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An anonymous helpline designed to support people at risk of committing child sexual abuse, or who may already be engaging in it, will receive federal government funding as part of an ongoing national prevention effort.
In its first three years, the pilot of the service, Stop it Now!, run by Jesuit Social Services and funded by philanthropy, received 910 calls and live chats from about 500 people, about their own behaviour or someone else’s.
About half of callers discussed their own actions, and of those, more than half (55 per cent) said they were not yet known to police.
The helpline was staffed by experienced psychologists, social workers and counsellors, but due to limited resourcing, many calls were missed.
As of May 2025, more than 42,000 people had accessed the Stop it Now! website, often via warning notices that appear when child sexual abuse material is searched online.
The general manager of Child Sexual Abuse Prevention at Jesuit Social Services and Stop it Now! Australia, Georgia Naldrett, said the scaling-up of the program would allow the service to increase from operating between seven and 14 hours a week to eventually 56 hours within a year, boosting early intervention and helping keep children safe.
“Child sexual abuse is one of the most significant issues facing Australia, with one in three girls and one in five boys having been the victims of child sexual abuse,” she said.
“The prevalence of online offending has only intensified this issue and the need for evidence-based approaches to prevention.”
The concept for Stop it Now! was pioneered 30 years ago in the United States by Fran Henry, a victim-survivor of childhood sexual abuse who wanted prevention made a public health issue. The service also operates in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Dee Nicholas, a forensic psychologist and helpline co-ordinator, said the most common reason people had called the helpline was for support to stop offending.
“Often we hear from callers that they recognise they are having these problematic thoughts, or sexual behaviour, and they just have nowhere else to go,” she said.
“They talk about struggling for years but not knowing where to go and get out of that cycle of offending.”
The service’s target group includes adults who had accessed child sexual abuse material or made sexual communication with children online. It also includes those with sexual thoughts about children but who have not offended, and those who have conducted real-world contact abuse.
Though confidential, the helpline is still subject to mandatory reporting, and practitioners are obliged to inform authorities if they believe child sexual abuse has occurred, is imminent, or if identifiable information regarding serious offending is disclosed.
Nicholas, who like Naldrett has worked with Stop it Now! UK, said adults who were concerned their children were showing signs of sexual abuse or exploitation were also among those who had called the helpline during its pilot phase.
‘They talk about struggling for years but not knowing where to go and get out of that cycle of offending.’
Dee Nicholas, helpline co-ordinator, Stop it Now Australia
Nicholas said helpline workers were non-judgmental, but also held callers accountable.
Naldrett conceded that discussion of child sexual abuse was confronting – Australians were shocked last year by horrifying revelations of sexual abuse in childcare centres. But she said it was vital to work with offenders, particularly when it came to early intervention.
“Our experience delivering the pilot program, supported by independent evaluation, shows that this approach helps callers take meaningful action to reduce harm and keep children safe,” she said.
Matt Tyler, executive director of Jesuit Social Services’ The Men’s Project, said that when the pilot was launched, it aimed to reach people in the long window between someone realising they had concerning thoughts and behaviours and them coming to police attention.
The need for such a service was also highlighted in the 2017 report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
An evaluation of the pilot is being led by Melbourne University Senior Research Fellow Dr Gemma McKibbin, to be released later this year.
Alison Geale, chief executive of the national child protection organisation, Bravehearts, said she strongly supported the program.
“This groundbreaking program represents a crucial shift towards prevention-focused child protection … Protecting children from sexual harm requires comprehensive approaches, including addressing risks before harm occurs,” she said.
Stop it Now! filled a critical gap in protection by offering a safe place for individuals to seek help voluntarily, Geale said, and could be “an essential tool in creating safer communities for all Australian children”.
Victoria Police was contacted by this masthead for comment.
Stop It Now! offers free, anonymous support – including a helpline and online resources – for anyone concerned about sexual thoughts involving children.
Sexual assault support lines:
Wendy Tuohy is a senior writer focusing on social issues and those impacting women and girls.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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