The Right to Recover

That
the Parliament welcomes the publication of The
Right to Recover by NSPCC Scotland; notes that the research
looked at children’s access to recovery services after experiences of sexual
abuse; understands that, because of the barriers to disclosure, very few children disclose their experiences; acknowledges that this report
looks at what help is currently available to the children and young people who
do report this, to help them cope and overcome the problems arising from it and
to prevent them experiencing further pain; notes that it looked at
services in the west of Scotland that offer responsive face-to-face
therapeutic support to under-18s, including those who have experienced any form
of sexual abuse and/or exploitation, children who have been identified
as being at risk and those who might have displayed sexually worrying or
harmful behaviour; understands that, in 1992, the provision of
therapeutic services to help children recover from sexual abuse was described
as "patchy, poor and inadequate", and that a 2008 study of
therapeutic provision in Scotland found a similar picture; welcomes the
Scottish Government’s awareness of the life-long impact of adverse childhood
experiences, the national strategy, Equally Safe, which aims to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls, and the national
taskforce that is reviewing services for child and adult victims of
sexual crime, and considers that this research provides a missing piece of the
jigsaw for ensuring a joined-up child-focused response to sexual violence in
Glasgow and across Scotland.