In 1992s, child sexual abuse survivor Frances Henry founded Stop It Now in USA. This ground-breaking initiative shifted the focus of the previous decades from responding only after abuse was disclosed or suspected to prevention. This was achieved by offering confidential support and information to adults concerned about possible abuse, including to those concerned about their own sexual thoughts or behaviour. Stop It Now! US has since run a confidential helpline that anyone with concerns about child sexual abuse can call to receive advice and support. Stop It Now! US has also delivered campaigns and developed resources to educate and assist people regarding the issue of child sexual abuse.
After the success of Stop It Now! US, similar projects have been implemented internationally. In addition to Stop It Now! UK & Ireland, Stop It Now! also provides child sexual abuse prevention advice and support in The Netherlands, Belgium and Australia. The projects run independently but share the aim of creating safer communities.
Timeline of the international Stop It Now! movement | |
1995 | Stop It Now! US launched in Vermont with funding from WK Kellogg |
2002 | Stop It Now! UK & Ireland launched by the Lucy Faithfull Foundation with funding from the UK government |
2012 | Stop It Now! Netherlands launched with funding from Dutch government |
2017 | Stop It Now! Flanders launched in Brussels with funding from Flemish government |
2022 | Stop It Now! Australia launched with funding from Westpac Safer Communities |
2022 | Stop It Now! Bruxelles launched |
Since their respective launches, the different Stop It Now! projects in the US, UK & Ireland, the Netherlands and Flanders have all received increasing numbers of contacts from people seeking support or advice in their respective countries/regions, demonstrating not only their success but also showing the need for such prevention efforts.
Internationally, other child sexual abuse prevention projects have been established that have collaborated with and/or used the experience and knowledge of the Stop It Now! family in developing their services.
In December 2022 we held an online international conference to celebrate and showcase 30 years of child sexual abuse prevention. You can watch the recording of the conference.