But home isn't always where the heart is, and the place where a child should feel safe, secure and loved can be a place of fear and trauma. It is estimated that 25,000 children and young people are sexually abused each year in Wales—a truly horrific statistic. Most child sexual abuse is perpetrated by someone the child knows and trusts, often within the family or wider home environment. Abuse can occur in the child's home, the perpetrator's home, or another familiar setting, as well as online. It occurs in institutions, schools, sports clubs, religious settings, and through online exploitation. Child abuse knows no boundaries, and perpetrators come from all walks of life. And the second we say to ourselves that that kind of thing doesn't happen here is the second we risk letting down a child.
The grooming of children and young people by adults for the purposes of sexual abuse is one of the most insidiously harmful and abhorrent crimes in society. I'm pleased that Plaid Cymru has committed to ensure that both learners and educators are fully informed on how to recognise and report signs of grooming through professional training and through RSE, relationships and sexuality education. Recognising harmful relationships and behaviours is a key part of RSE, and it has the potential to play a significant role in lowering the rates of adversity and harm for children in Wales.
Child sexual abuse creates layers of trauma that follow victims and survivors throughout their lives. Two thirds of children do not disclose abuse while it is happening to them. Research into adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse indicates that the average time for victims and survivors to disclose is 26 years.
There has been an 80 per cent increase in NSPCC helpline referrals to police and local authorities since lockdown. There were 349 children waiting for domestic or sexual abuse support in the last financial year in Wales. Waiting times for sexual abuse support for children have more than doubled since 2015, and tragically, child sexual abuse victims are between two and four times more likely to experience further sexual, physical or emotional abuse in their lifetime.
I would like to thank Venus for allowing me to share her story with you today. Venus was referred to the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre North Wales by Sussex Police during an active investigation into prolonged childhood sexual abuse, which occurred over approximately 14 years, beginning at the age of three. Her presenting issues were suicidal ideation and plans, depression, anxiety, complex post-traumatic stress disorder, disassociation, anger, disordered eating, educational and employment difficulties, fear, isolation, guilt, shame, low self-esteem, mental health instability, loss of income, sleep disturbance, relationship difficulties, nightmares, obsessive compulsive disorder traits, panic attacks, historic and current self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
Here is what Venus has to say about her experience being supported by RASASC. 'I never felt like I wasn't believed. I was always treated with respect, and my experiences were never referred to as allegations before the trial. The support I received was centred on me and the feelings I was experiencing, rather than trying to fit me into labels or clinical models. Their trauma-informed approach meant they recognised how trauma can affect trust, communication, emotions and day-to-day life. It helped me understand myself better. They worked at my pace and I felt understood as a person, rather than defined by something that had happened to me.'
'As things improved, I felt empowered to share my story because of this. They helped me discover for myself what made me feel safe and what I enjoyed, instead of simply suggesting strategies or telling me what I should do. This helped me build confidence in my own ability to cope. I was given a safe, non-judgmental space to vent whenever I needed to, without pressure to have all the answers or go into the details of my trauma. I was supported throughout the entire criminal justice process, with the support adapting at each stage as my needs changed.'
'They didn't give up on me, even during the times when I found it difficult to engage or struggle to talk. Their patience, consistency and continued support made a significant difference, and I was never worried that the support would end abruptly. Knowing there was continuity and that I wouldn't suddenly be discharged gave me a sense of security and stability—an important part of my recovery.'
Thank you, Venus, for your bravery, for sharing your story and for helping us understand the complex effects of abuse and the importance of trauma-informed working, and diolch, RASASC, for your fantastic work.
If we are to create a village that actively promotes, supports and enables positive childhood experiences, a village that raises happy, healthy and protected children, then we must commit to preventing adversity as best we can and always be willing to ask, 'Is that child okay?' We cannot prevent all harm, but how do we help a child who has suffered adversity, whatever it may be? A child should not be the sum of his or her adverse childhood experiences, and, given the right environment and the right support, that child can go on to thrive.
We must commit to supporting positive childhood experiences and prioritise opportunities for trusting, therapeutic relationships. Research by the British Psychological Society tells us that our public services are not formed in ways that put the person and relationships first. Relational public services are ones built on human connection rather than bureaucracy. They treat relationships, not processes, not targets, not transactions, as the primary mechanism for change. When services become relational, they stop doing to people and start working with them.
We could embed relational health across Welsh Government and public services, ensure trauma-informed practice prioritises positive relationships, strengths and collaboration with people rather than transactional or process-driven services. We can invest in prevention by promoting positive childhood experiences, PCEs, create policies that strengthen parent-child relationships, therapeutic relationships and family strengths, and recognise the impact of poverty on relational health.
That is what a collective village that raises Welsh children could look like—a truly child-friendly space that always has its children's backs, where the child's voice is central to everything we do. We can all play our part in creating that village, in keeping children safe from harm and in supporting every child to thrive. Diolch yn fawr.