sexually abused, they're forced or tricked into sexual activities.  They might not understand that what's happening is abuse or that it's wrong and they might be afraid to tell someone.  Sexual abuse can happen anywhere, it can happen in person or online.  It is never a child's fault they were sexually abused and is important to make sure children know this.

Links to additional guidance on sexual abuse can be found below.

NSPCC guidance - sexual abuse [external link]

Lucy Faithful Foundation Resources [external Link]

Barnardo's [external link]

Stop it Now - Helping to prevent child sexual abuse [external link]

Centre for Expertise on child sexual abuse [external link]

Child Welfare Information gateway - Perpetrators of Sexual Abuse [external link]

Darlington Safeguarding Partnership - Harmful Sexual Behaviour Guidance - 

Medical examinations for Child Sexual Abuse Concerns

The Centre for Expertise has developed a short film on medical examinations for child sexual abuse concerns to help practitioners better understand and explain the paediatric medical examination to support children and carers through referral processes.

Click here to view the YouTube video.

Sarah's Law

The Child Sex Offenders Disclosure Scheme (CSODS) known as Sarah's Law was established following the abduction and murder of 8 year old Sarah Payne. Sarah's mother campaigned and worked with the home office to develop this disclosure scheme.  The aim of the scheme is to allow anyone who has concerns about a child being at risk from a child sex offender, making an application to the police for further information to protect the child.  Further details are available on the Durham Constabulary website [external link]