HAMPSHIRE’S police and crime commissioner is stepping up his mission to tackle sexual abuse of children across the county.

Simon Hayes will be a keynote speaker at a conference that aims to raise awareness of the prevalence and impact of rape and sexual abuse of youngsters within the family unit.

The Elephant in the Room conference on September 4, is being held by CIS’ters, a local charity delivering services to help female survivors of child sex abuse.

It comes as the charity has seen an 80 per cent rise in the number of survivors getting in touch with them during the past six months.

The event is one of three organised by CIS’ters and funded by the commissioner to raise awareness of the often hidden sexual abuse of children.

The commissioner will be joining representatives from the Crown Prosecution Service, the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England and the Survivors’ Trust amongst others, to highlight the issues faced by victims and address how outcomes can be improved.

Mr Hayes said: “It is important that we support organisations, such as CIS’ters, through the series of conferences they have arranged, which will send a critical message that these crimes should not remain hidden.

“Sexual crime is a complex and sensitive area with a high level of under-reporting to the police.

“These crimes are an important area of focus within my priority of placing victims at the heart of the criminal justice system.

“This autumn I will be launching a sexual crime strategy, which will enable us to be more effective in funding services by identifying where the focus should be.

“I am committed to addressing under-provision for survivors of child sexual abuse and all victims of sexual crime across all services, and to deliver services that are available at the point of need to victims wherever located across Hampshire.”

The commissioner has awarded £3,000 to the charity to deliver the three conferences as part of their Reach Out project.

CIS’ters founder Gillian Finch added: “The Elephant in the Room conference presents an opportunity to challenge society to better understand that there are huge barriers to disclosure for child victims and adult survivors."

We appreciate the Commissioner’s funding to host these events; but we need so much more, not least as we have seen an 80 per cent rise in contact from survivors during the past six months.

“We also need more opportunities to help society understand that it is the responsibility of adults to protect children and that this should be our focus.”