The Need

• Seven per cent of children experienced serious physical abuse at the hands of their parents or carers during childhood.
• Twenty-five per cent of children have experienced one or more forms of physical violence.
• Six per cent of children experience frequent and severe emotional abuse
• At least 32,000 children in the UK are known to be at risk of abuse right now.
• On average over 700 children are added to child protection registers in the UK each week.

The NSPCC is working to ensure that these children have someone to turn to, ensure that they do not suffer in silence but are given back their voice.

The Effects of Abuse

The impact of any form of abuse can be devastating for a child. It can rob them of their self-esteem, their ability to make friends, their childhood innocence and potentially their chance to grow up as a happy person able to meet the challenges of adult life.  Research into the effects of child abuse shows serious and lasting harm to those affected. For example:

• Sexually abused children are twice as likely to develop eating disorders.
• Emotional stress can harm the development of children’s brains and impair cognitive and sensory growth.
• Adults treated for mental health problems often identify child harm as an influence.

It is also evident that abuse can have an impact on future generations:

• Rates of domestic violence abuse are higher among women whose husbands were abused as children or who saw their mothers being abused.
• In an evaluation of the NSPCC’s Treatment and Therapeutic Service, it was found that in approximately half of the cases discussed the parent or carer of the child receiving therapy had also suffered abuse at some point in their lives.

Therapeutic support plays a vital role in promoting a child’s healthy development and aiding their recovery from abuse or neglect. Despite this, it has been estimated that 90 percent of children who have experienced sexual abuse receive no substantial support.

The Solution

The NSPCC is the only national provider of therapy for abused children.

Our Treatment and Therapeutic Service helps children and their families overcome the damaging effects of abuse, and provide unique child focussed therapeutic methods to empower abused children to deal with their experiences and grow up to fulfil their potential.

• Last year our therapeutic teams helped over 2,000 children come to terms with the damaging harm caused by abuse.
• 46% of the children who used the NSPCC’s Treatment and Therapeutic service last year were aged 10 or under, with 11% aged 7 or under.
• The majority of children and young people are referred to our services by social services, family protection police, and education and health services, although an increasing number of parents and young people are making their own referrals.
• Children and young people up to the age of 18 years may be referred to the service, and young people who have previously received an NSPCC Therapeutic service may continue to refer themselves up to the age of 25.

The Cost

The cost of Therapeutic work is equivalent to approximately £3,759 per child which, when you consider that some children receive intensive therapy for two years, is a worthwhile investment and a much lower cost than the long term impacts of untreated abuse on the individual child and society.

• An average cost of £3,500 per week for each child in residential care adds up to £182,000 per child per year.
• It is possible that with appropriate therapeutic support provided at the right time, some of these children would not have needed to go into expensive residential care.
• Longer term impacts of untreated abuse can include criminality, unemployment, mental health problems, and drug abuse.
• It costs £35,000 per year to imprison an adult offender.

• The cost of dealing with the aftermath of child abuse in the UK is estimated to cost a total of £1 billion per annum.

The Rebuilding Childhoods vision is of a society where all children who have suffered the tragedy of abuse receive the support and care they need to come to terms with their experiences and rebuild their childhoods.

Therapy can transform children’s lives but we know that levels of provision have been and continue to be inadequate, and that children and young people find it difficult to access the services that do exist.

• The NSPCC is committed to providing a therapeutic service for abused children.
• Our long term strategy is to ensure that every abused child has access to high-quality therapeutic support.
• We are currently lobbying the government to secure a comprehensive network of support for abused children, which does not differ according to postcode.

By building on the experience of the Treatment and Therapeutic Service, gathering evidence and conducting in-depth research over the next three years the Society aims to create a compelling and unequivocal case for change. This will only be made possible with the support of the Rebuilding Childhoods Appeal Board.
"Thank you for helping me through the hard times and for always believing in me and encouraging me. I think of you as a very treasured friend … I will never forget you ….. you are very good at your job and I'm sure you will help other young people's lives as well"
Child who was helped by an NSPCC treatment and therapeutic centre