Child Sexual Abuse, Data, and Structural Invisibility
Why naming, measurement, and system design matter
Rising disclosures of child sexual abuse — including adults reporting abuse experienced in childhood — do not reflect new harm. They reflect long-hidden harm finally coming into view.
For decades, child sexual abuse has existed across families, institutions, communities, and online spaces.
Yet it has remained structurally invisible within policy, data, and funding systems.
When child sexual abuse is poorly named, it is poorly measured.
When it is poorly measured, it is poorly funded.
And when it is poorly funded, it is poorly prevented.
This paper argues that the UK’s response to child sexual abuse has not failed due to lack of awareness or concern.
It has failed because systems were not designed to consistently see, record, and prioritise the most prevalent and hidden forms of abuse — particularly intrafamilial and non-recent child sexual abuse.
What this paper does
This paper:
- brings together over a decade of evidence from statutory inquiries, Serious Case Reviews, national data sets, and survivor-led insight
- explains how language and definitions shape what is seen, counted, and prioritised
- examines how adult disclosures of childhood abuse are frequently misrecorded and lost from child sexual abuse data
- explores why intrafamilial abuse remains the most prevalent yet least visible form of CSA
- shows how CSA becomes obscured within broader harm categories and adult-focused frameworks
- sets out how fragmented data and dispersed accountability weaken prevention
- makes the case for a Child Protection Authority as a foundational structural reform
Who this paper is for
This paper is written for:
- policymakers and civil servants
- safeguarding leaders and commissioners
- funders and philanthropies
- researchers and evaluators
- third-sector and statutory service leaders
It is also written with survivors in mind — to ensure experiences are accurately named and located, rather than diluted or obscured by institutional frameworks.
No specialist policy or legal knowledge is assumed.
All key terms are explained, and a full glossary is included.
How to use this page
If you are short on time, focus on:
- the core principles defining child sexual abuse
- the sections on data failure and adult disclosures
- the analysis leading to the case for a Child Protection Authority
If you want full context, depth, and system-level explanation, read the full paper.
The document is deliberately detailed.
It is designed to be used as context, reference, and evidence — particularly where policy, funding, data, and accountability intersect.
Part of an ongoing Research & Insights series
This paper forms part of a wider Research & Insights series examining how system design, data, and policy frameworks shape outcomes for survivors of sexual abuse and exploitation.
Each paper in the series:
- focuses on a distinct point of system failure or reform
- stands alone as a reference document
- contributes to a broader evidence base on prevention, accountability, and justice
New papers will be added over time as further areas of system design and practice are examined.
About the author
This paper is informed by both systems analysis and lived experience of navigating statutory responses as an adult survivor of non-recent child sexual abuse.
It draws on direct engagement with inquiry findings, safeguarding systems, and survivor-led evidence, including work connected to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).
It is not a complaint or a campaign. It is an attempt to make complex systems understandable — so decisions about data, policy, funding, and reform are made with full awareness of their consequences.
Written by Chris Tuck
Founder & CEO, Survivors of aBuse
Former member, Victims & Survivors Consultative Panel, Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (2015–2022)
The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent the views of any statutory body or inquiry.