British charity launches campaign to help prevent child abuse

A leading British charity for child protection has launched a major campaign to help stop child abuse amid a surge in sexual abuse cases in the UK.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) launched its “Now I Know” scheme in the county of Hampshire. It also paid visits to children in schools in York.

The ChildLine Schools Service initiative, which trains volunteers to have regular visits with children on a two-year basis, highlights the dangers of sexual abuse and covers basic protection guidelines.

The charity chief executive, Peter Wanless said he believes promoting greater awareness of the terrible and harmful lasting effects of child abuse among the young will stop it before it starts.

“We want children to be able to say ‘Now I Know’ – and not, ‘I wish I had known’. And we want everyone to play their part by looking out for children and reinforcing the message about speaking up”, said Wanless.

The service has already visited over 4,300 children in 47 schools in Hampshire and almost 2,500 children in 17 schools in York, which has received praise from parents and teachers.

The campaign comes amid local media reports in Britain saying the country has more than 18,000 profiled paedophiles, a majority of whom are being leniently released into the society to repeat their crimes.

A shocking investigation revealed that more than 400 children face sex offences every week in Britain, one every 20 minutes.