Difficult Conversations
When a child has experienced sexual abuse, parents often face incredibly challenging questions: What should I say? How do I respond without making things worse?
Held over 2 consecutive weeks these sessions are designed to help parents and carers prepare for the emotionally complex conversations that can follow a disclosure of child sexual abuse. These discussions are never easy — but with the right tools, they can become opportunities to strengthen trust, rebuild safety, and support healing.
What This Workshop Covers
Understanding Difficult Conversations: Explores why conversations about child sexual abuse can feel overwhelming for parents, including emotional triggers, fear of saying the wrong thing, or uncertainty about what their child needs. Builds awareness of the emotional landscape and importance of these conversations in the healing process.
How to Start and Respond to a Difficult Conversation: Offers simple, supportive strategies for gently opening up a conversation and staying grounded during emotional or unexpected responses. Emphasises listening, pacing, and emotional safety.
Open and Closed Questions: Explains the difference between open questions (which encourage sharing, e.g. “Can you tell me more about that?”) and closed questions (which invite short answers, e.g. “Did that happen yesterday?”), and when to use each in supportive ways.
Responding to Difficult Questions: Prepares parents to respond calmly and honestly when children ask difficult or upsetting questions, even when they don’t have all the answers.
Responding to New Disclosures: Guidance on how to handle new or unexpected information shared by the child, including how to stay supportive, safe, and appropriately responsive without leading or pressuring.
Sharing Information with Others: Helps parents understand who needs to know what, how to talk about their child’s experiences while protecting their privacy, and when and how to involve professionals (e.g. school, social care).
These sessions do not expect you to be perfect. Instead, it offers a safe, non-judgemental space to explore how you can show up — with compassion, care, and courage — for your child, and for yourself.