* * Printer will assist the charity in carrying out around 120 deliveries a day **
Scotland’s leading copy-print-scan specialists have donated one of their £3,000 printers to an Edinburgh food bank project.Capital Document Solutions [CDS] have gifted a Ricoh multi-functional printer (MFP) to the Edinburgh Food Project [EFP] to help them meet their demanding schedule.
The company, which deploys around 13,000 print devices to over 4,000 clients across Scotland, were approached by the food bank project as their volunteers prepare for another Covid spike.
EFP is an independent charity, and a member of the Trussell Trust network of food banks, providing emergency food parcels to people living in food poverty.
EFP conducted more than 120 deliveries a day during the height of the pandemic and found using home printers to be inadequate for its extensive workload.
Director of the EFP, Bethany Biggar, said: “Much like any other business we depend on a clear line of communication, and an important tool for this is a printer. Unfortunately, our current printers do not have the capacity to deal with our workload, and we really required an all-singing, all-dancing printer.
“CDS have been extremely helpful and generous in donating one of their state-of-the-art MFPs. As well as providing on-going technical support, it has made a huge difference to our work, and we can’t thank CDS enough for their donation.”
CDS had previously donated a printer to the EFP in September 2018 and Mark Harvie, Corporate Sales Director at CDS, said they were keen to support the group once more.
Mark said: “When we received the call from the EFP, we acted without hesitation. They are doing amazing work, helping so many people at this difficult time.
“We decided to donate the device purely because of what the EFP stands for. We are a firm believer in helping those in need, and we were delighted that we could help them to successfully continue their important work.”
Capital Document Solutions operates from six offices across Scotland – in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, Dundee and Lerwick.
Hibernian FC takes part in ‘Challenge Poverty Week’ by ensuring no child goes hungry at Hermitage Park Primary School.
Hibernian Community Foundation are delighted to launch ‘Hibs Crunch and Munch’ with local partner school Hermitage Park Primary in an exciting initiative that will see every pupil at Hermitage Park Primary School receive a free piece of fruit every school day.
2020 has seen Hibernian Community Foundation and Hermitage Park Primary work together on a number of programmes which have supported pupils and families in the local area.
Throughout lockdown Hibs have provided weekend food parcels to pupils at home and developed digital educational resources to ensure learning can continue away from the class room. Hibs have also delivered ‘Score Goals’, an eight week project with primary 6 pupils with a focus on football, exercise and healthy eating.
Hibs Crunch and Munch will become a significant element of Hibs Class at Hermitage Park as the school aims to support pupils learning in the classroom in as many ways across a number of curriculum areas including literacy, numeracy, and wellbeing.
Hibs Crunch and Munch will also support Hibernian Football Club’s pledge to be the greenest club in Scotland as they have already identified ways in which extra resources can be shared. Over the summer Hibernian Community Foundation has saved over 2300kg of CO2 by sharing food that would otherwise go to waste.
Lisa Black, Deputy Head Teacher at Hermitage Park Primary School said: “We are proud to be a Hibernian partner school. The ‘Hibs Crunch & Munch’ is another example of how they are helping Hermitage Park Primary students thrive emotionally, socially and behaviourally.
“Hibs are helping us tackle childhood obesity, reduce playground litter and offer an opportunity for the pupils to develop social skills by sitting down together to eat the fruit.
“Hibernian Football Club has a long and proud tradition of working to support local communities and we are grateful to be supported by them”.
Charlie Bennett Hibernian Community Foundation CEO commented: ‘We’re really excited to be working with pupils and teachers at Hermitage Park and we’re pleased we can support the health and wellbeing of the pupils in this way.
“Like the school we want to ensure children in our communities are healthy and we hope the ‘Hibs Crunch and Much’ will make a significant contribution to this’.
The City of Edinburgh Council plans to revise its Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan to further strengthen support for people facing homelessness.
Members of the Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee considered updates to the strategy at a special meeting on Friday before submittting it to the Scottish Government for consideration.
This is the second version of the Council’s plan which acts as a local route map for preventing homelessness, reducing rough sleeping, transforming temporary accommodation and supporting families into settled homes as quickly as possible.
Additions to the plan include exploring ways of intervening earlier and actively engaging with people before they are at risk of homelessness.
These ideas include:
Developing a proposal for a Youth Housing Hub – a centrally located service where young people can access support, homeless assessments, advice and accommodation
A pilot for a new homelessness prevention scheme – involving a team working across Council services to identify trigger points that may put someone at risk of homelessness in the future
A prevention fund – which can be accessed quickly by frontline workers to draw down small amounts of money, empowering them to provide immediate support where they deem appropriate to prevent someone reaching crisis-point
Appointing a new partnership working officer – to identify opportunities for partners and frontline staff to recognise early on when there is a risk of homelessness
A pilot project to base specialist psychologists within homelessness hostels – embedding expert medical advice in the accommodation people are staying in to support with mental wellbeing and treatment.
Edinburgh is working to end rough sleeping and managed to move all families and pregnant women out of B&Bs during the early stages of the Covid-19 crisis. This involved the use of innovative accommodation options, including securing 590 additional bed spaces by turning to private sector leasing, hotels and short-term lets.
The updated Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan (RRTP) also proposes to build on the success of this joint Covid-19 response between the Council and third sector partners to create more and better accommodation options in the future.
Highlighted as important to progress include:
Increasing the amount of Rapid Access Accommodation available in Edinburgh – a service which is accessed directly from the street, does not have a curfew or a time limit for stays and which provides on-site support
Moving the city’s third sector run emergency care shelter into an alternative premises longer term, where social distancing can be practised more easily
Spot purchasing private properties and continuing to work with short-term let landlords to rent homes to the Council
Boosting the Council’s supply of temporary furnished flats
Supporting more people into home shares as part of a longer-term goal of ending the use of B&Bs.
Edinburgh has one of the lowest proportions of social housing in Scotland with only 15% of homes in social rent compared to a Scottish average of 23%, and the RRTP will also require an acceleration in the delivery of new homes.
The Council has one of the most ambitious house-building programmes in the UK to help meet this challenge and a record number of new homes are being built.
Councillor Kate Campbell, Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, said: “The RRTP is our annual plan for homelessness and our annual assessment of where we are. It’s an incredibly important document because it shows us, in very stark terms, the scale of the challenge that we face.
“But it is also an opportunity to focus on innovation and there are some incredibly exciting projects within it that show our steadfast intent to tackle homelessness at its root.
“We’ve got plans for more early intervention with a specialist, multi-skilled team which will intensively work with households at risk to prevent homelessness. Alongside this we are proposing investment in a youth homelessness hub and psychologists in hostels to give highly specialist support.
“We’re also asking for funding for ‘Seek, Keep and Treat’ so that we can recruit community recovery workers, with lived experience of homelessness and recovery, to support people with complex needs to move out of homelessness. And we’ve got plans to increase the number of temporary furnished flats and improve temporary accommodation.
“This is all in addition to extending and expanding some of the excellent practices we have developed in previous years.
“We know the challenges we face – only 15% social housing compared to a Scottish average of 24% alongside the most expensive private rents in Scotland. We have the largest Council house-building programme in the country which will address some of the housing need in Edinburgh. But we know we need to keep working to support people out of homelessness, and to prevent it in the first place.
“This plan will guide the decisions we make now and over the next five years as we support people through what is one of the most difficult and traumatic experiences. So we must set our sights high and never stop working to come up with new ideas and approaches to tackle one of the biggest challenges we face as a city.”
Councillor Mandy Watt, Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Vice Convener, added: “The picture is improving but there is always more work to be done. For instance, we’ve committed to build 10,000 affordable homes by 2022 and we’ve introduced new ways of doing things like home shares, which allow like-minded individuals to live together until they find a home of their own.
“We’re also seeing fewer repeat presentations of homelessness, meaning our existing prevention services seem to be working but we are always looking for ways to improve them.
“That said, anybody who does become homeless should be found a suitable place to stay until they can move into a settled home. We know this will be financially challenging, so the Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan needs to be ambitious and outline options for new investment.
“The plan explores some innovative ideas, like a special hub to support and protect young people from becoming homeless; and a pilot project to quickly and effectively help anyone in crisis by basing psychologists in hostels. Projects like these will strengthen our existing work and join up our services.
Carers Trust Scotland and College Development Network (CDN) have joined forces to help improve support to over 12,000 student carers in Scotland, who are studying alongside providing unpaid care for a family member or friend who is ill, frail, disabled or has mental health or addiction problems.
Supporting Student Carers at College is a new innovative free digital training module which has been developed by Carers Trust Scotland and CDN from funding received by The Scottish Funding Council. The module will help college practitioners to better understand the challenges faced by many student carers and provides guidance on how to improve support for these students at college.
Research by Carers Trust found that student carers are four times more likely to drop out of college and university than those who are not carers. Together, Carers Trust Scotland and CDN are calling on all college practitioners working in Scotland’s colleges to use this free resource. Engaging with the digital training module will help college staff to better identify, support and report on their student carers.
This new resource compliments existing work being undertaken by both organisations to raise awareness, improve identification and ensure adequate support is in place to give student carers a fair chance to be successful in their own education. Last year Carers Trust Scotland launched Going Further for Student Carers Recognition Award, a scheme to assist and encourage all 27 of Scotland’s colleges to develop their policies and practices to improve support for student carers, and award good practice.
While the number of student carer enrolments at college across Scotland has increased from 3,413 in 2013-14 to 11,965 in 2018-19, many student carers continue to be unidentified and unsupported, and continue to be a hidden group.
There are student carers in every college trying to successfully complete their course to the best of their ability just like their peers, but they often experience additional challenges because of their unpaid caring responsibilities and do not always receive the support they need to successfully complete college; therefore, stopping students with caring responsibilities from reaching their full potential, maintaining good health and wellbeing, and having equal access to the opportunities open to other students.
Additionally, due to the impact of the current Coronavirus pandemic, we know that many student carers are taking on additional caring responsibilities, therefore increasing the need for support at college.
Student carers can greatly benefit from dedicated support from their college and the Supporting Student Carers at College digital training module should help improve outcomes for student carers to reach positive destinations after study.
Scott Lafferty, Development Manager for Carers Trust Scotland, said: “Carers Trust Scotland is delighted to have worked with College Development Network to launch Supporting Student Carers at College, a digital training module for college professionals.
“It aims to raise awareness to the challenges that many student carers face and offers guidance on how colleges in Scotland can provide improved support to the over 12,000 student carers in Scotland, so that they have a fair chance to be successful in their own education and achieve their true potential in all aspects of their lives.”
Andree Carruthers, Access and Inclusion Consultant for CDN, said: “The Supporting Carers module is the first of its kind in the UK. We know that there are over 12,000 declared student carers studying in our colleges, and that they are four times more likely to withdraw from their course.
“College offers carers a break from caring and new opportunities for the future, and we owe it to them to support them to make the most of their time at college. This new resource, developed in partnership with Carers Trust Scotland, offers colleges a flexible and engaging professional development tool.
“The module is brought to life by the voices of the carers that courageously and selflessly shared their experiences and the challenges of combining their caring duties and studying.”
Children will need significant emotional support as they return to school, Barnardo’s says, as a poll for the leading national children’s charity suggests hundreds of thousands of children could refuse to go while others feel nervous, upset and scared.
The new poll suggests that the children of more than 440,000 parents across the UK could be refusing to return to school.
Almost a quarter of GB parents of children aged 18 and under surveyed (23%) say their children are nervous about going back to the classroom, and 4% say their children are refusing to return.
A tenth of the 1,000 parents surveyed by YouGov said their children were scared about it and 5% said their children are upset about going back to school.
Barnardo’s says it is vital for all schools to be allowed to have a “readjustment period” of at least a term where teachers can prioritise staff and pupil wellbeing, instead of being back to ‘business as usual’ from day one.
The charity also says the Government must ensure schools have the tools, skills and resources to support children and give a higher priority to their mental health and wellbeing in the longer-term.
Barnardo’s is calling on teachers to talk to their pupils about how they are feeling and what they need to make their return to school easier. To help with this the UK’s leading children’s charity has produced two booklets of wellbeing exercises to help children reflect on life during lockdown.
There may also be children who need additional support from Barnardo’s See, Hear, Respond partnership which brings together all the people required to help a child or young person return to school to identify the practical and emotional support they need.
Covid-19 outbreak, as well as side effects of the measures to contain it, have exposed the country’s children and young people to an unprecedented level of trauma, loss and adversity.
Some children and young people will have experienced domestic abuse, poverty or child abuse for the first time. Others will be grieving for loved ones, and we know the virus has disproportionately affected BAME communities.
Some children will be fearful of catching the virus and others will be experiencing separation anxiety after spending so much time at home with their family.
The Barnardo’s pamphlets are useful resources to help teachers work with their pupils on how they are feeling, managing change, and changes to their routine and relationships. Both are available to download from the Barnardo’s website.
Barnardo’s See, Hear, Respond (SHR) programme, funded by the Department for Education, and delivered in partnership with more than 70 national and local charities, is aimed at children and young people in England who may have become vulnerable because of coronavirus.
It supports them with issues around bullying, hate crime and racism or anxiety. It also works with children moving into secondary school, or who have been excluded or suspended, and who may also need significant help.
Trained therapists work closely with children, parents or carers, and their school, to help them get back in the classroom.
Barnardo’s Chief Executive Javed Khan said:“Returning to school for the first time in months will undoubtedly be nerve-wracking for many children, their parents and their teachers.
“The pandemic and lockdown have been hugely traumatic for young people – separation from friends, anxiety about the virus and financial pressures at home have taken a serious toll on their mental health.
“It’s vital that children go back to the classroom, but with so much continued uncertainty about the virus, it’s natural that some will be fearful – above and beyond the usual first-day jitters.
“The Government must now work with schools to reassure children and their families that schools are safe – otherwise some pupils may simply not return. Messages also need to be culturally sensitive, reflecting the heightened concern amongst BAME communities, who have been hardest hit by COVID.
“When classes do begin, teachers must be supported to focus on mental health and wellbeing, so children can address feelings of trauma, bereavement and anxiety, and readjust to being in the classroom.
“Lockdown has been especially hard for vulnerable children who are now facing not only an ‘attainment gap’ but also a ‘trauma gap’ compared to their classmates. Barnardo’s specially trained staff are available through our See, Hear, Respond service to support them, and I urge teachers and parents to get in touch.”
Any teacher, child, young person, parent or carer can call the support line on 08001 577015 to request help.
Ask them to write down some words about how they are feeling and either draw or write what their face looks like – Ask them whether their feeling is comfortable, uncomfortable, a bit of both – Ask them to explain why they think they feel this way Remind them it is okay to feel all feelings. There is no such thing as a bad feeling.
Tell them if they are feeling sad, angry, worried or frustrated they can take steps to calm down. – Ask them to write down some things that make them feel calm
Talk to them about some of the things that have changed because of the pandemic like not being able to hug and keeping a safe distance – Ask them to list which ones are in their control and which ones are not
For secondary school children
Ask them to keep a monthly mood tracker to see how they are feeling in the morning and evening of each day. – Remind them all feelings are okay but if they notice a pattern of low mood it can be helpful to talk to someone about it
Ask them to write down their go-to strategies for when they are feeling stressed.
Ask them to write down what they do, or how they feel, when they are at their best. – Remind them if they are not feeling at their best they could talk to someone they trust and see if they could help make a change.
The Edinburgh Marathon weekend was due to take place on 5th and 6th September and now will be a virtual event.
You can sign up and run your chosen distance anytime between now and the end of December and fundraise for Held In Our Hearts. You will still receive that all important blue t -shirt and medal. https://virtual.edinburghmarathon.com
The Edinburgh Kiltwalk was due to take place on 13th September but will now go ahead as a virtual event.
Held In Our Hearts is a local charity proving baby loss counselling and support to families. Formerly known as SANDS Lothians, we have 40 years’ experience of offering compassionate care bereavement care in the community.
When a family’s baby dies, it is an incredibly traumatic and extremely lonely time as parents struggle to find others who can connect with the overwhelming emotions they experience.
The majority of our staff are bereaved themselves, so we are there to let them know they are not alone. Through our support services, we journey with families providing empathy, while they start to come to terms with what has happened and help support them in their grief.
As we are now going into the second half of 2020 bereaved families need your support more than ever and as the world starts to return to a new normal our families know that life without their precious baby is a new normal for them.
For more information on your events or if you want to fundraise in other ways you can contact tracy@heldinourhearts.org.uk
Two Edinburgh children’s charities have received £4,000 in donations from Amazon’s Development Centre in the city.
Amazon Development Centre Scotland donated £2,000 to Canongate Youth and £2,000 to The Yard.
The donations were made as part of the ‘Amazon in the Community’ programme, whereby the company supports the communities around its operating locations across the UK.
Canongate Youth supports children across Edinburgh and the Lothians, offering youth clubs, support services, advice and counselling. Amazon Development Centre Scotland has supported the charity since 2014.
The Yard is an organisation that creates safe play areas for disabled children and their siblings, giving them the chance to experience creative, adventurous indoor and outdoor play in a well-supported environment.
The charity plans to use the money to support more disabled children and families with online videos for early years, play ideas and relaxation, and work towards bringing more people back into the playground in line with current guidance.
Graeme Smith, Managing Director at Amazon Development Centre Scotland, said: “We are pleased to offer these donations to such brilliant charities. We hope the support will help both charities continue their important work with the children of our community.”
Amazon’s Tich Kent with Anna Robinson (left) partnership manager and Danielle Campbell play team leader.NOTE picture was pre-COVID
Jenny MacDonald, Director of Development at The Yard, added: “We are very grateful for this donation from the Amazon team and for their support of our mission to ensure every child has the right to safe and fun play. We would like to say a big thank you to Amazon for its kind support.”
Amazon’s Development Centre in Scotland is responsible for innovations used around the world by the company, including machine learning to power Amazon’s smart features like personalised recommendations and intelligent advertising.
Community donations is one of a number of ways in which Amazon is supporting communities across the UK during COVID-19.
Amazon is providing disadvantaged students with online STEM courses as well as teaming up with charity partner Magic Breakfast and delivering three quarters of a million healthy breakfasts to families around the UK.
For more information on how Amazon is supporting the UK during COVID-19, click here.
The £2.2m fund, which was announced by Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop on 10 July 2020, will be delivered through Creative Scotland.
The purpose of the fund is to provide grassroots live music venues, that were financially sustainable before Covid-19, with the funds to prevent permanent closure and help with sustainability.
Eligible venues should:
Be permanent, indoor venues in Scotland in the grassroots sector (i.e. those working with new, developing, musical talent), which have a public audience
Have a capacity of under 600. Applications from venues with capacities of up to 1,000 will be considered if a significant grassroots focus can be demonstrated.
Venues may apply for grants of between £5,000 and £50,000.
Online application forms will be available on the Creative Scotland website at 12 noon on Wednesday 26 August 2020.
Applications must be submitted by 12 noon on Thursday 3 September 2020.
Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslopsaid: “Grassroots venues are the heartbeat of Scotland’s music scene, and they have been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. We are all extremely keen to see grassroots venues reopen again but further work is needed to ensure this can be done in a safe and sustainable manner.
“This £2.2m funding will provide some much needed stability for grassroots venues over the coming months and I am determined to continue working with the sector on what further help we can provide. It’s a long road to recovery but hopefully this marks the beginning of a brighter future after the very recent dark times.”
Iain Munro, Chief Executive, Creative Scotlandsaid: “In these extremely challenging times, this fund will provide much needed emergency support to Scotland’s grassroots music venues which are an important part of Scotland’s music ecology, developing music and audiences as well as supporting the talent for which Scotland is so renowned.
“As we look to move forward through the Covid-19 crisis, grassroots venues will, when it is safe to do so, play a crucial role in bringing people of all backgrounds together to experience the joy of live music.”
The Office for National Statistics yesterday announced that employment in the UK fell by the largest amount in over a decade between April and June.
The ONS stated that employment decreased in the UK by 220,000 on the quarter and this has been no more acutely felt than in Edinburgh, which has been one of the hardest hit cities in Western Europe.
At the start of lockdown, The City of Edinburgh Council asked employment service Next Step Edinburgh to respond and they are currently supporting hundreds of people who have lost work. Next Step Edinburgh has been providing employment support for people in and out of work since April 2019, but since March they have adapted their service as registrations from people affected by COVID 19 job losses has increased.
Paul Forsyth is a self-employed taxi driver who was badly hit by the effects of lockdown: “As I was a self-employed taxi driver, lockdown affected me really badly.
“All of the work dried up and I was forced to turn to the government schemes for the self-employed, only to find out I was ineligible and one of many who have been excluded by the UK Government’s measures.
“I was left with no income and was unable to work. Luckily Next Step Edinburgh provided me with vital support during this time and helped me apply for an Edinburgh Trust Grant, this gave me some breathing space.
“Now lockdown has eased I am back driving but my adviser Ross has kept in touch throughout. I’m so glad this support was available.”
Capital City Partnership has been working with key organisations to coordinate a response to the crisis. Their Deputy Chief Executive, Kate Kelman said: “We know that people and businesses are finding it really hard just now and the impact on jobs and the economy is likely to be far-reaching.
“Along with our Joined up for Jobs network of provision, Next Steps has literally ‘stepped up’ to support individuals who are facing redundancy and job insecurity. Their high-quality help and guidance will ensure that Edinburgh residents can progress quickly into fair, sustainable work.”
Lesley Morrison who is a Service Manager for Community Renewal, the charity who deliver the Next Step Edinburgh service, explained: “We don’t believe in a one size fits all approach – everyone is different, and we listen to what each client’s needs and together we come up with a plan.
“Some people just need a job right away and we can link them with employers we have relationships with. For everyone else, we work with them, so they are ready for when the job market recovers; whether that be refreshing a stale CV, helping with applications or directing them to vocational training if they are considering a career change.
“Whatever is needed, we are here – and if we can’t support all their needs, we will link with specialist organisations who can help them whilst we continue to support their employment needs.”
The City of Edinburgh Council continues to fund Next Step Edinburgh to support people to secure and progress into employment. Additional funding was made available through City Region Deal has also allowed the development of a jobs website – www.c19jobs.org – which directly assists those who have faced redundancy or job insecurity due to the current crisis.
Councillor Cammy Day, Depute Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council, said:“As the economic impact of the pandemic on Edinburgh unfolds, we’re doing all that we can to help people facing financial hardship. We know that this crisis is far from over and we stand ready to help our most at-risk residents.
“The Next Step Edinburgh employment programme is in place to support anybody facing redundancy or job insecurity in Edinburgh. I’m pleased we’re able to fund this service in order to support people back into careers as quickly as possible.
“The project is part of a package of measures we’re working on right now to prevent long-term unemployment in the coming months and years, including an expanded Edinburgh Guarantee. Hailed by the Scottish Government as a really good example of the type of work cities can do to successfully tackle unemployment, our Edinburgh Guarantee has been supporting disadvantaged young people for years.
“We’re looking to expand this offer even more in light of Covid-19. We want to use it to help people of all ages who might face additional barriers to employment and we’re calling on employers to sign up and support us.”
Lesley warns that the journey ahead won’t be straightforward, but stresses that nobody has to face it alone – there is support available: “Next Step Edinburgh’s advisers will do everything they can to support you.
“We are working with employers recruiting right now but we understand those jobs may not be right for some. For those people we will collaborate so they will be front of the queue when the job market recovers.”
Anyone looking for support can find the contact details on Next Step Edinburgh’s website – www.nexstepedinburgh.org
NSPCC calls for urgent action to tackle crisis of abuse
More than 5,000 child sex offences recorded by Police Scotland in 2019/20
Childline counselling sessions about sexual abuse in the family triple across UK during lockdown
NSPCC urges Scottish Government to draw up a Child Sexual Abuse Strategy that puts victims and prevention at its core
Police Scotland recorded an average of 15 child sex offences every day last year, new figures from the NSPCC reveal.
There were 5,311 recorded offences including rape, online grooming and sexual assault against children in Scotland in 2019/20 – up 30% in the five years since 2014/15.
In last year’s figures, where gender was recorded, girls were five times as likely to be victims, and in the offences where age category was given, 45% of the crimes recorded were against children under 13.
Across the UK, there were 73,518 recorded offences in 2019/20. The data was provided by a total of 44 out of 45 police forces after the NSPCC submitted a Freedom of Information request.
NSPCC Scotland believes these figures show the urgent need for national leadership to create a coordinated plan to tackle child sexual abuse, both online and offline, in the country.
The charity is now calling on the Scottish Government to follow other nations in the UK and set about producing a comprehensive Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy.1
The charity is calling for the strategy to put the needs of children and young people at the centre of how authorities respond to child sexual abuse, with a focus on effective prevention and victims having access to timely, relevant and specialist support to help them recover.
NSPCC Scotland research2 has shown that the availability of specialist therapeutic sexual abuse services is patchy and inconsistent across the country.
Support should include that provided through Child House initiatives where health, policing, social work, therapeutic and other services provide help to children under one roof.
Matt Forde, NSPCC Scotland’s head of service, said: “Every day, children in Scotland are being sexually abused and having to live with the devastating impacts of this abuse on their lives.
“Urgent action is needed to prevent abuse and to ensure children are supported to recover when it is disclosed.
“In Scotland, we have seen numerous plans and initiatives launched to deal with various aspects of such abuse, including child sexual exploitation and harmful sexual behaviour.
“However, we believe it is crucial to have a joined-up approach when tackling this crime and want to see a strategy which puts the experiences and needs of children at the heart of it and is effective in preventing abuse and helping young people recover.”
The call comes as an NSPCC report found contacts from young people to Childline about sexual abuse in the family tripled across the UK during lockdown.
The report published today, ‘The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on child welfare: sexual abuse’, shows there were an average of 23 contacts to Childline per week about child sexual abuse in the home, up threefold since March 23rd when lockdown was announced.
Some children told Childline that sexual abuse had become more frequent during lockdown, as they were spending more time with their abuser.
One 17-year-old girl said: “It started during lockdown, about seven weeks ago. Dad touched me and got me to touch him. Today he came into my room and removed his trousers and asked me to do something to him and I did it.
“I don’t want to live here anymore. I feel I should tell social services about how abusive dad is, but I don’t feel ready to tell them about the sexual abuse part.”
A third of counselling sessions were about abuse in the family that happened over a year ago, with many children talking about it for the first time.
A 15-year-old girl told Childline: “My dad touched me sexually when I was younger and now I have to be home all the time with him and I can’t deal with it. Just being in the house with him is so hard. I am constantly reminded of what he did.”
Anyone concerned about a child can contact the NSPCC Helpline for advice on 0808 800 5000. Adult victims of non-recent sexual abuse can also get in touch for support.
