Anna Glinski – Deputy Director (Knowledge and Practice Development) Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse | Fellow of NOTA (National Organisation for the Treatment of Abuse) presents her workshop on the National Picture of Scale and Nature of Sexual Abuse.

Session overview 
Being part of the solution:  Overcoming the obstacles in practice in cases of child sexual abuse 

In November 2024 the national Child Safeguarding Practice Review published its report “I wanted them all to notice:  Protecting children and responding to child sexual abuse within the family environment” – the Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse were commissioned to undertake this research.  The research reflected many of the issues in practice that have been identified in previous reviews, investigations and enquiries – highlighting “a systemic failure across all services to recognise and respond when children are at risk of, or are already, being sexually abused by someone in their family environment”.  Despite the high numbers of children who experience sexual abuse, professionals lack the knowledge, skills, confidence and practical resources to be able to identify and respond to this form of harm. 

This session will explore the current national picture of the scale and nature of child sexual abuse, before going on to explore the challenges in practice, including those identified in this research, and what we can all do to address them.  

Speaker biography
Anna Glinski, Deputy Director, Knowledge and Practice Development 

Anna is a qualified social worker and has worked within statutory child protection and specialist services as a social worker and manager throughout her career. She has specialised in child sexual abuse work for nearly 20 years, previously acting as an expert witness in the family courts on child sexual abuse cases.  Prior to being in her current role, Anna was the CSA Centre’s Practice Improvement Advisor for Social Work and, prior to that, the practice development lead for child sexual abuse within her local authority, contributing to local and regional service and policy development. Anna developed and led a multi-disciplinary specialist sexual abuse team, which provided assessments, interventions, supervision, consultation and training.  

In her current role Anna offers expert input on a number of national strategic projects relating to child sexual abuse, including most recently the National Panel’s thematic inquiry into child sexual abuse in the family environment.   Anna is co-chair of the Child Sexual Abuse Special Interest Group for the Association of Child Protection Professionals and is a member of the Children and Families Thematic Group at the British Association for Social Workers.  She is an Associate Tutor at the University of Sussex and is the Editor of NOTA News, the quarterly magazine for members of the National Organisation for the Treatment of Abuse.