By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent
There could be more than 11 million survivors of sexual abuse in the UK, a Government adviser has told Sky News.
Experts say they are now dealing with a "national health epidemic", while there has been a huge surge in people looking for support since the Jimmy Savile scandal.
Some are related to recent high-profile cases, but sexual abusers are more likely to be people who are already known to the victim.
Founder of the Lantern Project on Merseyside, Graham Wilmer, told Sky News: "There are potentially about 11.7 million victims out there at the moment who have not disclosed, and many of those people will start to come forward in very significant numbers."
Mr Wilmer, who was recently appointed to the Government's Independent Panel Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, explained that the figures are based on accepted statistics that suggest one in six boys under the age of 16 have been sexually abused - for girls the figure is one in four.
"You are dealing with a massive, massive problem. From what we have seen, if you don't provide the right level of support and intervention to support people when they come forward you see very significant health problems, mental health and physical health, which have a direct cost to us as a society.
"We look upon child abuse and its impact now as a national health epidemic."
There are around 130 similar groups offering support around the country that sit under the umbrella organisation The Survivors Trust - but access to services is still patchy in some parts of the UK.
Psychotherapist Brian Mynott, a survivor himself, runs the Real Dawn group in West Yorkshire and says there is a desperate need for more people to be properly trained to offer professional help.
He told Sky News: "It is a million miles from being enough.
"There is only one of me when there should be about a dozen of me in the Wakefield area alone, and that is not me validating myself that is what is missing.
"I have absolutely no shame in recording to anybody that I have been a victim but to get to that point is a journey that cannot be covered by volunteers alone."
He added: "It is very sad that when people phone me up I can't refer them on somewhere and is very sad when people can't get my services because I am booked up and these are people that need help now."
Mr Mynott is now also working with Leeds Trinity University to ensure students are aware of the growing demand for his services.
The Home Office, the Department of Health and the NHS have all committed to continue improving services for abuse survivors.
Mr Wilmer said investing in the support system is more important than the precise number of victims.
"All of the forces of law, and the forces of support work that are available are all gearing towards saying this number is a big number, whether it is 11.5 million or 11.1 actually isn't really relevant," he said.
"The fact is that it is a massive number and because it is a massive problem we are now focusing on it and we are going to do something about it."
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Sexual Abuse A 'National Health Epidemic'
Dengan url
http://kotasepisunyi.blogspot.com/2014/12/sexual-abuse-national-health-epidemic.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Sexual Abuse A 'National Health Epidemic'
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Sexual Abuse A 'National Health Epidemic'
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar