Identifying and Responding to Child Abuse Effectively requires professionals to look beyond disclosure, understand the signs of harm, and work together in ways that make children feel seen, heard and protected. In a powerful session from the Preventing Child Abuse and Exploitation Conference, Suzanne Taylor, Practice Improvement Advisor in Knowledge & Practice Development at The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, introduced the Child Sexual Abuse Response Pathway and explained why a more confident, collaborative approach is urgently needed.
The session is now available to watch On Demand as part of the Preventing Child Abuse and Exploitation Conference, offering professionals a practical opportunity to revisit the learning and reflect on how it applies in their own safeguarding context.
Why Identifying and Responding to Child Abuse Effectively Matters
Suzanne began by acknowledging a difficult but essential truth: child sexual abuse is deeply uncomfortable to think about and talk about. That discomfort can affect practice. Professionals may avoid naming concerns, focus on other forms of harm that feel easier to assess, or wait for a child to verbally disclose abuse before taking action.
Yet the evidence discussed in the session shows why that approach is not enough. Suzanne highlighted estimates from the CSA Centre’s research that 15% of girls and young women and 5% of boys and young men experience some form of sexual abuse before the age of 16. She also noted that these figures, particularly for boys and young men, are likely to be conservative.
One of the most important messages from the session was that abuse often starts young. Suzanne explained that, based on adult survivor reports, one third of sexual abuse started before the age of nine, and around two thirds before the age of 12. This challenges any assumption that child sexual abuse is primarily an issue affecting older children or teenagers.
Moving Beyond the “Tip of the Iceberg”
A central theme in Suzanne’s presentation was the “iceberg” of child sexual abuse. The children known to authorities represent only a small proportion of those experiencing harm. Suzanne stated that only one in eight victims come to the attention of authorities at the time.
This matters because many safeguarding systems still rely too heavily on children making a clear verbal disclosure. But children may not recognise what is happening as abuse, may not have the language to explain it, or may be experiencing coercion, confusion or fear. Younger children are more likely to tell family members, while teenagers may be more likely to tell peers. In both cases, professionals may never hear a direct disclosure.
For practitioners, the message is clear: do not wait for perfect words from a child. Behaviour, distress, changes in relationships, environmental vulnerabilities and professional instincts all matter. The question should not be, “Has the child told us?” but, “What might this child be communicating, and what do we need to do next?”
Understanding Vulnerability Without Blaming Children or Families
Taylor was careful to distinguish between vulnerabilities and causes. Factors in a child’s environment do not cause abuse, but they can increase opportunities for abuse to occur or make it harder for adults around the child to protect them.
The session explored several vulnerabilities professionals should hold in mind. Children living with neglect, children in residential care, disabled children, and children living in households where there is parental substance misuse may face increased risk. Suzanne also highlighted that over half of children who are sexually abused also experience other forms of abuse, such as emotional abuse, witnessing domestic abuse or neglect.
This is especially important for busy multi-agency teams. When multiple harms are present, professionals may focus on the concern that feels most familiar or easiest to evidence. Suzanne challenged practitioners to keep child sexual abuse in mind, particularly when a child’s distress is being explained in other ways.
Listening to Children: “I Wanted Them to Notice”
One of the most striking parts of the session focused on learning from the National Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s report into intrafamilial child sexual abuse. Suzanne referred to the report title, drawn from a child’s words: “I wanted them to notice.”
The point is painfully simple. Children may show distress through behaviour, withdrawal, anxiety, anger, changes in presentation or other signs. Professionals may notice the behaviour but fail to connect it to known or suspected abuse. In the cases reviewed, Suzanne explained that 76% of children had told professionals about the abuse, many more than once, yet their voices were still not heard in the way they needed.
Children want adults to open safe, careful conversations. They want professionals to notice, ask, listen and act. That requires confidence, training, supervision and a culture where naming sexual abuse is not avoided because it feels difficult.
The intersection of education, mental health and child abuse is an important one. All three of these factors play into one another, with education being either a catalyst for positivity or negativity in those dealing with mental health issues or child abuse trauma. Ensuring that the support networks in education are prepared to support and care for young people’s challenges will create environments where pupils feel seen, heard and cared for. We’re hosting The Student Mental Health and Wellbeing Conference 2026 this September. We’ll examine the latest government initiatives tackling the rising challenge of student mental health and explores the obstacles faced by service providers. It highlights practical solutions for delivering effective support and offers clear guidance on next steps to strengthen student support pathways.
The Child Sexual Abuse Response Pathway
The Child Sexual Abuse Response Pathway was presented as a practical, free, interactive resource designed for multi-agency professionals. Suzanne described it as relevant for a wide range of roles, from sports coaches and teachers to police officers, social workers and safeguarding leaders.
The pathway guides professionals through different points in the safeguarding and criminal justice journey from a child’s perspective. It explains what children may be feeling, what actions professionals should consider, and how agencies can work together. It is not intended to replace statutory guidance; instead, it supports professionals to apply good practice in child sexual abuse cases.
Key points covered by the pathway
Suzanne highlighted several stages where the pathway can support practice, including:
- When a professional has concerns but no disclosure has been made.
- How to respond when a child tells someone about abuse.
- How to prepare for and contribute to a multi-agency strategy meeting.
- How to support a child before, during and after a police interview.
- What to consider when police action is not taken or criminal justice processes end.
- How to understand the role of family courts and ongoing safeguarding needs.
A particularly important point was the distinction between criminal justice and safeguarding thresholds. Suzanne explained that police and prosecutors must work to a criminal standard of proof, while safeguarding decisions operate on the balance of probabilities. If no further police action is taken, that does not mean abuse did not happen, and it should not mean support disappears.
Building Safer, More Confident Practice
The session also connected with wider safeguarding challenges, including online harms. For further reading on protecting children in digital spaces, see our insight on safeguarding children against sexual harms online.
Suzanne’s presentation emphasised that better responses do not come from individual professionals carrying the burden alone. They require multi-agency collaboration, strong leadership, practical tools, reflective supervision and a willingness to talk openly about sexual abuse. Training matters, but it must be paired with cultures that help practitioners feel safe and supported to act.
Identifying and Responding to Child Abuse Effectively Starts With Noticing
Identifying and Responding to Child Abuse Effectively means moving beyond the expectation that children will always be able to disclose abuse clearly and directly. It means recognising signs, understanding vulnerability, asking careful questions, sharing information and keeping the child’s experience at the centre of every decision.
The Child Sexual Abuse Response Pathway detailed above sets out how to respond to concerns of child sexual abuse at key points through the multi-agency response staying focused on meeting the needs of children and their families.
Suzanne Taylor’s session is a practical reminder that silence protects those who harm children. When professionals build confidence, name concerns and use tools such as the Child Sexual Abuse Response Pathway, they create more opportunities for children to be heard and supported. To explore the full session and wider conference learning, access the Preventing Child Abuse and Exploitation Conference On Demand.
Don’t forget to explore The Student Mental Health and Wellbeing Conference 2026 – a timely opportunity to align strategies, build partnerships and ensure students have access to the right care and support.