Going sober for 5 weeks for preventing child sexual abuse: The Lucy Faithfull Foundation

Hi, thanks for your interest in my fundraiser!

The Lucy Faithfull Foundation is the only UK-wide charity working solely to tackle child sexual abuse. Some estimates ascertain that child sexual abuse can affect 1 in 6 children.

'The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) estimated that 7.5% of adults aged 18 to 74 years experienced sexual abuse before the age of 16 years (3.1 million people); this includes both adult and child perpetrators. The abuse was most likely to have been perpetrated by a friend or acquaintance (37%); around a third (30%) were sexually abused by a stranger.'

• ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/childsexualabuseinenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2019

WHAT THE LUCY FAITHFULL FOUNDATION DO:

'Lucy Faithfull Foundation services, programmes and projects are designed to place a protective shield around children, to help prevent abuse from happening ever, or from happening again. Our specialist staff work with everyone involved in a child’s life, tackling the problem from all angles so that children are as safe as they can be.

Where abuse has already taken place, we work with all those affected including adult male and female abusers; young people with harmful sexual behaviour; children with concerning sexual behaviours; victims of abuse and other family members. But we also work in families and with adults and young people where there has been no abuse, to help them keep themselves and others as safe as possible. '

• lucyfaithfull.org.uk/files/LFF_fundraising_guide_small.pdf

The Lucy Faithfull Foundation are revolutionary in the sense that they are are trailblazers in that they have a helpline 'Stop it Now', which provides independent, non-judgemental, anonymous support to those who have thoughts of (potentially) abusing a child. This is vital in tackling this deep-seated problem in society, as research has also shown that those who abuse tend to have been abused themselves, creating a self-perpetuating cycle of child abuse which had lasting, tangible effects the affected child's socioeconomic and health outcomes.

If you are interested in reading more about this important topic, I would recommend The Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (2022):
iicsa.org.uk/reports-recommendations/publications/inquiry/final-report/ii-inquirys-conclusions-and-recommendations-change/part-b-child-sexual-abuse/b1-introduction.html#:~:text=One%20estimate%20suggests%20that%20the,before%20the%20age%20of%2016

WHAT I WILL BE DOING

As I'm sure many of you reading this will be aware, I love an alcoholic beverage or two. This fundraiser will challenge me in remaining abstinent for 5 weeks. If you want to watch me squirm (and grow), please consider donating as this will be one of greatest self-imposed challenges.

WHAT WILL £1000 DO TO TACKLE THE ISSUE OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE?
£1000 will help pay for a child or young person with worrying sexual behaviour, and their family, to receive specialist face-to-face help.

• lucyfaithfull.org.uk/make-monthly-donations-become-a-friend.htm

Thank you for taking the time to read, and I would appreciate your consideration of donating to this wonderful charity, which is undoubtedly close to my heart (if this wasn't already clear haha). <3