Consultation on the national strategy for preventing and responding to child sexual abuse 2025 to 2035

This consultation seeks your views on the draft 10 year national strategy for preventing and responding to child sexual abuse in Wales.

The Welsh Government is publishing a draft 10 year national strategy for preventing and responding to child sexual abuse for public consultation, which will replace the former child sexual abuse national action plan which was completed in 2022. 

The national strategy for preventing and responding to child sexual abuse sets out the Welsh Government’s strategic intent and actions that need to be taken to build on what was achieved under the former plan, reflecting the engagement work undertaken with key stakeholders between 2023 and 2025.

Welsh Government published a national action plan to respond to child sexual abuse in 2019. In 2022 a delivery report was published setting out what had been achieved under the national action plan and recommendations for continued and future actions. 

This included:

• continuing to raise awareness and change attitudes to child sexual abuse
• developing national pathways for children and young people who have been involved in harmful sexual behaviour
• supporting consistent corporate safeguarding approaches across Wales
• assuring the information for children and young people is shared in the places and spaces they use, including online/via social media
• developing and sustaining ongoing learning for the multi-agency workforce
• monitor the impact of practice tools in improving identification of and evidence about the nature and prevalence of child sexual abuse in Wales
• complete the mapping of therapeutic services across Wales
• widely promote information for adult survivors of child sexual abuse, including information for children coming up to the age of 18 years
• the need to develop consistent and accurate data collection on child sexual abuse

The suggestions for further work have been incorporated into the strategy and extended to include adult survivors of child sexual abuse. 

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) published its final report in October 2022. The final report made recommendations to UK Government and Welsh Government.

All recommendations made to Welsh Government were either accepted or accepted in principle. The response from Welsh Government was published on 20 April 2023.

The recommendations can be summarised as follows:

• recommendation 1: develop a core data set (accepted)
• recommendation 2: child protection authorities to be established in England and Wales (accepted in principle)
• recommendation 3: establish a Cabinet Minister for children (accepted)
• recommendation 4: raise public awareness (accepted)
• recommendation 13: introduce mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse on individuals (accepted in principle)
• recommendation 16: provide specialist therapeutic support to child victims of sexual abuse (accepted in principle)

Welsh Government committed to:

• strengthen and improve compliance with our regulatory frameworks across childcare, education, health, and social care
• build on the publication of our Code of Safeguarding Practice, to engage widely and explore views on ensuring that others who provide services or offer activities for children and for adults who may be at risk, have proportionate and effective safeguarding arrangements in place
• seek further views about and explore the implications of placing duties to report children and adults at risk, on individuals, as part of the conversation on next steps
• combine this with further measures to promote access to effective training and tools for practitioners, and to raise and sustain public awareness of abuse, neglect and harm, and the vital steps to take where this is happening or suspected
• be informed by a better understanding of what prevents people from raising and reporting concerns and aim to empower individuals with the confidence to seek the support that they need or know how they can respond to others, to help lessen dangers and secure support for children and adults at risk

Welsh Government’s response to the IICSA recommendations has been underpinned by the following beliefs:

• maintaining and extending the organisational approach in the first instance, with ongoing consideration of creating individual mandatory duties to report
• maintaining our people approach (children and adults at risk)
• including all types of abuse, neglect and harm
• preference for sanctions other than criminal (such as professional or disciplinary)

The recommendations from the inquiry have continued to be implemented, particularly work to strengthen and improve compliance of existing safeguarding systems. The strategy will be the vehicle via which we will continue to deliver on these recommendations.

Childhood sexual abuse is a heinous crime. It profoundly impacts victim-survivors, affecting their health, relationships, education, employment, and overall wellbeing. The effects of child sexual abuse reverberate through families, communities and society.

The voices of people who have been affected by sexual abuse are central to this strategy and its delivery. The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse heard from over 6,000 individuals who courageously shared their stories. I know that many more children and adults will have shared their experiences, and I want to thank them all for doing so. We will honour this bravery by continuing to listen and learn and by using this learning to shape policy and practice that reflects people’s lived experiences.

Research indicates that 25,000 children in Wales experience some form of sexual abuse each year, yet only a fraction of these children come to the attention of services like the police and social services. The scale and nature of child sexual abuse we are seeing has changed considerably over the course of the past few years, particularly in online spaces. Child sexual abuse is a complex form of abuse that can be perpetrated by individuals or groups, children and adults.

To effectively prevent and respond to child sexual abuse and support those affected, we must ‘think the unthinkable’. Child sexual abuse does happen, and it happens within families, groups, communities, online and in institutions. Abuse thrives in secrecy: therefore, we must break down taboos, myths and barriers around this topic; exposing it to the light so we can protect children and young people more effectively.

Due to the complexity of this form of abuse and the considerable harm it causes, it is clear, we need a comprehensive, cross-government, whole system approach to tackle sexual abuse. This strategy sets out how we will work with key stakeholders including people who have been affected by sexual abuse to prevent sexual abuse; respond effectively to children when there are concerns; and support all those who are affected in Wales.

I want to thank all who contributed to the development of this draft strategy, particularly, adult victim-survivors. We will deliver a strategy that will ensure people in Wales who are affected by child sexual abuse will be protected and supported effectively now and into the future.

Dawn Bowden MS
Minister for Children and Social Care

Section 1

Section 1 of the document explains Welsh Government’s vision that:

 all children in Wales live their lives free from the harm of child sexual abuse and all those affected by child sexual abuse are protected and supported across their lifespan.

This section also explains that a whole system approach is required to address child sexual abuse, and this includes prevention, identification, response, collaboration and monitoring and evaluation.

The scope of the strategy is people from birth to end of life who are affected by child sexual abuse and includes all types of sexual abuse. The descriptors for the types of abuse have been taken from work completed by the Child Sexual Abuse Centre of Expertise and the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).

The national action plan for preventing and responding to child sexual abuse, implemented between 2019 and 2022, led to the development of significant resources. This plan required regional safeguarding boards to establish action plans to meet its objectives. Lessons learned from the national action plan and proposed further actions are included in the draft strategy.

Another key driver for this strategy is the recommendations from reports produced by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) including the recommendations in the final report from IICSA to Welsh Government that have been incorporated into the strategy. We intend the strategy to be the delivery vehicle for the recommendations from the final report.

In section 1.6 we have listed the priority actions suggested to us by stakeholders during engagement. These are not the only actions we need to take but stakeholders believe that these priority actions will have the most significant impact on practice around child sexual abuse in the shortest amount of time.

Question 1

To what extent do you agree that to address child sexual abuse in Wales we need a 10 year strategy rather than a 3 year national action plan?

Question 2

To what extent do you agree with Welsh Government’s vision?

All children in Wales live their lives free from the harm of child sexual abuse and all those affected by child sexual abuse are protected and supported across their lifespan.

Question 3

To what extent do you agree with the priority actions listed in section 1.6?

The following actions have been agreed with our stakeholders as a priority, and we believe implementing these changes will make a significant difference to practice in this area and thereby improve outcomes for people in Wales. This is not a hierarchical list, and all the priority actions are of equal importance:

1. Improve the collection, reporting and analysis of child sexual abuse data and use it to inform policy and practice.
2. Raise awareness with children, families and communities, about how to identify and report concerns about child sexual abuse.
3. Encourage open conversations about healthy relationships, sexuality, sexual health, and sexual abuse among children, parents, carers, communities, and professionals.
4. Ensure the multi-agency response to child sexual abuse is supported by robust evidence, is child centred and consistent across Wales by implementing a national pathway for child sexual abuse.
5. Raise awareness of and provide training on the national pathway for proportionate responses to harmful sexual behaviour that was developed under the original national action plan.
6. Develop and implement a child sexual abuse training framework in line with the groups explained in the National Safeguarding Training Standards developed by Social Care Wales (SCW).
7. Support practitioners from all organisations to identify child sexual abuse, feel confident to report concerns and those with safeguarding roles to assess and manage risk effectively.
8. Address the challenges faced by services that provide specialist and non-specialist support for children, families and adult victim-survivors to ensure people affected by child sexual abuse can access the right support at the right time for them

Section 2

Section 2 of the draft strategy sets out the evidence base for Welsh Government’s vision, the strategic objectives and priority actions we have chosen.

Question 1

Please can you tell us about any other evidence you think we need to consider for the final version of the strategy?

Section 3

Section 3 of the draft strategy sets out the strategic objectives we have identified and the priority actions we will take to achieve these objectives over the 10 year period. These are not the only actions we intend to take under each workstream, however, they are actions that stakeholders have agreed are a priority.

In the delivery structure we propose in section 4, each of the objectives will have a workstream group. The job of these groups will be to develop detailed action plans to deliver the priority actions we have agreed.

The action planning process will be on a 3 year cycle and will be amended and added to as we progress. This will enable us to ensure that any learning we identify is used to inform the next iteration of the action plan.

The 4 strategic objectives we have identified are:

• preventing child sexual abuse
• protecting children when there are concerns identified about child sexual abuse (the multi-agency response)
• supporting children and adults who are affected by child sexual abuse
• supporting victim-survivors of child sexual abuse

Question 1

To what extent do you agree these objectives are the right ones?

Question 2

Do you think the actions we have outlined under each of the strategic objectives will help us achieve our overall vision:

All children in Wales will live a life free from the harm of child sexual abuse and all those affected by child sexual abuse will be protected and supported across their lifespan.

Question 3

Are the key partners listed in each strategic objective section the right partners for the actions?

Section 4

Section 4 of the draft strategy sets out how we will collaborate within Welsh Government and with the UK Government to ensure that policy is aligned, in keeping with the values underpinning this strategy and that there is a collective, whole system approach to addressing all types of child sexual abuse in Wales.

To support this whole system approach we will be establishing a Welsh Government internal policy advisory group for child sexual abuse.

This section also sets out our proposed delivery structure for the strategy. Once the strategy is published, we intend to establish a Strategic Implementation group to monitor and evaluate the impact of the strategy. This group will comprise senior representatives from key stakeholder groups including third sector and statutory organisations.

Underneath the strategic implementation group there will be a workstream group for each of the strategic objectives. Each of these groups will be chaired by a member of the strategic implementation group and comprise representatives from all key stakeholder groups including adult victim-survivors.

It is also our intention to establish a standing children and young people’s forum and a victim-survivors advisory group.

Question 1

To what extent do you agree that the delivery structure we are proposing will support us to deliver effectively on the strategic objectives and achieve the vision?

Question 2

Are there any other actions we should add to the strategy about equality, diversity and inclusion? If yes, please can you suggest what we could include in the text box below

Question 3

What, in your opinion, would be the likely effects of the strategy on the Welsh language?  We are particularly interested in any likely effects on opportunities to use the Welsh language and on not treating the Welsh language less favourably than English.

Question 4

Could the strategy be formulated or changed to strengthen:

• it’s impact or more positive effects on using the Welsh language and on not treating the Welsh language less favourably than English
• to mitigate any negative effects on using the Welsh language and on not treating the Welsh language less favourably than English

Question 5

We have asked a number of specific questions. If you have any related issues which we have not specifically addressed, please use this space to report them.

Submit your comments by 8 October 2025, in any of the following ways:

• complete our online form
• download, complete our response form and email: CSA.NationalStrategy2025-2035Consultation@gov.wales
• download, complete our response form and post to:

Safeguarding, Advocacy and Complaints Policy Team
Welsh Government
Cathays Park
Cardiff
CF10 3NQ

When you reply, it would be useful if you confirm whether you are replying as an individual or submitting an official response on behalf of an organisation and include:

• your name
• your position (if applicable)
• the name of organisation (if applicable)

We welcome the views of children and young people and want to make sure their views are reflected in the strategy. To do this we have created a children and young people friendly version of the strategy which can be accessed via this link.

Reading about child sexual abuse can prompt an emotive response. If you need support or want to talk to talk with anyone you can contact the following:

• if you are a young person you can contact Childline online, a confidential and free support service or on this number 0800 1111
• if you are an adult you can contact the 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Helpline online, a confidential and free support service or on this number 0808 500 2222
• if you need support with your mental health, you can ring the CALL Helpline at 0800 132 737
• for urgent support please call the NHS on 111 and press 2

Under the data protection legislation, you have the right:

• to be informed of the personal data held about you and to access it
• to require us to rectify inaccuracies in that data
• to (in certain circumstances) object to or restrict processing
• for (in certain circumstances) your data to be ‘erased’
• to (in certain circumstances) data portability
• to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) who is our independent regulator for data protection

Responses to consultations are likely to be made public, on the internet or in a report. If you would prefer your response to remain anonymous, please tell us.

For further details about the information the Welsh Government holds and its use, or if you want to exercise your rights under the GDPR, please see contact details below.

Data Protection Officer

Data Protection Officer
Welsh Government
Cathays Park
Cardiff
CF10 3NQ

Email: data.protectionofficer@gov.wales

Information Commissioner’s Office

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Telephone: 01625 545 745 or 0303 123 1113

Information Commissioner’s Office website.

UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)

The Welsh Government will be data controller for any personal data you provide as part of your response to the consultation. Welsh ministers have statutory powers they will rely on to process this personal data which will enable them to make informed decisions about how they exercise their public functions. Any response you send us will be seen in full by Welsh Government staff dealing with the issues which this consultation is about or planning future consultations. Where the Welsh Government undertakes further analysis of consultation responses then this work may be commissioned to be carried out by an accredited third party (e.g. a research organisation or a consultancy company). Any such work will only be undertaken under contract. Welsh Government’s standard terms and conditions for such contracts set out strict requirements for the processing and safekeeping of personal data. In order to show that the consultation was carried out properly, the Welsh Government intends to publish a summary of the responses to this document. We may also publish responses in full. Normally, the name and address (or part of the address) of the person or organisation who sent the response are published with the response. If you do not want your name or address published, please tell us this in writing when you send your response. We will then redact them before publishing.

You should also be aware of our responsibilities under Freedom of Information legislation. If your details are published as part of the consultation response then these published reports will be retained indefinitely. Any of your data held otherwise by Welsh Government will be kept for no more than three years.

For further information about this consultation contact:

Safeguarding, Advocacy and Complaints Policy Team
Improvement Division
Social Services and Integration Division
Welsh Government
Cathays Park
Cardiff
CF10 3NQ

Email: CSA.NationalStrategy2025-2035Consultation@gov.wales

Number: WG50617

Large print, Braille and alternative language versions of this document are available on request.

If you need it in a different format, please contact us.