What To Do
You Are Enough™ peer support groups are based on professionally facilitated peer-support and CBT-based practices. The group is held online consisting of two professionals and five to seven parents/caregivers whose children have fallen victim to sexual violence.
The aim of the You Are Enough™ groups is to enhance the well-being of parents and caregivers, while empowering them to support their child through the healing process and navigate long criminal proceedings. The groups offer a safe and confidential space where participants can share experiences, thoughts, and emotions with others facing similar life situations.
Peer-support
Peer-support is a system offering and getting help for similar experiences or problems and is based on mutual respect, shared responsibility and agreement on what is the aim of the support (Mead, Hilton & Curtis, 2001) Peer-support offers social and emotional support as well as support for personal change (Gartner & Riessman, 1982). Peer-support groups are organised support and group activity, where all attendees are equal and at their best they offer support, friendship, empathy, sharing and helping (Mead et al., 2001).
Peer-support often improves attendees’ wellbeing and sense of trust as well as reduces stigma (Shalaby et al., 2019). It also increases hopefulness, empowerment, social functioning, social integration, confidence and tolerance.
Professionally facilitated groups
Professionally facilitated groups are led by specialists, who do not necessarily share the same first-hand experiences of the participants, but who have experience of the group themes through their training and work. The group facilitator has an understanding of different group dynamics and a set of skills needed for communication, solving possible difficult situations and self-reflection.
Every child has the right to be safe from all forms of violence. Sexual violence is one of the most adverse and traumatic childhood experiences (ACE) but there are always ways to recover with the help of timely, evidence-based treatment and psychosocial support.
Protect Children realised through their work with victims and their families that parents and caregivers are often left without support during lengthy criminal proceedings, managing their child’s trauma symptoms while struggling to cope themselves. Whilst research clearly indicates that parental support benefits both parents and the child victims, no targeted support services were available to parents in Finland.
The You Are Enough™ peer support groups are organised online due to the wide need for such group nationwide. Having the group online allows wider accessibility, participants being able to attend groups from all over the country including rural areas where attending such groups would otherwise be difficult or impossible. By April 2024, 11 groups (plus extension group) has been organised in Finland. Different structures, frequency and practices have been piloted, while collecting feedback from participants and group facilitators, to make the peer support group as efficient and beneficial to parents and caregivers as possible.
The systematic review of 25 studies examining possible risk and protective factors that might explain the established link between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and future revictimization identified only one protective factor; perceived parental care (Scoglio et al. 2021). Supporting parents’ wellbeing and ability to parent will positively impact also on the child victim’s healing. According to You Are Enough™ evaluation summary by Protect Children, the attendee’s own wellbeing as well as understanding towards the child victim’s symptoms improves after attending the group which is likely to increase parents’ ability to provide efficient care for their children.
There is a wide-ranging research evidence showing the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy, CBT (e.g., Corriem & Lane, 2021), which is used as a base for exercises and coping techniques provided for parents during the intervention. Participants are encouraged to express and process their own feelings, thoughts and behaviour connected to different topics discussed in the groups which is in accordance with CBT-based interventions.
Online interventions have shown promising results. However, online interventions e.g., for depression are often weakened by great withdrawal rates and insufficient engagement on online platforms (Alin et al., 2015). Having a closed group facilitated by professionals where engagement is confirmed prior to group, during assessment interviews, minimizes the online-related withdrawal problem when it comes to You Are Enough™ groups.
The study of Hill (2001) indicates that a peer support group for mothers of sexually abused children found the support beneficial as they were able to share thoughts and feelings regarding e.g., a shameful topic of being a failure as a parent in a safe and non-judgemental space which they could not do with professionals. When women hear about their child having fallen victim to sexual violence, they are met with a major life crisis, leading to long-lasting negative consequences. Parents’/caregivers’ need of professional support in such circumstances is consistently underestimated.
Online sexual violence against children:
CSAM Users in the Dark Web: Protecting Children Through Prevention (suojellaanlapsia.fi)
"Online grooming - a growing threat to children in the digital age" (suojellaanlapsia.fi)
The Long-Lasting Impact of Online Child Sexual Abuse (suojellaanlapsia.fi)
CSAM Users in the Dark Web: Protecting Children Through Prevention (suojellaanlapsia.fi)
C3P_AnalysisOfFinanSextortionPostsReddit_en.pdf (protectchildren.ca)
C3P_SurvivorsSurveyExecutiveSummary2017_en.pdf (protectchildren.ca)
Experiences of Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Across 29 Languages
Words Matter: Exploring the Impact of Terminology in Combating Child Sexual Abuse
Family trauma and healing in the context of sexual violence:
Peer support groups:
Peer Support in Mental Health: Literature Review - PubMed (nih.gov)
