Victims of female child sexual abuse face “enormous stigma and shame”

Sexual Abuse & Sexual Violence Awareness Week is currently underway across the UK, with the general public, statutory bodies and third sector organisations collectively saying ‘It’s Not Ok’.

This blog forms part of a series produced by our Abuse team this week, who aim to spread awareness of the issues associated with sexual abuse and violence. Natalie Marrison, Head of Abuse at Ramsdens comments: “We aim to continue highlighting the message of this campaign, supporting survivors and raising awareness with an aim to reduce violent sexual conduct in our communities.”

Today’s blog discusses how victims of female child sexual abusers continue to face shame, as experts say there is a “lack of understanding” surrounding the extent of such abuse. BBC Radio 4’s File on 4 revealed that there were 10,400 reports of female child sexual abuse between 2015 and 2019 and reports made to the police during this time rose by 84%.

Katherine Cox, of charity Survivors UK, highlighted that many victims “believe they won’t be believed” and subsequently referred to the low rate of prosecution for any survivor of child sexual abuse. Detective Superintendent Mark Lewis of South Wales Police discussed there being a “taboo element” surrounding the issue of female sexual abuse, as victims continue to face enormous stigma.

Since the findings, the government has said it will publish a strategy to “tackle all forms of child sexual abuse, including that perpetrated by female offenders”.

If you’d like to find out more about the awareness week click here. To keep updated with our series of blogs, you can follow @RamsdensAbuse on Twitter.

If you have suffered any abuse, our experienced abuse team headed by Natalie Marrison are here to help. For a confidential discussion, please contact the Ramsdens Abuse team on 0113 887 1834 or email Natalie.marrison@ramsdens.co.uk.