Lonergan Research Consultation Reports for Measures 10 and 21 – Executive Summaries

On 27 October 2021, the Australian Government launched Australia’s first National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2020-2031 (National Strategy). One of its initial 62 measures is First National Action Plan Measure 10, which requires the establishment of a national support service for non‑offending family members of child sexual abuse perpetrators. The National Office for Child Safety (National Office) is responsible for implementing this measure. The National Office sits within the Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department.

To inform the design and delivery of this new national service, the National Office contracted Lonergan Research to undertake public consultations and law enforcement workshops. The consultation process involved: interviews with 16 service organisations and advocacy groups that specialise in sexual assault and child sexual abuse, family violence, complex trauma, and service delivery to priority groups; a workshop with law enforcement personnel (and two additional interviews with law enforcement personnel); a client feedback survey distributed through stakeholder organisations, which received 14 responses (two respondents of which participated in follow-up interviews); and desktop research including key literature from the sector and a service evaluation.

Non-offending family members are people related to a perpetrator of child sexual abuse. This can include immediate family members (intimate partner, children, etc.) who may or may not live in the household with the perpetrator, as well as parents, grandparents, siblings, or other extended family members.

The impact of child sexual abuse perpetration on non-offending family members can be significant, and includes trauma associated with the shock of discovering their family member’s perpetration, intense feelings of guilt and shame, and stigma and judgement from family, the community and systems. Non‑offending family members may also experience the breakdown of family stability and mental ill‑health, including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Some non-offending family members may also experience complex trauma exacerbated by their own personal trauma history. Sometimes, these experiences may coexist with other challenges such as drug and alcohol misuse.

The impact of child sexual abuse on perpetrators’ intimate partners in particular can be exacerbated by additional factors. For example, household finances and housing stability may be affected, and non‑offending partners may be required to navigate unfamiliar legal and criminal justice systems. In many cases, child sexual abuse perpetrators will also have subjected non‑offending partners to family and domestic violence, including coercive control.¹ The non-offending partner and the perpetrator may be parents or have caring responsibilities for children. This further adds complexity, particularly where the children are primary victims of the abuse.

Non-offending family members need a range of service supports, including emotional and therapeutic, psychoeducational, and practical (e.g. legal and financial information). Support needs change over time as non-offending family members move through phases, for example from shock to healing and recovery. However, progress is not always linear and can be characterised by relapses and affected by triggers.

Non-offending family members often do their own research to find support, with many recalling that this process is fraught with difficulty given the lack of specialised services. Many are unsure of where to go and turn to generic counselling, child-focused support services (driven by the needs of their child), or services specialising in complex trauma, family and domestic violence, or sexual assault. Whilst these services are helpful, and have trained and skilled counselling teams, they can lack a deeper understanding of, and clinical guidance on, the challenges that non-offending family members face, and how to effectively support non-offending family members to overcome these challenges.

Specialised services such as PartnerSPEAK and Genesis Psychology and Counselling confirm the sector has limited options for non-offending family members, with each of their services operating at capacity.  Both organisations are praised by the service sector and clients, while following a different service model. PartnerSPEAK uses an intentional peer support (IPS) model, in which everyone providing support has a lived experience of being a non-offending family member. Genesis Psychology and Counselling delivers support through health professionals. Both service models offer learnings for the national service. Non-offending family members confirm that once they found specialised services like Genesis Psychology and Counselling and PartnerSPEAK, they felt their emotional needs were supported. Many non-offending family members identified the need for additional practical support in navigating legal processes and around financial and housing issues.

Most participants in this consultation agreed that both the sector and non-offending family members would welcome a national service designed specifically for non-offending family members, including both adults and children and young people. The service should focus on non-offending family members’ key needs, including: emotional and therapeutic support, psychoeducation, legal support (notably navigating and understanding requirements and systems), warm referrals (e.g. to services providing financial and housing advice), and advocacy.

The national service should embed a trauma informed approach that advocates safety, trust, choice, collaboration, and empowerment. The service should have the capability to support priority groups and earn their trust and confidence. In delivering a trauma informed approach, the national service should embody a culture that recognises and responds to how trauma affects wellbeing and behaviour, and reflects the principles around trauma-aware, healing-informed practice (particularly: do no harm). This should be reinforced by non-judgemental support and advocacy for non-offending family members, and upholding perpetrator accountability. Priority groups’ needs should be embedded in service design to ensure that culturally safe practice, service accessibility, and appropriate language are delivered from the outset.

Core services should be offered via a centralised team. This should comprise support workers contactable via a telephone support line, ideally with a toll-free national number, and also contactable through email, web chat and SMS. This should be supplemented by web-based psychoeducation services that include self-directed programs. Most participants in this consultation envisioned that this centralised service be delivered by trained health experts, such as counsellors, psychologists, social workers and/or other trained therapists, to allow for therapeutic responses. Service models used by Kids Helpline and Blue Knot Foundation may offer a good framework to consider. Alternatively, or in addition, a peer support model could be considered. Both health experts and peer support workers would require specialised training in the complexities associated with the needs and experiences of non-offending family members, including responding to people from priority groups.

The service should incorporate peer support programs and additional in-person support. Peer support programs should, in particular, involve an online forum, online or face-to-face support groups and the provision of peer support during non-offending family members’ interactions with law enforcement and legal services where appropriate. In-person support will be particularly important in relation to more complex therapeutic needs including to support people from priority groups, as specialised service support may be required in these cases. Relatedly, the service should leverage and build new service support networks within and across relevant sectors. This could utilise existing service support networks, for example in Victoria and Queensland where there are already networks of sector providers working closely together.

Beyond service delivery, the national service should also work to promote visibility of and advocacy for non-offending family members and facilitate knowledge exchange around how to support and work with them in a way that enables their wellbeing. Generalised services providing non-specialised support to non-offending family members would be the target audience, for example general practitioners and other health providers, mental health support services, domestic and family violence support services, and law enforcement and other justice agencies. Promotion and knowledge exchange would aim to dismantle non-offending family members’ barriers to accessing meaningful and appropriate support and reduce the extent to which interactions with services can contribute to their experiences of trauma, shame, stigma, and isolation. Key activities would be: the development of best practice guidelines; the delivery of formal training to agencies, particularly law enforcement; providing input into non-specialised training packages for services that come into contact with non-offending family members; and both general and targeted advocacy and awareness raising.

Referrals for the service should include referrals through generic counselling services and related sector services, self‑referrals encouraged through public health campaigns and service advertising, and systemised, integrated police referrals (ideally eReferrals across each jurisdiction). Police recognise the importance of referring non-offending family members to support services, typically during warrants and arrests. However, the lack of specialist services in most jurisdictions, as well pressures on police resourcing, can lead to inconsistencies in the success of this referral pathway.

Although National Strategy priority groups and communities would be welcomed by centralised services, specialised approaches with service delivery channels designed around their needs should be developed. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples require the option to access trusted support services, ideally with kinship ties or delivered through support agencies they are already familiar with. This is especially vital in rural and remote communities where centralised services will not be widely accepted. Culturally and linguistically diverse communities need in-language support and services that recognise and understand their cultural backgrounds and ideally have strong ties within their community. People with disability are not a homogenous group and may be best served via support agencies already specifically designed around their disability and existing care needs. The recommended approach for all priority groups is to support the skilled service networks that already exist and build their capacity to receive referrals from the national service to support those who identify as a member of a priority group and would prefer to be supported via a specialised priority group organisation. This will require identifying trusted, skilled support services and working with those services to train and inform their staff about non‑offending family members’ experiences and needs, as well as best practice models to support non‑offending family members’ recovery and wellbeing.

Footnotes

¹ Salter M, Woodlock D & Dubler N 2022. Secrecy, control and violence in women's intimate relationships with child sexual abuse material offenders. Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 661. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.

On 27 October 2021, the Australian Government launched Australia’s first National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021–2030 (National Strategy). One of its 62 measures is First National Action Plan Measure 21, which requires the establishment of a national support service for adults who have sexual thoughts about children or young people. In recommending that Australia introduce such a service, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse suggested it be modelled on the internationally deployed child sexual abuse prevention service Stop it Now!.

To inform service design and delivery, the National Office for Child Safety (National Office) contracted Lonergan Research to undertake public consultations and law enforcement workshops. The National Office sits within the Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department.

Methodology

The consultation process involved interviews with providers of similarly sensitive services, advocacy groups that provide expert services to relevant National Strategy priority groups, ¹ and academics working within relevant fields of research. In addition, a survey was sent to other relevant stakeholders as well as the National Strategy Advisory Group (whose membership is available on the National Office website). That survey included some of the key question areas posed during the interviews. To generate feedback from potential users of a prevention service, a different, anonymous survey was sent to clients of existing child sexual abuse preventative services operating in Australia and New Zealand. In addition to public consultations, two law enforcement workshops were conducted with specialised police personnel. Desktop research was also undertaken, including a full review of a draft copy of the Australian Institute of Criminology’s (AIC) report Preventing child sexual abuse material offending: An international review of initiatives (Gannoni, et al., 2022 Embargoed (expected to be published in 2023) and other academic papers).

Stakeholders and advocacy groups were sourced through a public expression of interest process, and through recruitment conducted by the National Office. Twenty stakeholders were interviewed or completed the stakeholder survey, 6 police agencies participated in the workshops, and 9 clients from sexual offending prevention services completed the anonymous survey.

Defining the target group

The national prevention service is primarily intended to assist two groups. The first comprises individuals who are concerned about their own thoughts and behaviours towards children and young people; the second comprises individuals who are concerned about another adult. The service is not intended to provide advice and guidance to or about children who have displayed harmful sexual behaviours. However, service staff will be trained to receive initial enquiries from or about children who have displayed harmful sexual behaviours, before referring them on to appropriate, specialised services.

The first group is anticipated to include two main subsets of individuals: (a) those who have never committed a child sexual abuse offence but have had sexual thoughts or feelings towards children and young people, and (b) those who have committed a child sexual abuse-related offence. Those who fall under (b) may be known to law enforcement (for example, they may have been charged with a child sexual abuse-related offence and may be going through the criminal justice process), or they may be unknown to law enforcement. In all cases, those who belong to the first group will have access to the service to prevent first-time offending or prevent further offending.

The second group is expected to include a wide range of individuals including but not limited to friends and family members who are concerned, suspect or know someone is committing child sexual abuse-related offences or may be at risk of doing so, professionals (such as counsellors, psychologists, doctors, criminal defence lawyers) who are working with an individual they hold concerns or actual knowledge about, and children or young people who are concerned about an adult in their life. In all cases, those who belong to the second group will have access to the service to seek advice, support and information.

Current service landscape in Australia

The draft AIC research report (Gannoni, et al., 2022 Embargoed) reviewing child sexual abuse prevention services in Australia and in a selection of overseas markets (including the United Kingdom (UK), Europe, Canada, the United States (US) and New Zealand), concluded that there are significantly fewer services offered in Australia than in other markets, in particular for active but unknown offenders and individuals who have not offended but are at risk of doing so.

Consultations with stakeholders and a review of the market confirmed that few specialised services are available outside of correctional facilities. Where they are available, treatment programs are mostly delivered face-to-face, through specialist programs or generalist counselling services. Further, these services are typically offered to those who have already offended and they are localised, meaning many individuals who need assistance do not have access.

One offending prevention service successfully run internationally, including in the UK and the US, is Stop it Now!. An Australian pilot of Stop It Now!, which began in 2022, offers the only specialised helpline service in the country. Stop It Now! comprises a free and anonymous helpline that can be accessed via telephone or live chat and can be used by individuals who are worried about their own thoughts and behaviours or those of another. Links to the UK website also provide additional access to online self-help materials.

Experience of existing offending prevention service clients

Feedback collected via surveys reported that clients who accessed support services in Australia and New Zealand found them extremely helpful, with most agreeing that the service had a significant positive impact on their lives. The greatest self-reported benefits were education around why they were offending and their deeper motivations and triggers, as well as understanding themselves and past traumas. They saw this as helping them develop healthier coping mechanisms and ways to address harmful thoughts or behaviours.

Barriers to seeking help were considerable, with many initially resisting help. Shame and fear of exposure through mandatory reporting were found to be major deterrents, with clients concerned that speaking to someone could lead to being accused of a crime, being arrested or being sent to prison. Potential users of services, particularly those who had not been detected by law enforcement, also worried about the impact revealing their thoughts might have on their family, marriage, children, employment and other social supports.

Further barriers to seeking help included a lack of awareness of specific support services, concerns around how therapists might respond, the cost of support services, and difficulty in identifying that thoughts and actions were abnormal or harmful.

Clients suggested that a service could overcome these barriers by offering its services anonymously, providing a safe and judgement free space, and delivering believable messages of hope that it is possible to change their thoughts or behaviours.

Support for a national prevention service

Given the current lack of services in Australia, stakeholders supported an ongoing national prevention service.

Designing a national prevention service in the Australian context should focus on best practice as shown in overseas models, and draw on findings from the limited services available in Australia. There was strong support for co-design and partnerships with relevant National Strategy priority groups, who highlighted the specific and unique requirements of their target audiences.

Most believed that without meaningfully consulting with specialist providers on service design, the national services would not be able to adequately deliver to priority groups.

Positioning the national prevention service as being ‘for people with sexual thoughts and behaviours towards children and young people’ is regarded as appropriate. The service should target both contact (e.g. in person) and non-contact (e.g. online) behaviours and acknowledge that the behaviours associated with each can be equally harmful.² The service needs to provide support for individuals who have not committed a crime but may be at risk (secondary prevention) as well as those who have offended (tertiary intervention). Both groups represent an opportunity to reduce the risk of or actual harm to children and young people. The language and messages used in advertising and communicating services will need to be mindful of these target groups and highlight the service’s remit.

It is critical that the service build trust with and address barriers among those who might want to reach out for support. As part of this, the service must be positioned as independent from law enforcement and not focused on punitive outcomes. This includes ensuring the service can be accessed anonymously and information will be kept confidential, except where mandatory reporting thresholds are triggered. This approach was supported by law enforcement.

While independent, the service must establish a strong relationship with law enforcement. This relationship will facilitate pathways for law enforcement to refer people onto the service, and for the service to refer mandatory reporting cases onto law enforcement.

Helpline and web-based support services

A confidential ‘helpline’, including telephone, text and web-based services, was supported as the core element of the national prevention service. Telephone and webchat services were expected to provide more than a referral service. They should meaningfully engage with users, providing practical guidance and support tailored to that user’s needs and supported by educative online resources such as self-help modules and fact sheets. Being able to access online materials as a first step might represent lower entry barriers for some.

Opinions differed as to the most appropriate hours of operation for helpline services. Some stakeholders saw a 24/7 service as relevant given the nature of offending. However, possible misuse of the service outside business hours had other stakeholders questioning the value of funding after-hours support. UK Stop It Now! data confirms issues with inappropriate use of services after hours, for example intoxicated callers verbally abusing helpline staff.

The support offered will need to be holistic and trauma-informed. A trauma-informed and holistic approach for the first target group acknowledges that people contacting the service may themselves have faced trauma (including child sexual abuse victimisation), and/or be dealing with comorbidities such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and suicidal ideation. The second target group, which might include family members or victims and survivors, will also require recognition of the complexities of their needs and the trauma they may have experienced.

Effective support and treatment strategies

When an individual engages with the service, support should be impactful and effective, ideally using a person’s profile and circumstances to drive tailored prevention responses.

Non-judgemental perpetrator accountability is key. Where individuals contacting the service are having sexual thoughts towards children and young people, stakeholders supported the need to hold those individuals accountable, including by being clear about the potential immeasurable harm to children if acted upon, and about legal consequences. However, the service must be able to communicate accountability without labelling or judging the person, as this is unhelpful and may deter people from seeking assistance.

Beyond perpetrator accountability, a range of interventions and treatment responses was suggested by stakeholders for those having sexual thoughts towards children and young people. These included recommendations around immediate risk assessment, behavioural interventions, education, and safety planning. Established and proven clinical models around behavioural change, addiction and relapse, and suicide prevention, all provide clinical frameworks to draw on. Work with offender prevention and change programs in domestic violence was also seen as offering valuable learnings.

Non-offending family members should be recognised as secondary victims, and not be expected to participate in a preventative role. Some stakeholders held concerns about a single service being able to work safely and effectively with both the first and second target groups given their needs are different and at times conflicting.

Service users may also be in crisis, for example actively considering self-harm or suicide. The service must be equipped to respond to these calls in an effective and appropriate way, responding to the crisis before referring people on to other services as required (e.g. Lifeline).

Additional therapeutic support network

Some stakeholders and academics strongly supported additional therapeutic programs and support being made available through referral pathways, including individual counselling and behavioural change programs. This will be particularly important for higher risk clients for whom the effectiveness of a helpline and online resources may be limited.

Staff skills

It is important that an appropriate level of service quality be delivered consistently. This is something that will be greatly influenced by the availability of appropriately skilled staff. The complex nature of working with the target groups means that staff will require a mix of skills beyond academic accreditations and qualifications. It will be important to ensure they have a desire to work with offenders and are able to treat service users as people who need assistance to change or manage their behaviours. Building trust and rapport with clients is essential, as is an ability to convey the long lasting and complex impact sexual abuse has on victims and survivors. Staff will also need be trained in the way some offenders use coercion and grooming not only on their victims, but also other people in their life (including prospectively the service staff) to hide and excuse their offending. Regardless of skills, specialist training is recommended due to the complexity of this area and the newness (particularly on a national scale in an Australian context) of the approach required. Work with offenders is traditionally deep seated in law enforcement and correctional facilities, and many stakeholders see these roles as a relevant starting point for selecting candidates for service staff. Other relevant candidates could be those who have worked with domestic violence offenders.

Referrals

Stakeholders consistently highlighted the importance of referral pathways out of the service to other supports, such as therapy or counselling, family and domestic violence services, and drug and alcohol management services. Referral pathways into the service were also identified as important. This includes referral pathways from law enforcement, legal services working with people facing convictions, medical services that might encounter target groups through comorbidities and mental health issues, self-referrals, family members calling on behalf of others who they are concerned about, other helpline services, and online referrals via technology company relationships targeting those offending or involved in at-risk behaviours online.

Communication

Communications from and about the service must build trust. Anonymity and confidentiality will be key messages to convey, but also important will be the message that the service is there to help and support behaviour change, not demonise or judge individuals, a message that may be new to and even distrusted by many in the target groups.

There was considerable support for clear public health messaging, the aim of which would be to raise awareness that the issue is happening, and reinforce that it’s not acceptable, will not be tolerated, and that there are solutions out there. It was considered that these messages would particularly target lower risk individuals who might not be far down the path of offending or may have not yet offended at all.

Engaging via channels that intersect with the target audience’s risk behaviour, such as online forums on the dark web and social media platforms on the clear net, was recommended by those working directly with offenders and/or researching offender behaviour. This is something that Stop It Now! service providers are regarded as having done effectively.

Further channels include brochures in police stations (as per Stop It Now!), QR codes in a range of locations and situations to link people anonymously into services, and links provided via relevant online or printed offender services.

Delivering to National Strategy priority groups

Stakeholders working in similarly sensitive areas with National Strategy priority groups confirm the need for specialised approaches to cater to Australia’s diverse population. This includes having appropriately trained staff who have the cultural authority or ability to work with specific priority groups.

First Nations people require a culturally safe, trauma-informed service, which is best achieved through meaningful consultation, embracing traditional approaches of healing, and leveraging and upskilling the existing health-based workforce. Reference was made to the important role that the 13 YARN service provides by offering a 24-hour crisis support service by and for First Nations people, providing a culturally safe place for people to engage with for support, and acting as an alternative to mainstream services. Closing the Gap Priority Reform areas were expected to be considered by the National Office in guiding service development and outcomes.

People with disability present a diverse audience with a broad range of disabilities to consider, including physical and mobility, sensory, cognitive/intellectual, neurodiverse and psychosocial. Even within a disability type, generalisations cannot be made. A national helpline may work for some people with disability but not all, and as such should not be the sole source of delivery. However, it could be a valuable tool for carers and family members providing access to information and a referral pathway for further support.

CALD communities cannot be treated as a homogenous group, nor can this group be serviced by simply translating materials into various languages. The service and associated communications need to be designed with a specific cultural group in mind making meaningful consultation necessary. Furthermore, it is important when working with communities to understand who holds influence in a certain context, as it may not always be the obvious or defined leader. Stakeholders believe that the most vulnerable communities are likely to be the new and emerging communities, who are also less likely to engage externally around sensitive issues. Care must also be taken not to single out communities as ‘needing’ child sexual abuse prevention intervention. A further consideration with CALD communities is a general low level of trust in government, and complicated visa situations that may act as barriers to help-seeking.

LGBTQIA+ community requires a considered approach, and care needs to be taken as to how the service is promoted to the LGBTQIA+ community. The service must be very careful not to stigmatise the LGBTQIA+ community, particularly given untrue narratives about LGBTQIA+ individuals. For example, there is a long history of people with diverse sexualities falsely being accused of sexual deviance, especially with regards to children. Consequently, there is a strong preference for community-controlled organisations to deliver services to this community to ensure safety and trust. Overall, further consultation with the LGBTQIA+ community is recommended on an appropriate and effective approach.

Children and young people will require services that are inclusive, non-judgemental, culturally safe and trauma-informed. Young people must also be supported to reach out and speak about concerns they may have through a medium of their choice. This should include phone lines (including processes allowing for anonymity), online, text messaging, chat functions and telehealth. In addressing issues, it is also often important that the family context and circumstances are known as this can provide a wider view on issues and help guide support responses. Family and carer involvement can also be interwoven into services and programs designed for young people, albeit not always. For example, there are circumstances where this may be detrimental to young people who are estranged or facing risks within the family.

Victims and survivors of child sexual abuse will need to be considered in designing a prevention service. Even when not considered as part of the target audience, an offending prevention service must consider the expectations and views of victims and survivors, and how communications may affect this group. Staff will need to be aware of the needs of victims and survivors, particularly around disclosure and their role in keeping people safe. Victims and survivors always need to be believed, especially when their stories conflict with those of offenders.

People living in rural and remote areas will require additional consideration. First, access to technology can be challenging and in some cases not possible for people living in regional and remote communities. Second, access to local services can be considerably more difficult. Working with a range of communities to enhance service effectiveness and accessibility will be important.

Risks

The consultations identified risks that need to be considered as part of establishing the service.

• It is important to ensure the general public understands the reason behind the service, and its aim to reduce harm to children and young people.
• The service needs to be suitably resourced to cope with the number of enquiries that are likely to be generated. This includes having adequate referral pathways.
• It is vital that staff are trained appropriately to recognise and respond to relevant issues, and vulnerable audiences are respected and given the care and support they require.
• It is important the service is monitored and evaluated to ensure it is effectively managing these risks and delivering on its objectives.

Footnotes

¹ The National Strategy priority groups are:

• victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and their advocates
• children and young people and their support networks
• First Nations people
• culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities
• people with disability
• LGBTQIA+ people
• people living in regional and remote communities.

² Online offences involve real children and young people who are being subjected to sexual abuse and violence. Every time child sexual abuse material is viewed or distributed online, the child or young person is re-victimised, violating their rights and well-being. Beyond the impact on the individual, the downloading, sharing, trading and purchasing of online material creates demand for new material, and creates further victims and survivors.