Stop It Now Campaign


What Is Stop It Now

Child sexual abuse is a serious problem affecting large numbers of our children and young people. With help, many abused children can overcome their experiences, but some of them may be profoundly affected for the rest of their lives. The harm caused is preventable - adults who care for children, and even those who harm them, can act now to stop child sexual abuse.

Abuse thrives in an atmosphere of secrecy and taboo. Stop it Now! UK & Ireland is a major national and local campaign that aims to stop child sexual abuse by encouraging abusers and potential abusers to seek help and by giving adults the information they need to protect children effectively.

Stop it Now! believes that sexual abuse is a preventable public health problem and challenges adults to create a society that no longer tolerates the sexual abuse of children.

The goal of Stop It Now! is to protect children and to prevent child sexual abuse. The campaign seeks to achieve this by:-

  • Raising awareness - so that people understand the nature and scale of child sexual abuse; the behaviour of abusers and child victims and the warning signs of a developing potential problem.
  • Changing attitudes - so that people think differently about child sexual abuse, are more willing to talk about it and to listen to concerns from other adults or children; indeed, so that people see prevention of abuse as a real possibility and their responsibility.
  • Changing behaviour - so that people take appropriate action to prevent abuse, and seek help if they are worried about themselves or others.
  • Developing a public health approach - the scale of child sexual abuse requires a large-scale, systematic approach to prevention. The campaigns used to tackle smoking, drink-driving and domestic violence provide evidence that such campaigns are challenging but effective. In the Black Country and Birmingham, the local campaign is hosted by Barnardos, which partly funds the project, receiving further funding from the local children’s safeguard boards. Stop It Now! Black Country and Birmingham is guided by a strong steering group which includes representation from child protection, health, police, probation and voluntary organisations. The project offers a range of training courses designed to achieve its goals. All training is free of charge, and can be tailored to meet the needs of an individual organisation.

In the Black Country and Birmingham, the local campaign is hosted by Barnardos, which partly funds the project, receiving further funding from the local children’s safeguard boards. Stop It Now! Black Country and Birmingham is guided by a strong steering group which includes representation from child protection, health, police, probation and voluntary organisations.

The project offers a range of training courses designed to achieve its goals. All training is free of charge, and can be tailored to meet the needs of an individual organisation.

The project can be contacted by phone:

Telephone: 01384 561775

or

Email: blackcountry&birm@stopitnow.org.uk