NSPCC to open first national child abuse centre

The NSPCC is to open the first national centre to tackle child sex abuse in early 2007, it announced today.

Wes Cuell, NSPCC director of services for children and young people, said: “Sexual abuse blights the lives of one in six children. If we are to tackle this problem we must look at how the pieces of the puzzle fit together – from prevalence to impact on children.”

The NSPCC, supported by the Children’s Charity for the Good of all Children, plans to bring together specialist teams to provide services including prevention, research and treatment of child sex abuse.

The centre in Camden, north London, will work alongside the NSPCC’s existing projects for children and families affected by sex abuse.