The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse is today launching a landmark television public awareness campaign to ensure victims and survivors of child sexual abuse have the opportunity to be heard at the Truth Project.
Created in consultation with victims and survivors, the Truth Project campaign aims to encourage people to share their experience in writing, on the phone or in person, as well as create a public discussion around the impact of child sexual abuse.
The awareness raising campaign comprises a TV advertisement and supporting activity across social media networks and will run from 14 January until the end of February.
The advertisement shows blank speech bubbles floating above people in various locations across England and Wales. These represent the difficulties many victims and survivors face in being able to talk about their experiences of child sexual abuse.
Alongside the campaign, the Inquiry is also publishing a number of new anonymous experiences from the Truth Project, with accounts from across a range of institutions.
To date, over 2,000 experiences have now been shared with the Truth Project.
Dru Sharpling, Inquiry Panel member and lead for the Truth Project said:
“We have to break the wall of silence that has built up around child sexual abuse if we are to create a safer future for children.
“The experiences, perspectives and insights of victims and survivors who come forward will help us to make meaningful and robust recommendations for change.”
Chris Tuck, a member of the Inquiry’s Victims and Survivors Consultative Panel said:
“I am a survivor of child sexual abuse and a campaigner. I’d been silent for so long
that at first I didn’t have the right words to describe what happened to me.
“I’ve been waiting decades for society to sit up and listen to the experiences of victims and survivors and I am proud to support this campaign.
“The Truth Project exists to give people like me a voice, so that together we can help protect future generations.”