Sexual abuse - what's going on?

Keynote speaker: Dr David Finkelhor
‘The most prominent sociologist in the field of child sexual abuse’

1st July 2010
University of Westminster (Regent St Campus), London

Don't miss out - book your place now!

Child sexual abuse remains a subject of great controversy and debate in England, Wales and Scotland; referrals and child protection plans are significantly reduced and the reasons for this remain unclear.

The subject also continues to retain the capacity to shock – the recent Plymouth nursery sexual abuse case has challenged belief systems. This conference will examine current debates about sexual abuse and examine the need to scrutinise what is happening in practice.

We are delighted to have Dr David Finkelhor, described as probably the ‘most prominent sociologist at work in the field of child sexual abuse’ as a keynote speaker.

Dr Finkelhor is director of the Crimes against Children Research Center, co-director of the Family Research Laboratory and Professor of Sociology at the University of New Hampshire. He has been studying the problems of child victimisation, child maltreatment and family violence since 1977. 

He will open  the conference by talking about his work on nursery crimes, his research and experiences of working with sexual abuse and future challenges.

Also confirmed is Sherry Ashfield from the child protection charity the Lucy Faithfull Foundation who will speak on women who sexually abuse. She is one of the few people who has researched and spoken extensively to convicted female offenders. 

Mark Williams-Thomas is an independent child protection expert who oversaw major paedophile investigations during his time as a police officer. Mark recently spent 18 months with  the  Metropolitan Police Child Abuse Command Unit, making a series of TV programmes about the growing problem of online paedophiles, and will speak on the use of the internet by abusers. 

Other speakers will cover:

• lessons to be learned from recent cases
• explaining the reduction of referrals re sexual abuse.

Workshops will draw on and demonstrate Reconstruct’s leading training on working with and investigating sexual abuse.
  
Cost: £175.

To register today email cathy.bostock@reconstruct.co.uk. For further information call 01895 204861. 

Attendance at this conference can contribute to the post-registration training and learning required by the GSCC 

Added 16 December 2009