Welcome to the Child & Woman Abuse Studies website

CWASU, originally The Child Abuse Studies Unit, was established in 1987 by two full-time staff of the then Polytechnic of North London - Mary MacLeod and Esther Saraga.

Their concern at the time was to both develop feminist theory and practice, and take this perspective into professional training, especially that of social work.

The Unit was founded following a historic conference on child sexual abuse in the spring of 1987 Child Sexual Abuse: Towards a Feminist Professional Practice that brought together survivors, women's groups and services and professionals. Liz Kelly was appointed the first full-time member of staff in September 1987, with a brief to develop research, information and networking.

News:

Different systems, similar outcomes?
Tracking attrition in reported rape cases in eleven European countries

A two-year research project came to a close at the end of May. Funded by the European Commission Daphne II Programme to combat violence against children, young people and women, the project is the first in depth study to collect original data across 11 countries. The findings reflect that the majority of women reporting rape across Europe do not see justice done, and rising attrition rates make this more likely in 2009.

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