Researchers from the Safer Young Lives Research Centre at the University of Bedfordshire organised and facilitated two online workshops as part of the ‘Changing practice: prioritising participation in actions to address child sexual abuse project’.

The first of these brought together representatives from international organisations and international networks of NGOs working to address childhood sexual violence and related issues. The second workshop assembled representatives from funders and donor intermediaries supporting work on childhood sexual violence.

The workshops shared learning from recent research exploring the value of, and complexities involved in, supporting the participation of young survivors in developing and designing actions that effectively address child sexual abuse and exploitation.

The briefing summarises some of the key discussion points that were shared across the two workshops and suggests areas for further conversation. In sharing these reflections, we hope to help organisations and groups to reflect upon their own work and potential ways to strengthen and improve the ethical, meaningful and contextual involvement of young survivors in this field in the future.