About 25,000 children sexually abused, report shows

About 25,000 children are being sexually abused each year in Wales, with online abuse growing fast, a report has shown.

The Welsh government is consulting on a 10-year strategy aimed at preventing and responding to child sexual abuse, saying it is the first comprehensive long-term strategy of its kind in the UK.

Children's Minister Dawn Bowden said "the voices of people" affected by sexual abuse will be central to the strategy and how it is delivered.

She said she had already engaged with key stakeholders but wanted more individuals, organisations and communities "to share their views and help shape this vital work".

The consultation on the draft strategy runs until September and the government said it then intends for the strategy to run until 2035.

It said recent research showed approximately 25,000 children in Wales experience some form of sexual abuse each year, but only a fraction of these come to the attention of police or social services.

Proposals include encouraging adults who experienced sexual abuse to share their stories and making sure that professionals working with children, families, and adults in Wales understand the long-term impact of child sexual abuse.

There are also calls for increased visibility and recognition of support services for adult survivors of child sexual abuse and the setting up of "regional lived experience groups" specifically for adolescents, including those in rural parts of Wales.

Welsh ministers said the other UK nations have implemented shorter-term action plans but Wales was the first to develop "a decade-long strategic vision".

They said the strategy acknowledged that the scale and nature of child sexual abuse had evolved considerably in recent years, particularly in online spaces.

In producing the plans, the government said it had worked with groups such as adult victim-survivors, the NSPCC, the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse and Barnardo's to ensure that it was "grounded in lived experience and expert insight".

In a statement, Dawn Bowden, the minister for children and social care, said: "By developing the UK's first ten-year strategy in this area, we are demonstrating our unwavering commitment to protecting children and supporting survivors throughout their lives.

"The voices of people who have been affected by sexual abuse are central to this strategy and how it is delivered."

Welsh ministers also said they will be "fully engaging" with the England and Wales inquiry into the sexual exploitation and abuse of children by grooming gangs.

They had been criticised by the Conservative leader in the Senedd, Darren Millar, who accused them and other Welsh politicians of trying to "shut me down" over his calls for a Wales-wide inquiry.

Plaid Cymru justice spokesperson Adam Price called the 10-year strategy a "welcome step forward" but warned it needed "sustainable, long-term investment, especially for local services".

"We also need to urgently confront the reality that more and more abuse is happening online," he said.

"The digital world is evolving faster than regulation and education can keep up. "Plaid Cymru believes we need stronger protections for children online and clear pathways for reporting abuse in digital spaces."

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