EVALUATION SUMMARY
Findings from a Pilot of You are Enough™️ Parental Peer Support Groups in Finland and Ireland on the Long-Lasting Impact on Children and Families and the Crucial Role of Peer Support during Criminal Proceedings and Healing
Project 2KNOW has released an evaluation summary of the findings from a pilot of the manualised You are Enough™️ peer support groups for parents and carers of victims of online crimes of sexual violence. The pilot was conducted in Finland and Ireland by Protect Children, as part of the EU-funded Project 2KNOW in 2024.
About the Evaluation Summary
The evaluation summary highlights the severe negative impact online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA) has on victims and their families. The evaluation revealed that the child victims' symptoms closely mirror the parents' own symptoms of trauma, stressing the urgent need to enhance systematic support systems for families that acknowledge the far-reaching impact of OCSEA.
The findings of the evaluation summary emphasise how crucial it is to understand the differing impact of online and contact sexual violence on children's mental wellbeing, and to address the negative experiences families encounter when interacting with professionals regarding OCSEA.
The evaluation also indicates that the wellbeing of parents and carers improved while attending the You are Enough™ peer support group. In particular, parents valued the sense of not feeling alone, the valuable information gained about the criminal justice and healing processes, and their understanding of their child’s trauma symptoms, which helped them support their child's recovery and deepen their understanding of both themselves and their child.
The evaluation summary outlines how these insights can be translated into actionable measures to better support families affected by OCSEA. The recommendations focus on improving interventions for parents and caregivers, enhancing trauma-informed practices for professionals, strengthening support within educational settings, and expediting criminal proceedings to minimise the long-term impact on victims' recovery and development.
This report is written by Katariina Leivo, Noora Nieminen, Tegan Insoll, Anna Ovaska, and Nina Vaaranen-Valkonen.
You Are Enough: A Supportive Guide for Parents and Caregivers of Children Affected by Online Sexual Abuse With Insights and Advice from Those Who Understand
This support guide offers guidance and support for parents and caregivers whose child has fallen victim to online sexual abuse. It includes insights from parents who have participated in our You are Enough™ peer support groups in the past, providing psychoeducation on various processes that affected families go through.
"Not Just a Device" Empowering Your Child's Online Safety: A Guide for Parents on Digital Safety Skills with Insights from Children & Youth
This digital safety guide provides parents with guidance on empowering their children to navigate online environments safely. It emphasises the importance of parental involvement in their children's online lives, treating it like any other social environment. Insights from children and young people throughout the guide highlight the crucial role that parents and other adults play in educating children about digital safety and keeping them safe
About Project 2KNOW
This report, which is conducted as a part of the project Knowledge to Prevent (2KNOW) has been produced with the financial support of the European Commission’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV) Programme (2022). The project is led by Protect Children, with the Council of the Baltic Sea States and the University of Eastern Finland as partners. Project 2KNOW aims to support and improve national and international data collection on violence against children by developing a sustainable and replicable data collection model that is suited to gathering information about online violence against children.
Project 2KNOW has been produced with the financial support of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV) Programme (2022) of the European Union. The contents herein are the sole responsibility of project partnership and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Commission.
Acknowledgements
We would like to extend our immense gratitude and thank you to parents and caregivers who participated in our research by sharing their experiences and insights related to online crimes of sexual violence against their child.
We would also like to thank CARI (Children at Risk in Ireland), Barnahus West, and TUSLA (Child and Family Agency) for taking part in the pilot and sharing important insights related to facilitating the peer support group in Ireland together with Protect Children specialists in Finland.
Thank you to Webropol for supporting our work by hosting our research surveys.
Cover design by Néstor Feijoo Melián https://rayon.es/