PIER and VSCP webinar 5: The Knock: Supporting the families of individuals being investigated for/convicted of online child sexual abuse offences

Join ARU's Policing Institute for the Eastern Region and Victim and Survivor Consultancy Panel (VSCP) for a webinar about how the families of those accused of online child sexual abuse can be better supported.

There has been an exponential increase in online child sexual abuse (CSA) offences (WeProtect, 2021; IWF, 2022). Subsequently, there is a rise in the number of these police investigations, and it is estimated that arrests for CSA offences have risen to 850 a month (from 450 a year in 2009/10).

Families usually become aware of the investigation when police officers attend their home to execute a search warrant and/or make an arrest. The execution of these search warrants is sometimes referred to as ‘the Knock’. Nationally, approximately 300 partners and children are experiencing the trauma of the Knock every month – that is, ten families a day (Armitage et al, 2023).

Research suggests that the period from the Knock through the criminal justice system is extremely traumatic for family members, particularly for partners and ex-partners who co-parent with the suspect (Armitage et al., 2021). Until very recently, there has been a void in the support offered to these families – indirect victims of CSA offences – who have largely been ‘unseen’.

This webinar will bring together a multi-sector panel of experts, who have been working collaboratively, to discuss the key issues, progress so far, gaps in support and the next steps needed to improve understanding, policy and practice responses.

The expert panel will include Sheila Coates MBE (Service Director, West and East Essex Rape Crisis (SERICC) and member of the IICSA VSCP) Lucy Roberts (Honorary Visiting Research Fellow and expert through lived experience, PIER) and Dr Theresa Redmond (Associate Professor, PIER).

This event is free to attend, but you need to register to receive the joining link.

This event is part of the PIER and VSCP webinar series.