‘Shock’ at plans to close Derry service which helps child victims of sexual abuse

Proposals have been put forward by children's charity NSPCC to close a service in Derry which supports young people who have been victims of sexual abuse, it can be revealed.

It comes as part of the charity’s ‘Proposals for Change’ to centralise services across the UK.

The current service centre model in Northern Ireland would be replaced by a regional hub in Belfast.

Under the charity’s plans, eight members of staff who provide a face-to-face service called Letting the Future In (LTFI) could be made redundant in the Foyle area.

LTFI is a post-disclosure service and provides individual therapeutic support to young people aged between 5 and 17 who have experienced sexual abuse.

It is currently run from Queen’s Quay in Derry but also helps children in the Omagh and Fermanagh areas.

Through this work, young people are supported in identifying and addressing the impact of their abuse on them, enabling them to move on from the trauma.

Furthermore, the service includes assistance for parents and carers of young people who have been referred.

A worker at LTFI, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Derry News that staff were 'shocked' to learn the news by way of an online video conference.

She said the service helps children who have been ‘severely sexually abused’, suffer peer abuse in school and children who have sent images on their phone that have been re-shared.

“We’re doing a lot of very specialised work with these children in terms of trauma," the LTFI worker explained.

“It is a high-risk job.  Everybody is just devastated that this service is being taken away from local children.

“We’re telling people, ‘sorry we’re closing’, but also that we don’t know where we can send them or where they will go.

“The Western Trust’s mental health services for children is on its knees and they would refer children on to us.

“I just think it’s shocking that they’ve made this decision.”

The worker explained that NSPCC is now looking to transition to more online and over-the-phone services.

However, she emphasised: “Phone contact just doesn’t work for traumatised children.

“It didn’t work during the pandemic, we went back to face to face during the pandemic and the NSPCC was actually clear that it wouldn’t go back to phone services again because it didn’t work for this type of service.

“We were actually told, if there’s another lockdown and as long as staff feel safe we will continue to provide direct services.”

Services in the Craigavon area of NI will also be impacted by the move to centralise which is understood to affect 15 workers.

REACH

NSPCC Assistant Director for Northern Ireland, Bronagh Muldoon, said the charity’s mission is to prevent child abuse and it is proposing a change to the way it runs some of its local services to help reach even more communities in Northern Ireland.  

“With less early or preventative support available for families, growing online safety concerns, and the impact of the pandemic, we are extremely worried about the risks facing children.

“We believe we can have the greatest impact with the funding we have by trying to prevent abuse and neglect before it happens."  

She continued: “As part of this we are proposing a network of hubs, including one in Belfast.

“Our Childline bases, including in Foyle, will not be impacted.

“But it would mean an end to delivering face-to-face services from our Foyle site and also the closure of our Craigavon centre.  

“We’ve begun a consultation with staff, and we’ll be listening to feedback and doing everything we can to support those affected.   

“Childline will remain a significant presence in Foyle and we’ll continue to work to prevent child abuse across Northern Ireland through our work with schools, our helpline base in Belfast, local campaigns, partnerships and other services, like our support for young witnesses who have to attend court.”

'UNCONSCIONABLE' 

SDLP Social Justice Spokesperson Mark H Durkan has said news that an NSPCC programme helping young victims of sexual abuse in Derry is to close will be a huge blow to the city.  

The Foyle MLA said: “The service provided by this programme is key to helping some of our most vulnerable young people deal with their experience of abuse and put them on the pathway to recovery.

“It is extremely difficult to convince young people who have gone through the most harrowing ordeal to engage with therapy and learn to trust people again and the movement of this service to Belfast will further lessen the prospect of engagement. 

“This is particularly worrying amid reports of a rise in child sex abuse during the coronavirus pandemic."

He added: “While the NSPCC said they will be focusing on preventing abuse the sad fact is that abuse will continue and there will always be young people in this area who need to access local support where they can feel heard and respected.

“The idea of children as young as five being forced to travel to avail of these services would be unconscionable, so we need to hear what if any plans exist to prevent this happening.   

“My thoughts are also with the staff involved on this project who now face the prospect of redundancy following a consultation process.

“We will do our best to support them and make the case for the retention of this vital service in Derry.”

Meanwhile, People Before Profit Cllr Maeve O'Neill said the announcement 'should be a concern for everyone'.

"The programme provides crucial support to young people who have experienced sexual abuse. 

"Proposed plans by the NSPCC involve centralising services in Belfast. Letting In the Future involves engaging directly with traumatised and vulnerable children.

"Therefore, it's very unclear how claims that the service will be done better online can be squared.

"Nor is it right that children should have to travel to Belfast in order to participate with the programme. The likelihood is that this will negatively impact the level of participation," Cllr O'Neill continued. 

"Closing the Derry office will also result in the potential loss of eight jobs. This will be a blow to workers and their families, especially in the very challenging circumstances created by the pandemic. 

"Everything should be done to ensure the needs of vulnerable children and young people are prioritised. All avenues looking at retaining the service in Derry should be pursued."