By Chris Tuck — Survivor, Founder of Survivors of aBuse (SoB), Former VSCP Member @ IICSA.

Foreword — As a survivor of child sexual abuse, as a practitioner supporting adult survivors every day, and as someone who contributed to national inquiries, I need to say something difficult:

Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) is still not a national priority in England & Wales.

And the reason is simple:

The current Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy does NOT include CSA as a core strand, a standalone priority, or a dedicated budget line.

This omission has shaped the entire safeguarding landscape for over a decade.

*It explains the chronic underfunding.
*It explains why intrafamilial abuse remains hidden.
*It explains why boys are systematically overlooked.
*It explains why adult survivors face decades without support.
*It explains why data is non-existent.
*It explains why the system keeps failing children.

This article explains how we got here, what the evidence shows, and what must finally change.

The Most Important Statistic in UK Safeguarding: “Only 1 in 8”

The Office of the Children’s Commissioner (2015) established: “Only 1 in 8 children who experience sexual abuse are identified by professionals.”

This means:
• 7 out of 8 abused children are invisible
• 7 out of 8 never appear in national data
• 7 out of 8 receive no early help
• 7 out of 8 are missing from funding decisions

The government is building strategies and budgets based on a 12.5% visibility rate.

No other crime, harm or vulnerability is treated this way.

Most CSA Happens in the Home — But VAWG Doesn’t Cover This.

The CSA Centre’s 2024 evidence review confirmed:
• intrafamilial CSA is the largest category
• it is the least identified
• it causes the most long-term harm
• disclosures are heavily suppressed
• systems are not designed to detect it

Yet: The VAWG Strategy does NOT treat CSA as a standalone form of harm.

It focuses on:
• adult rape
• adult sexual violence
• domestic abuse against women
• policing & criminal justice
• stalking and harassment
• online harms
• group-based exploitation

These are critical issues — but they do not cover intrafamilial CSA.

They do not meaningfully cover:
• babies and young children
• boys
• disabled children
• child-on-child abuse
• adult survivors of CSA
• grooming inside families
• institutional CSA
• hidden harm patterns
• early identification
• therapeutic response
• long-term trauma

In other words:
The VAWG Strategy structurally excludes the majority of CSA.
And because VAWG drives national funding decisions, CSA receives little to none.

⭐ The Funding Problem: CSA Has No Ring-Fenced Budget

Here is the funding landscape:

VAWG Strategy (2021–24):
➡️ Over £220 million

Domestic Abuse Act (2021):
➡️ Over £125 million + DA Commissioner

CSA Strategy (2021):
➡️ £30 million one-off (expired)
➡️ No commissioner
➡️ No ongoing investment
➡️ No statutory duties
➡️ No national dataset

That’s the entire difference.

CSA never became a priority because it was never given a budget.

And because it wasn’t funded, it wasn’t measured.

Because it wasn’t measured, it wasn’t prioritised.

Because it wasn’t prioritised, it wasn’t protected.

This cycle has kept CSA invisible.

How Did We Get Here? A Brief History

*1990–2010 — CSA absorbed under generic safeguarding. No national strategy, no funding stream.
*2010–2020 — VAWG rises in priority. A positive development — but CSA is not integrated.
*2015–2022 — IICSA exposes systemic failings

Yet most recommendations remain unimplemented.

*2021 — CSA gets its first strategy
But only token funding and no structural reform.
*2021–2024 — VAWG receives long-term investment. CSA remains a footnote.
*2025 — Casey National Audit
confirms system-wide data failures in CSE analysis. Government accepts all 12 recommendations.

Across all these years:

CSA was never given equivalent status to VAWG or DA.
This is the root problem.

The Evidence Is Clear: Our Systems Cannot Detect CSA

IICSA (2015–2022) found:
• widespread institutional protectionism
• poor data
• inconsistent multi-agency responses
• inadequate training
• failures across every sector
• lack of leadership

CSA Centre (2024) found:
• intrafamilial CSA is least recognised
• early signs missed
• professionals lack confidence
• multi-agency pathways unclear

Casey National Audit (2025) found:
• ethnicity/nationality missing in most cases
• national trends impossible to measure
• CSE data inconsistent across country
• fundamental safeguarding weaknesses

All three agree: England & Wales do not have the structures needed to identify, record or respond to CSA.

The Economic Reality: CSA Costs Billions.

Using national prevalence from Crime Survey England & Wales:

• 3.1 million adults experienced CSA
• Costs per survivor = £150k–£350k+
• National lifetime cost = £465–£700 billion
• Annual cost of CSA = £10–£15 billion

These costs hit:
• mental health
• homelessness
• unemployment
• criminal justice
• NHS crisis response
• adult social care
• addiction services
• education outcomes
• repeat victimisation

CSA is one of the most expensive harms we fail to prioritise.

⭐ Why CSA MUST Become a Core National Priority (Equal to VAWG & DA)

Because:
• CSA is far more prevalent than what current data shows
• Most CSA is intrafamilial — invisible to VAWG
• Boys are systematically excluded
• Early trauma drives lifelong disadvantage
• Adult survivors experience untreated PTSD, complex trauma and chronic illness
• Hidden harm costs far more than prevention
• The system does not possess the structures to identify victims
• The VAWG Strategy alone cannot and will not fix CSA
• CSA needs its own leadership, budget, data & reform
• agenda

And because the CPA consultation gives us the first opportunity in decades to make this systemic change.

⭐ The System We Need (10 Reforms)

1️⃣ Statutory Child Protection Authority (CPA)
National leadership and oversight.
2️⃣ CSA Commissioner
Parity with DA & VAWG.
3️⃣ National CSA Dataset
To end the 1-in-8 invisibility crisis.
4️⃣ Ring-fenced funding (£150–200m/year)
Based on true prevalence.
5️⃣ Full IICSA implementation
Including mandatory reporting (with capacity).
6️⃣ National Child Safe Standards
Mandatory across all sectors.
7️⃣ Specialist CSA multi-agency hubs
Local teams combining police, social care, health and therapy.
8️⃣ Rebuild early help as CSA prevention
Family support, trauma-informed practice, mental health.
9️⃣ Workforce training & professionalisation
Intrafamilial CSA → mandatory content.
🔟 Integrate CSA into Violence Against Women AND Children (VAW+C)
CSA cannot remain a footnote under adult sexual violence.

⭐ A Turning Point: The CPA Consultation (2025)
For the first time, government is consulting on the Child Protection Authority — a core recommendation from IICSA.

This is the single biggest safeguarding opportunity in decades.

If we get this right, we can finally:
• build a national CSA dataset
• create national child-safe standards
• deliver consistent multi-agency response
• prioritise intrafamilial CSA
• reduce the hidden 7 in 8
• create a CSA Commissioner
• secure proper funding parity
• stop children being invisible

If we miss this moment, the cycle continues.

Call to Action:—

Children are hurting now. Survivors need support now. Professionals are overwhelmed now. And perpetrators are offending now.

This is not an abstract policy debate.
It is real.
It is urgent.
It is solvable.

I survived my own childhood abuse — but no child should have to survive what I went through.

We owe it to every child, every survivor and every future generation to build the system that was missing for ours.

Have your say:
👉 Child Protection Authority Consultation:
https://consult.education.gov.uk/child-sexual-abuseexploitation-team/child-protection-authority/

Make your voice count.

This is our moment.

Let’s not waste it.

⭐ SOURCES
• Office of the Children’s Commissioner (2015) — “Only 1 in 8”
• CSA Centre (2024) — Intrafamilial CSA evidence review
• IICSA (2015–2022) — Final report & investigations
• Casey National Audit (2025) — Data gaps & CSE evidence
• Crime Survey England & Wales — CSA prevalence
• UK/Australia/NZ economic models — Lifetime cost per survivor
• HM Government (2021) — £30m CSA Strategy funding
• VAWG Strategy (2021–24) — £220m funding
• Domestic Abuse Act (2021) — £125m statutory funding

There is a very long and detailed document to explore the above. If you would like a copy pls email Chris Tuck sobbtc@outlook.com