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Talking Forward

Peer support for families affected by online child sexual abuse

About Talking Forward


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Talking Forward is a UK-registered charity, founded in 2021, and committed to addressing the largely unacknowledged harms experienced by adult family members when someone is being investigated for, or is convicted of, child sexual abuse material (CSAM) offences. We support all adult family members, including partners, ex-partners, parents, grandparents, siblings, and adult children, through free, online peer support groups
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Arrests for CSAM offences have risen exponentially, with approximately 1000 arrests a month in England and Wales alone. It is estimated that approximately 35% of arrests take place at homes where children (of the suspect) are present. Our founder and Chair of Trustees - Professor Rachel Armitage estimates that "10 arrests a day in England and Wales will take place in a home where children reside" and it is this shock and trauma that Talking Forward are here to support families in navigating.

Preventing harms to children is a key part of what we do, be that prevention of further offending against children, supporting the remaining safeguarding parent to ensure the children/siblings of suspects are treated as indirect victims, or supporting the parents of those under investigation/convicted.

From the trauma of experiencing the police 'Knock' to navigating statutory agency responses (including education, children's service, police and the courts), we help families experiencing isolation, stigma, physical and mental health impacts as well as practical issues such as impacts on finances, schooling, housing and employment.

Our team of volunteers seek to contact family members as soon as possible after the 'Knock', to reassure, advise and, above all, listen. We know that families feel very much alone at this time, and our goal is to remove some of that isolation.

Through our peer support groups, family members can share their experiences, receive advice and support, but most importantly, they feel that they are not alone.

Family members impacted by this are not defined as victims in the Victim Code.
Access to traditional victim support is therefore not available, and because a large proportion of those convicted will not receive a custodial sentence, charities designed to support the families of prisoners are not open to these individuals. Talking Forward are the only UK charity providing free, trauma-informed peer support for adult family members affected by this crime.

We are led by a team of Trustees that represent key sectors within the criminal justice system and wider support agencies. Our Chair of Trustees is a Professor of Law and Social Justice; our Secretary works for the Child Rescue Coalition (Cath Cox) and our Treasurer is Claire Cheeseman - Director of Operations for the Marie Collins Foundation. Other Trustees work within the criminal justice system, academia, prisons, police and probation.

Talking Forward exists to break the silence surrounding this experience and provide a lifeline to families.

Your Impact

We are a volunteer-led organisation with no full-time staff. We are powered by lived experience, research insight, and an unshakable commitment to fairness and integrity, with our services costing only £22.92 per beneficiary.

To continue operating and respond to the rapidly rising need, we urgently need to raise at least £15,000 by the end of June 2026. This funding will:

* Sustain our existing peer support groups
* Pay for secure platforms, digital communications and trauma-informed facilitators.
* Support new families through crisis referrals, including those with children in the home.
* Develop and distribute national resources and support.
* Fund administrative coordination to ensure families don’t fall through the gaps.

Without this funding, Talking Forward faces the risk of reducing its services at a time of rapidly escalating demand.

£50

will support one family member for a year

£500

will support 12 family members for a year

£4000

will provide counselling and therapy for a family member for a full year