Nexus: Lack of funding halts charity child abuse support

The mother of a child sex abuse victim said counselling helped her daughter "to be a child again".

The woman said without the support she does not know where her young daughter would have ended up.

The charity, Nexus, provided counselling to the girl, but is now having to withdraw that kind of support.

It said there were no similar centrally-funded services in Northern Ireland to help child victims.

Until now Nexus, which supports victims of domestic and sexual abuse, had been using non-government funding, from organisations like Children in Need, but that money has run out.

The charity will apply for other funding in the new year but in the meantime the charity said it had no choice but to withdraw counselling for 4-7-year-olds and pause support for young people aged 8-16.

Work in place for new strategy

The Department of Health (DoH) said it recognised the importance of providing therapeutic services for children and young people who have experienced sexual abuse.

It said it offered a variety of support such as regional helplines, as well as funding 24-7 assistance through the the Rowan Sexual Assault Referral Centre.

The department said it was working to develop a "domestic and sexual abuse strategy and action plan" to send to incoming ministers for consideration. Stormont has been without legislators since the DUP collapsed the power-sharing government in February 2022.

In terms of other support, the department said: "HSC (health and social care) Trusts provide and fund services for child victims of sexual abuse, including the Child Care Centre in the Belfast HSC Trust area."

A working group has also been established by the department to identify potential options for improving support and services.

'Counselling brought my daughter back'

The mum who spoke to the BBC anonymously about her daughter's experiences said she had withdrawn into herself and become very angry.

"She used to just scream and scream," she said.

"I kept asking for help and there was no help and she was falling apart - the whole family was falling apart.

"Every day we were late to school. She had been refusing to wash, you couldn't brush her hair.

"She stopped living. She stopped functioning.

"My hugs weren't solving it - with Nexus she's come back to us.

"The girl that went in to the counselling and the girl that came out was different, a Goliath weight was lifted - she's back - she's a child again," said the mum.

Nexus' Joanne Barnes wants to see parity for children and young people to have services like adults do

Nexus CEO Joanne Barnes told the BBC "families who can't access help feel alone, they feel unsupported".

Ms Barnes added that such services are not centrally funded by the government that addresses the needs of children and young people, particularly victims of sexual abuse.

"There are adult funded services, and we would want to see a parity for our children and young people," said Ms Barnes.

"Over 50% of adults who access our services have experienced childhood sexual abuse and then go on to experience later abusive relationships - we want to break that cycle," she added.

'The situation is horrible'

Nexus said waiting times for counselling child victims of sexual abuse is at least eight months.

Over a calendar year Nexus supports approximately 100 children and young people, and the waiting time for counselling of this sort has been at least eight months.

The mother of the young girl who was helped by Nexus said she was horrified funding is not available.

"This situation makes me so angry I can't understand why people think that this is acceptable," she said.

"Our family is in a much better place thanks to it. She was lost and Nexus found her.

"Without them I don't want to think what would have been. We were in a downward spiral," she added.

"How pathetic that the rug can be pulled away from innocent children."

The DoH treats children's mental health through the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), but Joanne Barnes said that was different from what Nexus offered.

"They [CAMHS] aren't specialist in supporting young people with childhood sexual abuse," said Ms Barnes.

"We have to build trust, develop a relationship - we work with young people for at least 18 weeks.

"Trauma unresolved becomes more complex and entrenched," she added.