Abstract This report looks at contacts to the NSPCC helpline between 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2012 about sexual abuse. It considers the dynamics affecting the under-reporting of sexual abuse. Between 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2012, the NSPCC was contacted 5,360 times about child sexual abuse. This was 13 per cent of all calls made to the NSPCC (42,755) during that period. Key findings include: 39 per cent contacts about sexual abuse were so serious they had to be referred to social services or the police; 34 per cent of the contacts received about sexual abuse came from parents or carers. The data on contacts to the NSPCC about sexual abuse support the findings of previous studies that children may be more likely to disclose abuse to close family members and friends rather than to professionals. Adults tend to report concerns about child sexual abuse more readily than other forms of abuse but 33 per cent of callers to the helpline waited over a month.
100%
