The charity describes a disclosure as being ‘like a bomb going off with shrapnel indiscriminately cutting into everyone involved’ and provides services including counselling and group support.

The funding enabled the charity to provide support for 14 new referrals that came forward during the lockdown period, as well as continuing to support the existing 40 clients already receiving help from the charity.

It also enabled them to provide an enhanced service to dozens of existing clients who needed much more frequent support as a result of the lockdown – many who said they had begun suffering from problems such as increased isolation, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.

The charity began holding virtual appointments to replace their original face-to-face sessions and also expanded their hours of service to provide evening and weekend sessions, accommodating people who lived with children and so could not talk openly during the day.

Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner Martyn Underhill said, “Child sexual abuse doesn’t just have a devastating impact on the victims, but on those close to them, and Acts Fast provides essential help to often overlooked people living through traumatic and damaging situations.

“The pandemic has seen many already vulnerable people becoming even more isolated, and it would have been unthinkable for this organisation’s clients to be left without support.”