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Stop it Now! Helpline

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The Stop it Now! Helpline receives a grant from the Public Protection Unit of the Ministry of Justice.  The Helpline Report (2006) demonstrated that people will seek help from a confidential advice line. 45% of calls came directly from people worried about their own behaviour, with 35% coming from people worried about a close family member or friend.  Concerns included worries about internet related behaviours as well as offline abuse.  This trend has continued. 

In 2007/08, 95% of calls to the Helpline came from the main target groups:

  • people worried about their own sexual interests and behaviour,
  • people concerned about another adult 
  • people worried about the behaviour of a young person. 

These categories have been extended by agreement with the funders and now include:

  • survivors of abuse
  • people worried that their children may be victims of abuse
  • professionals of all types wanting advice about the management of child sexual abuse cases.  

Last year there were 2788 calls, beating the target set by our funders by 55%.  In a random sample of 10% of calls from the whole year, 90% had an identified, agreed action for the caller to take.  Many callers telephone to discuss how they have implemented this action and ask for further advice, demonstrating real motivation to change. 

To date Helpline staff have dealt with more than 11,000 calls.  This has been achieved with relatively little publicity.  If LFF had more funding to increase the reach of the Stop it Now! public education campaign, call numbers would be likely to rise steeply. During the year 116 days follow up support has been provided to callers, funded by the Public Protection Unit and LFF’s own resources.

Confidentiality Statement
Our telephone Helpline offers a confidential service for people seeking advice and support.  This means that when contacting us you do not have to give any identifying information such as address, telephone number or last name.

However, if you do give us identifying information and we are concerned that a child is at risk or a criminal offence has been committed which the police may not be aware of, we will have to pass on that information to the appropriate agencies.

We also offer a confidential e-mail service, help@stopitnow.org.uk, on which you can contact us.  Your e-mail address will not be displayed.