Support Matters
A comprehensive study of the landscape of service provision in response to child sexual abuse in England & Wales.
Support Matters is a comprehensive study of the current landscape of service provision in response to child sexual abuse in England & Wales.
In our latest 2025 report, we found that services providing vital support to victims of child sexual abuse are at a critical point, with almost two thirds struggling to maintain their capacity and meet demand. Three in four services also face funding uncertainty – impacting their ability to retain and recruit staff, and to maintain the vital support they offer to victims, survivors and their families.
Support provision, which was already scarce, is decreasing. In the 18 months since our 2023 national survey of services, 23 services had been forced to close their doors, leaving just 363 across the whole of England and Wales providing support to those affected by child sexual abuse. This means there are an estimated 16,500 victims and survivors for each service.
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.
Support Matters 2025: Update on child sexual abuse support services in England and Wales
By Diana Parkinson and Milly Steele.
Read and download the full report now. You can find our previous report 2024 report, Support Matters: The landscape of child sexual abuse support services in England and Wales, on our publications list.
Funding and commissioning child sexual abuse services
To help build understanding of where and how to address these gaps in provision, we’ve designed the Funding and commissioning child sexual abuse services guide. In four parts, the resource signposts each stage of the commissioning cycle: analysing local need for support, planning targeted interventions, delivering effective support services, and rigorously reviewing outcomes.
It is designed for funders and commissioners across a wide range of local, regional and national arrangements, including Police and Crime Commissioners, local authorities, NHS England and Wales and Integrated Care Boards, the guide offers a structured approach to developing and improving support provision.
Focussed overviews of our earlier findings
Building on our 2024 report, these helpful papers summarise the key findings and implications of the Support Matters research. These include focused overviews specifically on the services supporting children who have been affected by sexual abuse and their parents, and adult victims/survivors of childhood sexual abuse, as well as a briefing to help prioritise information to aid funders, commissioners of services, and policymakers.
Written for organisations delivering services, professionals working with children and adults, or those with responsibility for commissioning support, each paper summarises the kinds of support services available and the challenges faced by services in sustaining their provision. They can help inform services about the support landscape across England and Wales, and inform funding and policy decisions.
