Introducing the Sharing information to tackle child sexual abuse guide

Join us for our free webinar to learn about the CSA Centre’s latest resource for all professionals who work with children.

When responding to concerns about child sexual abuse, professionals from across all agencies collect a lot of information about the children and families they work with, the nature of their abuse, and those who may have abused them. Sharing it can be vital in supporting multi-agency responses to child sexual abuse.

There is often confusion about what information can and cannot be shared, both within and between different agencies or organisations. As a result, important information is often not shared in a useful, accessible or timely way. But with guidance, professionals can share this information effectively to support early identification, protect children from abuse, and support children in their recovery and wellbeing.

To help, the CSA Centre has published the new Sharing information to tackle child sexual abuse guide – an online resource explaining who holds what information, and how to make sure the right information is shared in a timely and proportionate way to help effectively respond to child sexual abuse.

About the webinar

To mark the upcoming publication of this important new practice resource, we are hosting a free webinar designed for all professionals working with children in England and Wales– whether in statutory agencies or voluntary sector and community organisations.

In this free webinar, CSA Centre Practice Improvement Adviser Natasha Sabin discusses why the resource was created, the practical guidance it offers on how to share information promptly and effectively, and how good information exchange can strengthen all parts of a response to child sexual abuse.

About the new resource

Sharing information to tackle child sexual abuse is a comprehensive guide to finding, sharing and using information from different agencies and organisations to better respond to child sexual abuse. It provides a practical ‘who’s who’ of the agencies and organisations involved – including social care, criminal justice, health, education, the voluntary sector, and community organisations – the information each may hold, and how to use it to ensure decisions are well-informed, and responses are coordinated. 

Legislation makes clear that secure information sharing is a legal and moral duty for all professionals involved in children’s welfare. Developed to reflect current legislation, statutory and professional guidance, and advice from the Information Commissioner’s Office, professionals can trust the guide to help them meet those duties. 

When writing multi-agency child protection assessments, social workers and other professionals rely on the shared information of all agencies to determine their next steps. The guide helps professionals leading and contributing to these assessments to understand what information is relevant when there are concerns of child sexual abuse, where it may have been recorded, and which agency or organisation holds it. 

You can read, use and share the new resource from the CSA Centre website.

The speaker

Dr Natasha Sabin is the CSA Centre’s Practice Improvement Adviser for Health. Natasha is a Forensic Psychologist with professional expertise in child sexual abuse, and has held roles within Youth Justice Services, secure custodial environments, and community settings and is currently a visiting lecturer at the University of Birmingham. She is the author of our new Sharing information to tackle child sexual abuse guide, and during her time at the CSA Centre co-authored a number of other practice resources including Communicating with children A guide for those working with children who have or may have been sexually abused, Managing risk and trauma after online sexual offending, and Using supervision and team meetings to improve responses to child sexual abuse.