Intra-familial Child Sexual Abuse – An introduction for Cafcass Family Court Advisers

This one-day introductory course provides an overview of the key issues needed to support Family Court Advisers in responding to cases where there are concerns of intra-familial child sexual abuse in the private and public family court arena.

The course is slightly adapted for Cafcass Cymru to incorporate the CSA Centre Practice Guidance on working with known or suspected child sexual abuse within families, which was commissioned by Cafcass Cymru.

Who is this course for

This course has been developed specifically for Cafcass Family Court Advisors to support them with managing cases involving suspected and confirmed cases of intra-familial child sexual abuse. Content will also be relevant to cases involving other types of child sexual abuse, for example, child sexual exploitation.

What you can expect to learn

Following this course, you will gain an improved ability to identify the potential signs and indicators of sexual abuse and sexually abusive behaviour,  greater confidence in responding to concerns of intra-familial child sexual abuse, and a better understanding of:

• the scale and nature of child sexual abuse
• how the impact of child sexual abuse presents in children, young people and adults
• how children communicate their experiences of sexual abuse, and the professional role in helping them do this
• how and why sexual abuse happens in families
• the importance of a ‘whole family approach’ to assessing what may be happening to a child within their family context.

I really feel it gave clarity, tools and checklists to help identify, focus and evidence what we are often thinking but may struggle to set out. Some fantastic pointers about relationships, feelings and dynamics.

Senior Learning & Development manager