Sibling sexual abuse project
Sibling sexual abuse is considered to be one of the most common forms of child sexual abuse within the family setting in the UK.
Children are more likely to be sexually abused by their siblings – brothers and sisters and stepbrothers and step-sisters – than by their parents. Yet, society’s awareness of sibling sexual abuse has trailed behind other child abuse issues and concerns. Support services and researchers agree it has received little or no attention and there is a lack of academic literature on the subject.
Today, it remains a hidden, chronically under-estimated and untreated form of child sexual abuse. It continues to be ignored, played down, or denied by parents, professionals, and authorities as harmless or non-threatening childhood sexual experimentation that does not require attention. This is despite the known life-time effects of sexual violence and abuse on the health and happiness of survivors.
Sibling Sexual Abuse Support website
We are thrilled to have launched our new website dedicated to supporting adult victim-survivors of sibling sexual abuse which includes a supportive community space, educational resources, therapeutic tools, self-care tips, victim-survivor stories and more.
Visit the Sibling Sexual Abuse Support website
The National Sibling Sexual Abuse Conference for frontline sectors
The National Sibling Sexual Abuse Conference for Frontline Sectors was held in February 2022, and was the first national conference on sibling sexual abuse in the U.K.
The web-based conference presentations are available to download. They contain useful information for adult victim-survivors and can support professionals to increase their confidence and knowledge of working with sibling sexual abuse.
Information/training Films
A short film about the impact of sibling sexual abuse and speaking out.
A new 7-min training film for professionals and practitioners on best practice responding to adult disclosures of sibling sexual abuse: Getting it right: the professional response to adult disclosures of childhood sibling sexual abuse
A new 2-min audio/voice training film for professionals and practitioners on working with adult survivors of sibling sexual abuse: Sarah’s voice: I hear you
About the project
This two-year project, which ended in March 2022, was the largest Government-funded project on sibling sexual abuse to date. Funded by the Home Office and Ministry of Justice ‘Support for Victims and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse (SVSCSA) Fund 2020 – 2022’, it was also the first England and Wales-wide project on sibling sexual abuse. The project was led by SARSAS as part of a partnership with Rape Crisis England & Wales (RCEW), West Mercia Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre, the University of the West of England and the University of Birmingham.
National resources
We have compiled useful resources for adult survivors of sibling sexual abuse.
Downloadable resources
Useful links
The latest from our news and blogs
Introducing our new strategy
We are thrilled to share our new three-year strategy, which sets out the direction and priorities for SARSAS as we continue our vital work supporting survivors and challenging sexual violence.
